How To Socialize Your Puppy At Home During The COVID-19 Lockdown
Dog Tips, Mar 23 , 2020
By Pilar Garrido
A puppy’s socialization period is the most significant part of her life. This is when a puppy learns how to interact with her environment and with other animals and people. All of the positive and negative interactions the puppy experiences during this stage will have a significant impact on her character for the rest of her life.
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The most critical learning period begins at three weeks. That is when the puppy begins to hear, see and explore new experiences. This stage, which lasts up to twelve weeks, is called imprinting. During the imprinting stage, your puppy is curious about her environment and anything novel (rather than towards her mother or siblings).
“The most critical learning period begins at three weeks. That is when the puppy begins to hear, see and explore new experiences. This stage, which lasts up to twelve weeks, is called imprinting. During the imprinting stage, your puppy is curious about her environment and anything novel (rather than towards her mother or siblings). ”
As the puppy is growing up, she learns the proper behavior of her breed and recognizes those of her own. If we deprive the puppy during this period of any contact with other dogs, she will have problems accepting and recognizing those of her own kind.
Normally, puppies start to become surrounded by strangers at three to five weeks of age. They learn to become suspicious, a defense mechanism that continues to develop until they reach 14 weeks. It is a survival instinct that takes over, especially when they are in a natural habitat. This mechanism will kick in the moment they feel the presence of possible predators.
If we deprive a puppy of any human contact from the time of its birth until 14 weeks of age, the animal will shy away from humans. It will always be fearful, suspicious and avoidant towards people. That is why feral cats and dogs with limited human contact after 14 weeks can rarely be fully socialized. This can change if the puppy has had previous contact with humans or animals, provided it didn’t have any negative associated feelings.
We have to bear in mind that whenever a puppy remains locked up, beginning from eight weeks to six months of age, it will have a generalized fear of any new environment.
By now, you should have a clear idea how an animal or a puppy learns. But the question now is, “How can we educate and socialize our puppies if we cannot even leave the house because of Coronavirus (COVID-19)? They cannot be introduced to any new environments.”
It’s true that the current situation is very complicated. Lockdown is not only happening in our own cities, but also in many parts of the world. However, we have to remember that the vast majority of the puppies that are born today are surrounded by their mother and siblings that have had connection with humans. Therefore, a correct imprinting base has been laid. Here’s what to do next.
Important guidelines to follow during the Coronavirus lockdown:
1. Bring your puppy to the balcony or to the patio (or a backyard if it’s safe). If you do not have any of these options, open the window so that she can be familiar with all kinds of different sounds coming from various directions. Plus, she can get fresh air this way!
2. When possible, every time you go out to do something, bring the puppy — even if she is inside a doggy bag or being carried in your arms.
3. Play noises of dogs barking and playing with people on the TV or radio.
4. Create a game at home to teach the puppy how to associate sound using a ‘clicker’ with getting food. When the puppy is supposed to eat and does so at the appropriate time, use the clicker and then reward her with a treat or pat on the head.
5. Teach the puppy to give handshake with a clicker so that, in the future, she can also give handshake to people she does not know. She will associate the behavior with positive experiences learned from an early age.
6. Teach the puppy how to wear a leash and collar inside the house once in a while. In the future, it will be easier to walk the puppy outside. Even if she can barely go out now, it is important that the leash and collar are associated with walking.
7. Work on developing her sense of smell by hiding her favorite toy and teaching her how to look for it around the house.
8. Make sure a new puppy does not have any bad experiences when encountering another dog, cat or other animal. If the presentation is done correctly and with good association, it will be easier for the puppy to accept a new pet in the house later.
9. Whenever you need to bring your dog to the veterinarian or if you need to buy animal food, why not combine both? Make it a fun experience for the puppy.
10. You should discourage people from touching your puppy at first. Have your puppy observe people and animals and understand she is not in any danger as she moves around the environment.
11. Learn to build confidence in your puppy by showing that you know exactly what you are doing. Puppies look for leadership in a person. For example, never leave puppy food in the bowl for the entire day. Your dog needs to understand that food should be earned and given by you.
Everything I have mentioned will help in the socialization of your puppy once the lockdown is over. Your new puppy will learn to follow you instinctively as she does with her mother. Happy training and stay safe!
References:
Lavanguardia. (2018) Este hombre vivió su infancia criado por lobos, y asegura que “detesta la vida humana,” retrieved from https://www.lavanguardia.com/cribeo/cultura/20180410/47424139137/este-hombre-vivio-su-infancia-criado-por-lobos-y-asegura-que-detesta-la-vida-humana.html
wildlifesciencecenter. (2014). Bottle Feeding Wolf Puppies at the Wildlife Science Center. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgGUxEirwLs