animallover: how to socialize a puppy?
how to socialize a puppy and how to make a card box puppy bed?
please help
Photo Credit: elvissa/Flickr CC
Answers and Views:
Answer by GOTTA ♥ BOXERS(Gotta ♥ TWILIGHT)
You introduce your puppy to as many different friendly dogs as possible, go to dog parks and restaurants and places where leashed pets are allowed outside of the dog park.
Cant really tell you how to make a card box puppy bed, sorry!
Answer by catty
Visit your neighbors that have pets to see how your puppy will react with them. Most animals love puppies and they should get along great. To make a puppy bed, just put an old towel folded up and lay it in the box. Put it by your bed and put your puppy in it at bedtime.
Answer by Nicolas C
take the puppy to doggy daycare the park and pet co there all good places for you to socialize your new pup.
Answer by tj516
The key is to make sure your puppy gets exposed to everything he may ever be exposed to during his lifetime, while he is very young. The critical age of socialization is between eight and 16 weeks of age. If not exposed to new situations during this critical period, your puppy may always be fearful when exposed to new things in the future.
If you are a single adult, a couple without children or a senior citizen, you will have to go out of your way to expose your puppy to children of all ages. You can invite well-mannered children into your home to have supervised play with your new puppy. If you don't know anyone with small children, you can often find families with children at local parks. Keep some tasty treats available for the children to give your puppy so he associates them with food rewards.
When you have visitors come to your home, when the mailman delivers mail or the deliveryman brings packages, do the same thing. Give them a dog treat, have them make your puppy sit, and then give the puppy the treat for sitting. This will teach the puppy if he sits for strangers he will be rewarded. This is an excellent way to prevent your puppy from jumping up on people. Your puppy will also learn that visitors will come bearing gifts, instead of being something to bark at and to protect the family from.
Enrolling your puppy in a puppy kindergarten or a puppy training class will have many benefits. This will be a way to take your puppy out of the house once a week where he will be exposed to many new situations during a critical period of socialization. Be sure to choose a puppy training class where the emphasis is on having fun and meeting new puppies and their owners. Instructors should use only a buckle-type collar and never a choker or pinch collar. Basic training using praise and food rewards for motivation will make you and your puppy enjoy going to class.
Answer by cleosgirl2345
Can't help you with the card box puppy bed..?
Anyway, people socialization requires having kids as many kids as you can get him around (parks are good for this if you don't have your own or neices and nephews). Take his food away, mess with it while he's eating, give it back, basically do whatever a kid would do.
Introduce him to as many dogs as you can very early and very often. Ensure that both sexes are involved. Big grouchy animals, cats and dogs, get that they are dealing with a puppy (mostly, not always) and give him/her a break. If you can have him around cats and dogs that would be great. No easy though in many cases.
As far as people, have your family come by often, initially.
AND YOU, you love the heck out of him, discipline him and reward him so he knows his boundaries. Like children, dogs just really want to please their masters (and don't let him/her train you, be clear who's the boss) if you get mad, they get sad, so just be clear...
You're a good parent, I feel it by your very question. I hope others have good advice too.
Answer by Saprina S
Why don't you go to Food Etc and ask for some banana boxes, they are very strong and sturdy for your puppy to sleep in comfortably (they are also free).
If you are worried about socialization, you should take the puppy to puppy classes, that way the puppy can get used to other dogs and humans as well. By doing that you will also be teaching your dog basic commands too. That's what we did and we couldn't be happier! Best of luck to you and your new puppy.
Answer by Voelven
I have a check list and do one or two brief socialization exercises a day when I get a new puppy. Make sure the puppy doesn't tire out and make sure that ALL experiences are positive (you can add to the positive experience by giving it extra yummy treats), and that the places you take the puppy to are safe. Check with your vet regarding this. He/she will know you pup's vaccination schedule and the risk-factors in the area you live in.
My check list for what I had my puppy to experience from she was 8 - 12 weeks old (main socialization period) looked something like this:
- walk on grass, gravel, tile, wood, carpet, sand
- go to the beach, to the lake, to the forest
- go on a bus, boat and car
- go in an elevator and on an escalator (we didn't manage the latter. We have just one escalator in the area and it was out of order)
- go to a train station and see the trains coming in
- meet other friendly dogs, big dogs, small dogs, puppies like herself and older dogs, some of who were willing to let her get away with the most atrocious behaviour and others with a excellent dog language and who were safe, but who would not put up with any puppy nonsense (this teaches the pup respect for its elders and dog language)
- meet friendly cats
- on top of that I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to introduce her to horses, sheep, hens and rabbits
- meet friendly people, elderly, disabled, babies, children of all ages, people with funny hats, loud voices, spectacles etc.
- go to crowded places
- loud noises
Basically, I took her with me everywhere. She even went in a restaurant and to a business meeting I had with our accountant. :)
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