Emails to the new puppy owner -- Internet Bernese Mountain Dog Consortium's PandaSite

Emails to the new puppy owner (Part 8 of 8)

By Mary-Ann Bowman

Today's topic is a very important one — socialization. This refers to the process of exposing the puppy to a variety of people, situations and places so that s/he grows up to be a confident and well-adjusted adult. This is absolutely critical because a poorly socialized dog can be a very big problem.

We have started the socialization process by running a puppy petting zoo at our house. Yesterday I had six different sets of visitors including a family with five children, and four giggly teenage girls. The puppies are happy to see visitors and are friendly and confident. They climb in laps, chew on hair and shoes, and show no concern at all about new people. In addition to people, I have made it a point to expose them to new things in their puppy play areas. They all notice anything new, and treat it with interest. The trip to the opthamologist was easy for all of them, and their time outside has exposed them to different noises.

I have done my part and now it will be up to you to finish the job. The puppy MUST continue to have positive interactions with new people on a very regular basis. Further, the puppy MUST be taken to new places, and have positive experiences at those places. It is your job to make very certain that the new experiences are good experiences for the puppy. If you see signs of stress in the puppy when your entire office staff starts petting and talking, then have everyone slow down because you really do not want to scare the puppy. Again, we are trying to form habits and impressions, and the puppy should have positive and happy experiences when s/he is exposed to new place, situations and people.

Carry treats at all times to give to strangers so that they can feed the puppy — this helps form a very positive association for the puppy. If you are not comfortable having other people feed treats to your puppy, then you can reward the puppy when s/he has exhibited positive social behaviors. Monitor your puppy's reactions, and be careful not to create or allow a frightening situation. However, do not reinforce fear. This is done inadvertently when owners say soothingly, "its alright baby snookums sweet angel face and etc and etc." Puppies are not fluent in English so that sounds a lot like praise to a puppy! In other words, you are praising for being scared and we definitely do not want that. If the puppy is scared or stressed, simply reduce whatever is going on and then reward bravery/friendliness/other desired behaviors.

Treats can also help take the puppy's mind off of something that is scary or stressful. When the puppies were microchipped, I knew it would hurt so I got a Gerber baby meat stick and let them chew on that while they got their microchips. All puppies chewed more furiously while the chip was going in, but only Boo was significantly upset about the procedure. Getting treats in new places and situations can assist the puppy in developing positive associations and impressions with that place or situation, and with new places and situations in general.

Socialization is happening whenever the puppy is encountering the social world. We will make it a point to expose our puppy to new people/places/situations on an almost daily basis for a very long time. However, there is a balance that must be maintained between socializing and exposing the puppy to diseases. Puppies should not go to places frequented by unknown dogs until they are about four months old. This means no trips to PetSmart, the dog park, or even the local park, although if you carry the puppy at all times the risk might be worth it to you. It is nice to allow your puppy to play with other dogs, but make certain these are dogs that you know well and be very careful with the puppy and bigger dogs. The puppy will need to go to dog school, but such places usually require dogs to be vaccinated so are likely safe. Again, it is a balance between needing to get the puppy out and trying to reduce exposure to disease, especially parvo, and we all need to find the balance that works for us. It is not appropriate to keep the dog at home until three or four months, but it is also silly to take an eight week old puppy to a dog park — find the balance that feels right for you.

Just a word about safety. Although puppies typically stay close to home and humans, don't count on it. Something that seems benign to you may scare the dickens out of a puppy and she will bolt with no regard for personal safety — and the puppies are very fast now and will get faster. ALWAYS keep the puppy on a leash when outside in open areas, and do not ever assume that she will not run off because under the right circumstances, all dogs will bolt and especially puppies.

Further, do not assume that all dogs like puppies. The last thing you need is for your puppy to be attacked and forever be fearful of other dogs. Although most dogs tolerate puppies, there are plenty that would happily shred a puppy. I simply do not allow strange dogs near my puppy, no matter how much the owner reassures me about the great disposition of the dog. I have been amazed at the brazenness of people with their dogs. When the puppies were younger and less mobile, we would let them in the front yard for the neighbors to visit. Several people walking by attempted to bring their big dogs into our yard to meet the puppies, and a couple were quite insulted were I stopped them. The truth is that one does not know how a strange dog will react, and it is not worth finding out at the expense of the puppy.

Finally, do not allow other people, including dog trainers, to scare your puppy. It is your job to protect the puppy at all times, including from well meaning people. In the first litter, a puppy was taken to a training school and the instructor wanted to use the puppy as the demonstration dog (ALWAYS say no to this request!!!!). The puppy struggled, the instructor rolled the puppy and scared her so bad that she urinated — and that puppy continued to have problems with submissive urination and strangers for some months. These are going to be sensitive puppies. The veterinarian that has cared for them remarked that they are not afraid at all and that it is as if nothing bad has ever happened to them — and it hasn't. I have loved and cared for these puppies for eight weeks, and I think it shows. I am trusting you with something very dear to me so please protect him/her and help the puppy to grow into a wonderful, well-adjusted adult. As always, if you have any questions about socialization or any other puppy issue, please feel free to ask — there are no bad questions.

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