We believe that socializing your puppy is a crucial part of their development and sets them up for a lifetime of happiness and confidence. I am here to help give you insights on how we socialize our puppies and get them ready for their new families.
2 Weeks
Starting socialization at a young age is fantastic for puppy development if done correctly. Around 2 weeks of age we start introducing gentle touches and handling to get them used to human interaction. We cradle them like a baby in our hands we do daily inspections to make sure the puppies are all in good health and are continuing to thrive. Although they mostly sleep and eat at this point a few mins a day handling can make a great improvement. We also do them to sounds and smells when they are with mom.
4 weeks
So, now it's time to start expanding their experiences and interactions. while they are still little at this age, they are starting to get a little more curious about different things. We continue to expose them to different sounds and smells but now we introduce them to different areas. Such as, a different play area with different smells, toys, sounds & floor textures. Usually at this stage they are still a little nervous about going to a new environment, but we do this for about an hour a day. This helps them gradually get more comfortable about being moved around.
6 weeks
Here at 6 weeks, we really start the training, they are now eating hard food and have weaned from mom. So, they see me as their new mommy! This is great and gives the puppies a since of trust. They go to another play area for 2 hours a day with lots of different
textures, sounds and smells. They get to be on grass pads, soft beds, hard wood, carpet and vinyl linoleum. This helps them adjust to different textures and floors, so they aren't so nervous when going different places. We then start getting them used to going into a crate about 30-45 mins a day for a few days and slowly increase as they get ready to go home in the next couple of weeks. We start using different sounds such as loud banging, vacuums, toothbrushes, clippers, music, car keys rattling to see their reactions and whom we need to maybe expose more than the rest. Some puppies do really good some need just a little more confidence building in these areas. Here is also where they get a really good bathe. Most of them don't care much for the water but that's normal.
8 weeks
So now as they are almost ready to go home, they have now had 4 hours a day crate training, 2 weeks of artificial grass pad training in their potty area and have been socialized with other puppies and a few older dogs. They aren't nervous of noises by now and don't mind the different floor textures. They are usually running around and have gained quite a bit of confidence. My kids also play a big part in the socialization also. My daughter is always handling and playing with the puppy's form giving kisses to playing tug of war with them. They usually see here and started running to her immediately. So, by doing these things it does greatly help when going to a new family, so they don't have to be nervous the first time they hear a loud noise.
Now remember when taking a puppy home this is a big nervous day for them. So, they may be a little shaky at first but that usually ends after a few hours. Your house is all new smells and noises, so this is to be expected. But with our socialization here they calm down pretty quickly. We usually see within a few hours of being there they are starting to come out of the nervousness and start really interacting. As well as each puppy is different some are shyer and some our very outgoing. They all hit levels of confidence at different times. I hope this gives some insight on how we prepare puppies for newborn to go home for their new families.
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