Tag Archives: socialising

01/20/13

Puppies 2012 – The Eighth Week

Jakkalberry, one day shy of 8 weeks old.

Jakkalberry, one day shy of 8 weeks old.

This was another stinking hot week and we, again, didn’t get out as much as we wanted to. We did, however, manage to take all six puppies to a shopping centre for the Boxing Day Sales which was excellent.  We saw so many different nationalities at these sales that  it was well worth the excursion.  It was a big day, and it was reassuring that some of the puppies were relaxed enough to sleep in this busy environment.

We also took the puppies out to another shopping strip during the week where we had to fight out way through crowds, which was also a good experience for them.

We managed to get everyone happy and relaxed in their crate to sleep through the night this week.  The only puppy that was a bit exceptional was Kelinni, who objected to being crated in the puppy area but was quiet next to our bed.  Not only did this upset the other puppies, to hear Kelinni crying, but it also made me worry that Kelinni would get into the habit of making noise in her crate. Because of this, we compromised and had Kelinni next to our bed (in a crate) at night. Her new home was happy to continue to have her sleep like this, and I suggested they move her crate out of the bedroom over time if they want her to sleep somewhere else.

Apart from Kelinni, all puppies were sleeping through the nights in their crate quietly, and by themselves. Success!

And then, just as I had got them to be pretty good little dogs, it was time for them to go!

Daisy, dreaming of her new home.

Daisy, dreaming of her new home.

Our puppies come with quite a puppy pack, and I had these all ready for them to go when their puppies were collected. They also go with a crate to sleep in in their new home, and lots of other bits and pieces, of course.

Puppy packs, ready to go!

Puppy packs, ready to go!

Alfalfa went to a home to be ‘co-parented’ by a mum and adult son team.  Man and Jakkalberry went to homes with young children, with the whole family much anticipating their arrival.  Kelinni went to a young child-less couple and will get the opportunity to dabble in showing and sports.  Daisy went to a home with young kids to join another border terrier and be involved in working on the farm, dog sports, and maybe showing as well.  Finally, Boomer went to a family of triathletes! So he gets to lead a busy life running, swimming and everything else.

At home, we’re just happy to take a breath and be puppyless for a few months before we get around to doing it all again!

03/24/12

Puppy Socialisation (Dunbar)

This post is part of the series in response to Dunbar’s 2012 Australian seminars. See index.

Dunbar is big into socialisation. He believes a puppy should meet 100 people before it is 8 weeks old, and 100 people in its first month in its new home. That is, a puppy should’ve met 200 people by the time it is 16 weeks (4 months) old. Dunbar believes in recruiting these people by whatever means possible in order to prevent fear behaviour. As he rightly points out, fear behaviours are easier to prevent in puppyhood than they are to ‘fix’ in adult dogs (which he calls a big project).

Dobermann puppies being socialised to handling by many different people.

Dobermann puppies being socialised to handling by many different people. Photo © Ruthless Photos.

Socialising a puppy is easy, and enjoyable. It teaches the dog to enjoy people (and so it doesn’t want to bite them) and teaches the dog to enjoy being hugged and petted (or restrained and examined).

One of the joys with puppies is that they can be flooded. Throwing a party, and encouraging people to wear costumes, is okay! As is taking them to venues with a lot of things happening.

One of Dunbar’s take home messages, particularly to breeders, is not to worry too much about diseases. Parvovirus is spread by poo, and he thinks that asking visitors to remove shoes before entering the house is sufficient enough prevention. He defines the floor of a vet carpark or a vet clinic is high risk, but that’s about it. I very much agree with Dunbar in this regard: The risks of not socialising is much more likely to kill a puppy (i.e. behavioural problems) than parvovirus.

Puppy classes are nice, but are not good enough to adequately socialise a puppy alone. New puppy owners should put a lot of attention into making that puppy, at the very least, socialable with family and immediately family, or anyone who visits the house on a semi-permanent basis. This means that they are less likely to give the puppy at a later date, and so the puppy stays at its original home forever. Puppy classes aren’t the answer to this, but adequate and extensive socialisation is!