Friendly dogs are a joy to own, and socializing puppies to enjoy the company and activity of people, making sure they learn reliable bite inhibition and develop soft mouths, is as easy as it is enjoyable.
Unfortunately, not everyone understands what it takes to socialize a puppy, and puppy classes provide too little much too late. Puppy classes are a good place to continue socializing puppies and to teach them bite inhibition. However, puppies should be well-socialized to people before puppy class.
Puppies need to spend time with and be gently handled by at least 100 people, especially children and men, before they are eight weeks old. By eight weeks of age, the “Critical Period of Socialization” is already two-thirds over, so if choosing a puppy from a breeding kennel, check that he has had sufficient socialization while there. Insufficiently socialized puppies often become fearful and aggressive when they reach adolescence.
Puppies must socialize with and be gently handled by at least 100 more people, especially children and men, between eight weeks and three months of age. This means that when you bring your new puppy home, most nights of the week should be social occasions. Invite several people each night to handle and hand-feed your pup.
There are simply no excuses for inadequately socialized dogs. Puppies can be safely socialized to people at breeding kennels and in their new homes (provided, however, that household members and visitors leave outdoor shoes outside).
If you have done everything right in the first three months of your puppy’s life, you’ve only just begun. With dogs, behavior never stays static – it either gets better or it gets worse. Therefore socialization and classical conditioning must continue indefinitely, to prevent adolescent dogs from becoming fearful or aggressive.
Acquired bite inhibition is even (MUCH) more important. The level of bite inhibition acquired in off-leash puppy class play sessions is the single most important prognostic factor for dogs that bite and dogs that fight. If puppies learn to have soft mouths that do no damage, they will not be considered dangerous. If they don’t, and eventually cause injury to a person or another dog, they must be kept isolated. If that happens, the quality of both your dog’s life and your own will take a nose dive. Bite inhibition is easily learned in puppyhood but it is time-consuming, difficult, and often dangerous to try to teach bite inhibition to an adult dog.
Throughout your dog’s late puppyhood and adolescence, watch for warning signs that he is becoming fearful and/or aggressive towards people – especially children, men, and strangers, but also family and friends. Fear and aggression towards people is quite easy to prevent because development of it is so slow and all the warning signs of a future bite are apparent by three months of age. For example, do you find yourself saying: “He takes a while to warm to strangers;” “He’s not overly fond of children;” or “He’s a bit touchy around his food bowl or bones”? Some other obvious clues: “His recalls are slowing down;” “He never comes when I call;” “He’s a bit hand-shy;” and “He wriggles when I try to hold him.”
Savvy dog people would never miss these signs. If a dog doesn’t want to approach his owner, ducks his head when said owner reaches out, or struggles when handled and hugged, the poor thing is crying out for help. When (not “if”) the snap eventually happens, we desperately hope that the dog causes no damage. You can ensure this is the case by teaching safe and reliable bite inhibition during off-leash play while he is a puppy.
If ever your puppy/adolescent dog displays any of the above-mentioned warning signs, please seek help from a trainer immediately. Remember, timing is crucial, so don’t delay.
Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian, canine behaviorist, and puppy-training pio-neer. He is the founder of SIRIUS® Puppy Training and Scientific Director for www.dogstardaily.com.
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