A Few Ways to Socialize your Puppy

Getting a new puppy is an exciting and wonderful event! Whether it's one you fell in love with from the shelter, or a specific breed you know and adore, getting a new puppy is always fun! Along with the usual obedience and house training lessons, you have surely read or been told about the importance of socializing your puppy. Dog trainer Ian Dunbar wrote in his excellent book Before You Get Your Puppy:

"As a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to have met at least a hundred different people before he is eight weeks old and then meet an additional hundred people during his first month at home. Not only is this easier to do than it might sound, it's also lots of fun."

Socializing early sets your dog up for long term success. A dog that is friendly around other dogs and people (especially strangers) is a dog that is easy to own and live with, and makes for a relationship with more love. 

So you have the goal of how many people and dogs you want to meet by a certain age, so how can you meet this goal?

1. Visit your pups future daycare

Visiting your puppies future daycare is an excellent way to get familiar with the staff and facility, and more important get your puppy some great and easy socialization!

Even if your puppy is too young attend daycare or board at the facility, you can always introduce them to the staff! You know that they're going to be dog lovers, and depending on the staff size it could mean meeting 8-10 people in just one outing! (Even today at Wag Atlanta we had the cutest pug puppy come by that we all were thrilled to love on).

While you're there, take a tour and ask questions! At Wag Atlanta we give full facility tours between 8a-6p no appointment required. 

2. Visit Stores

If your puppy hasn't received all of their puppy shots, there is a risk of certain diseases, parvo virus being the number one concern. If you're carrying your puppy the risk of catching parvo is greatly reduced, since it spreads the easiest through an infected dogs urine and feces. So if you're worried about the risk, carrying your pup is a great way to keep them safe!

There are lots of stores that allow dogs. The two that are the best are Lowes and Home Depot (always call specific locations ahead of time to confirm they allow dogs).

Home Depot and Lowe's are great places for socialization for several reasons. Firstly, lots of people! There are plenty of people there that will love to meet your puppy, and give it great positive interactions.

Secondly, many of the patrons are contractors and construction workers who will have beards or wear hats. These are things that seem insignificant, but when it comes to puppys it's a big deal! Being exposed to these things young is extremely important to a dogs future confidence.

Lastly, there is a large variety of sounds and sights and smells. From the garden section, to lumber, to tools, your puppy can hear saws, drills, concrete being moved around etc. Hearing these things now is a huge boost in the socialization game for your puppy.