behaviornerdwithahat:

justslowdown:

What’s especially worrying about this, is that the study’s baseline for “adequate socialization” seems to me like the very bare minimum! I can’t overstate how important those first few months of life are.

The socialization window starts at a very young age, so a reminder that if you’re getting a puppy from a breeder or rescue, look for a raiser who exposes their litters to all kinds of age-appropriate new experiences.

Just as an example, I trim puppy toenails at least weekly, starting at 1 week. Compare giving home-raised Kestrel a manicure to rescue Corvus… he literally shit himself the first time I did it :( Just now, 5 years later, are we finally past the “screeching and thrashing” phase. Kestrel just calmly eats her treats and doesn’t twitch a paw. Corvus only recently has realized he can eat peanut butter WHILE crying over his nail trim. Guess which one enjoys vet exams, and which needs to be sedated? A well socialized dog is a joy to take places.

This is also why I recommend all my puppy buyers take classes with their pup, even if they’ve owned dogs before. It’s not all about training. It’s about teaching them they can handle encounters with new people, dogs, and (which the article doesn’t mention) new surfaces, smells, sounds, and situations. Classes are just the start. Here’s some great examples:
https://www.avidog.com/wp-content/ebooks/97-Ways-ebook.pdf

It’s also important to mention that exposure is not the same as socialization! The number of baby puppies I’ve seen at festivals or outdoor concerts makes me cringe. Socialization means building positive associations with novel stimuli not just throwing as much as possible at a puppy and patting yourself on the back because you did so much to “socialize” them. See this fantastic article for more.