Summer Puppy Preventatives
My puppy classes are filling up this time of year. Everyone is excited about getting their pups out into the world and teaching them what they need to know to be good canine citizens. I wonder if they think I'm nutty when they come to class to find Halloween and Christmas paraphernalia?
I celebrate summer puppies by introducing them to things they otherwise aren't going to see until well after their early socialization window has closed. These pups will be well into the more cautious or reactive adolescent mindset when they see their first jack-o-latern, Halloween mask, bulky winter coat, Christmas tree, or truly scary dancing Santa table decoration.
This is also the time to start playing movies with gun shots (war movies?) or a CD with fireworks noises. By playing these at a low volume and slowly increasing the volume, your puppy will get used to the noise and it will be no big deal.
Of course, summer puppies also give us a great excuse to go shopping in the city, walk along the beach, hike in the woods and see, hear and smell as many different environments as possible. These normal summer activities are great socialization opportunities for our pups, but we also have to think about all the things that will happen later when the coats, hats and boots come out of closet and scare the fur off of our adolescent dogs.
To help you socialize your pup to various sounds, check out Terry Ryan's series of Sounds Good CDs. You'll find them here:
