socialization of pups

[Romance]

I have been asked to make a post about how i've been socializing my litter (will post pictures once i have time to down load them onto my comp.)
Monday night i took all 9 to my husbands baseball game. I braced them in groups of 3. we were mobbed by children and adults alike. pups loved the attention and after fell asleep under the picnic table i was sitting on until the game was over.
Tonight we have another game we are attending.
The importance of this is to expose the pups to as much new noise and all kinds of people as possible in 2 hours. the pups learn not to worry on loud noise and that most people are fun to be with.
Saturday i'm having a children's party to get the pups very used to children. Because i don't have any little ones of my own i have bribed the neighborhood kids with cake and pop, to come play with the litter.
It's important for young dogs of any breed to be well socialized, both while in the breeder's care and after they are in their new homes.
I tend to follow this list for socialization of pups

Socialization Check List


Types of People

Male & Female
Tall
Short
Bald
Long hair
With facial hair
Without facial hair
With high-heel shoes
In loose jogging cloths
Wearing hats
Wearing a poncho
Wearing a trench coat
In business attire
Police officers
Fire fighters
Loud people
Quiet people
Timid and nervous around dogs people
Black people
White people
Latin people
Chinese people
Any other ethnic background that the dog is likely to ever have to come in contact with
Veterinarian (preferably not when getting a shot)
Child under 1
Male Child between 1 and 2
Female Child between 1 and 2
Male Child between 2 and 4
Female Child between 2 and 4
Male Child between 4 and 6
Female Child between 4 and 6
Male Child between 6 and 10
Female Child between 6 and 10
Male Child between 10 and 14
Female Child between 10 and 14
Male Child between 14 and 18
Female Child between 14 and 18
Elderly male
Elderly female
People laughing and being social
Pregnant Women
People in Wheelchairs / on Crutches

Places to meet people:

*Parks
*Pet Stores
*Take puppy to work if you can
*Community Fairs
*Outdoor Concerts
*Community Parks
*Block Parties
*Garage sales
*Outdoor high school sporting events
*Periphery of playgrounds
*Near elementary school
*Parking lots of places kids go (zoo,daycares)
*Halloween trick or treaters!
*Invite your kids friends or neighbor kids over
*Child takes puppy to “show and tell” at school
*Take puppy to child’s friends birthday parties

[Karen]

Oh, and socialize with other non-sibling dogs, too, and maybe with cats if possible!

[Romance]

those are another good 2. i have 2 cats here and i often forget that others might not have cats. i know i take my cats for granted sometimes. For other dog interactions, i take them to outdoor shows, and start showing them in puppy matches at 3 months. this does 2 things gets them used to the ring and gives them other dog/puppy interactions.

.....for pups that nip while playing I tell children to tell pup in a firm voice "NO BITE!" and then ignore that pup and play with another one. What I do as an adult is hold their mouth closed firmly and say no bite. i hold the mouth closed until they submit.

[mike001]

What a list.....am I glad I don't have to raise pups. And I thought children were tough, he he.
How in the world do you manage all this and still not topple over from fartigue, send me that secret recipe.
You remind me of a breeder out here, that's what she does with the pups she breeds and what a nice bunch when they get to their new homes. I guess all that hard work pays off. I never forgot our first Golden, raised in basement kennels, never setting a foot outdoors...we had to give it up, it just wasn't able to adapt, so we took our vet's advice before getting into trouble and did what he said was best for the poor dog.
Keep up the good work.

[venus74]

I have an Akita that I got as a rescue at appx. 3 months old. Being a questionable breed as it is, and not knowing the parents, we were very diligent about socializing her. We have kids, so we took her to every soccer and baseball game and practice. Of course the kids all mobbed us! We brought small treats that we gave to the kids to give her. Now she loves kids!

Akitas are also known to be dog-aggressive. We took her to the dog park as soon as we were able (shots completed). We try to go a couple times a month. She is now 2 1/2 and we have never had a problem with her and other dogs.

She has also been to several obedience classes where she is exposed to dogs and people. She will still bark at most men, but after a few minutes she will come to sniff them and then she's their best friend.

I am a HUGE advocate for early socialization for any breed, but especially for those with a bad reputation. Socialization goes a long way in improving the image of some breeds.

[Romance]

It's to bad that more Akita owners don't socialize like you do. Socialization is the key and so many people just don't understand that. I have seen absolutely gorgeous dogs put down because of not being properly trained and socialized. not the dog's fault its the people's fault, but they refuse to take responsibility for it. and in the end it's the dog who pays for it...it's sad.
Next weekend we rented booth space at the local fair. not to sell anything...just so i can park myself and the pups some where and have the pups exposed to more sounds, smells and people....it will be an exhausting weekend but well worth it for the pups in the end. :D

[venus74]

I know what you're saying. It would have been so much easier to NOT bring Venus to all the kids sporting events, but in the long run it has definetely paid off.

I love to see peoples' reaction at the dog park when they find out Venus is an Akita (everyone thinks she's a Husky). All that most people have heard about the breed is negative, so I love to change their views (at least a little)!!

[RedyreRotties]

What age do you start taking puppies out, Romance?

I have had quite a few visitors here to the house where I can sanitize shoes, and have hands washed before they come in, but I'm TERRIFIED of Parvo Virus. I am just too scared to take them out before they are vaccinated.

[Romance]

They don't leave my yard until 6 wks. and i don't let people in to see them until 4 wks. but between 4 and 6 weeks they get several children and adults visiting about 3 days a week. after 6 weeks is when we start going to parks, baseball games etc. and they start showing in puppy matches at 12 weeks.

[mike001]

Puppy matches at 12 weeks would be so cute to watch. I watch a lot of kindergarten classes for pups and it's just too hilarious to see some of those pups and the way they interact. Sure wish I was in the market for a pup.

[Romance]

Skye was showing at the Nationals today in the puppy match. She didn't do too bad, it was her first time out. she took second in Canadian pre jr bitch class. her half sister took first.

[Catlady711]

What age do you start taking puppies out, Romance?

I have had quite a few visitors here to the house where I can sanitize shoes, and have hands washed before they come in, but I'm TERRIFIED of Parvo Virus. I am just too scared to take them out before they are vaccinated.

You are doing a good thing, and Parvo is someting to be afraid of! Puppies do not have proper immunity against it until a couple weeks after they finish the full series of 'puppy shots'.

[Romance]

finely got some of these pictures loaded up.

[RedyreRotties]

That is my plan as well. They will be 6 weeks tomorrow. I did the puppy Parvo/Distemper shots last Tuesday on their 5 week birthday.

I used the ProGard vaccine made by InterVet that has a very high success rate with over riding material antibodies and getting an immune response to Parvo in Rottweilers.

So this week I feel a little safer in taking them out to areas where there is not a lot of dog traffic. They will get a second vaccine on October 2 at 8 weeks, and then 5 of them go home the following Saturday, followed by another who is flying out cross country first of the next week.

I lost my last litter to Parvo at 9 weeks, so I have been very very careful.

[gardengirl]

That's a fantastic list of socialization activities! Here are a few more that I do in addition to yours:

People who are:
walking
running
bending
hopping
crawling
swimming
bathing
carrying things


People who are riding:
bicycles
skateboards
wagons

Surfaces:
grass
concrete
gravel
asphalt
slippery floor
stairs
sand or dirt
rocks
snow
puddles

Sounds:
doorbell
TV
radio
pots and pans
vacuum
stereo
clapping
dropping things
whistle
sirens
singing
car honking
balloons popping
noisemakers (party)
popcorn popping
electric saw
blend