Socialization: Distance is your best friend!

by Heidi Atwood

Puppy Socialization doesn’t necessarily mean introducing two puppies to each other or introducing a puppy to a person; it simply means that we are offering our pups the opportunity to learn about new things that we want them to consider normal in their world. Before fully vaccinating young puppies, we can safely offer socialization skills by carrying them, using a stroller or wagon, a front or backpack, or sitting in a vehicle with them. Your puppy will benefit by learning about the world around them, beginning at a young age.

Socialization in young puppies is best done within the 8-16-week window of opportunity. This window coincides with the first fear phase, making it even more critical to offer gradual and casual socialization. However, that window doesn’t slam shut at 16 weeks! You can still introduce your pup to new things as they come up, as long as you are not forcing them through their fears and you are helping them to consider new things completely normal. 

When puppies observe and hear people, other dogs, sights, sounds, and objects that they have never seen before, they might become overexcited or even distressed and become reactive instead of focusing on the handler for direction. We quite often find that certain areas can trigger extra excitement, which can lead to barking, jumping, and pulling on the leash to either get closer or farther away from the area. 

This is a time when DISTANCE is your best friend. There is usually a distance where a dog feels too far away to become reactive, so this is where we want to start - in their “comfort zone”. We also want to remain very casual about introducing new things to our puppies, so that they will pick up on our calmness, instead of feeling our stress.

Threshold training is a great way to offer socialization skills. We start by taking the pup to an area where they can see and hear these distractions from far away, at a distance where they can remain calm. This is our threshold. Imagine a line separating the area where the dog is too excited because they are too close, and a distance where they can comfortably watch from afar. This training can be done in parks, parking lots, outside the fence of a dog park or playground, while sitting in a vehicle, and other areas that might offer a variety of activities that you want your puppy to get acclimated to. 

Next comes the easy part! Reward and praise the puppy for calmly observing the potentially “scary” new thing. Let them look at it and even be entertained by it. Move your puppy closer as they can handle it calmly. Watch their body language for signs of overexcitement or stress. They happily observe if their ears are up and their tails are wagging. If they are getting overly excited, barking, trembling, side-eyeing, yawning to self-soothe, you are too close, so take some steps farther away, and turn around and look at the item with them. You may find that they can gradually get close enough to sniff and examine the new “thing” in their world, or you may choose to get closer next time you practice. 

Since I live in a rural area where dogs and people walking by are a rare sight, I drive to busy areas such as a shopping center or my vet’s parking lot, and simply sit with the pup in the vehicle watching traffic, people, other dogs, cats in carriers, etc. I bring along a favorite reward because it will be hard for the pup to focus on its handler in this type of situation. This is a time when we want to think about which high-value rewards will help the pup feel that it is “worth it” to remain calm and keep their focus on us. Just like training sessions, I keep these sessions fairly short, because it’s hard for a puppy to remain relaxed in exciting circumstances for longer periods of time. When we are done observing, I will take the puppy for a short walk, play with a toy, or otherwise give them a chance to shake off the stress and do something they consider positive and easy. 

My favorite success story is with a puppy that I took to an area where there were dump trucks and other large pieces of equipment, beeping noises, people shouting, and lots of excitement. We were casually walking around in a parking lot a distance away, and the pup was quite excited at first, but we were far enough away so that she sat down to watch the activity - and earn the rewards. In this case, I used bits of string cheese, because I knew it was a reward she couldn’t resist. After about ten minutes, the pup chose to turn her back on all of the excitement and focus on me and my rewards! I was so happy to see this progress. It won’t always happen in such a short amount of time, and you may need to revisit this training more than once, but making progress with each new situation is a great way to prepare your pup for all the things they may experience when they are out and about. 

Most people seem to know about the first fear phase, which coincides with handlers trying to offer early socialization practice during the first 8-14 weeks. Don’t be surprised later on when your puppy is suddenly fearful of things they have seen before, or more fearful of new things. This is the second fear phase, which can pop up quite suddenly around 6-8 months. Handle this the same way, by giving your pup as much distance they need to become reacquainted with this object, person, activity, or animal. 

Sometimes there are triggers that we don’t notice, and also don’t expect, so being aware of your pup’s surroundings, and constantly looking for any potential triggers is helpful. If you suddenly come upon something your dog is fearful or reactive to, casually turn directions, and put some space between your puppy and the object. Turn around a distance away, and simply look at it together, rewarding calmness, and letting them get closer as they feel comfortable. If your pup is older and is struggling with a new environment, new sounds, etc., you may need to give more distance and better rewards as you help them get acclimated to these new experiences. 

Get out and give your pup some experience learning about their world, keeping socialization training sessions short and positive. You will improve as you practice, and your puppy will become more able to handle new experiences and consider them normal.