Puppy Socialization And Social Distancing - Part 2
Puppy Socialization and Social Distancing - Part 2
Hi. How are you? Still hanging in there I hope. These are strange and uncertain times we are living in and I hope that you are finding ways to keep yourself and your puppies entertained! This blog and the first in its series are my way to help keep life somewhat normalized. Socialization is till critical. Life will return to “normal” and your puppies will need to know how to proceed in the world.
If you missed part 1 of my series in puppy socialization while Social Distancing you can find it on my website HERE. Lots of creative ways to continue to socialize even when you can’t take your puppy out to meet loads of people or other dogs. Socialization is about so much more than that!
Today we are going to discuss the importance of helping your puppy become comfortable with being touched, handled and wearing equipment such as a collar, leash. These types of things often get overlooked for the more “fun” types of socialization like dog parks and play dates with friends, but it is crucial that dogs can tolerate and even sometimes enjoy strange handling for things like vet visits and of course that they are not fearful of their collar, leash, harness and more.
Handling - I love being touched!
When most* puppies are very young they are open to all sorts of experiences, this includes their owners and often, even strangers touching them all over, picking them up, handling their paws, ears and tail - but if we don’t condition our young puppies to realize this is a good thing or if we aren’t paying attention or pick up on cues that they aren’t enjoying these interactions we can end up with a teenage or adult dog that really doesn’t enjoy being touched or picked up. This can become dangerous if the dog feels threatened when they are at the veterinarian for a check up, being petted by a stranger or if they overall start to become averse to human contact. This is also no way for a dog to live, in fear of hands coming towards them! To avoid this we can perform regular handling exercises when they are young and easily influenced in order to teach them that being touched and handled is a good thing!
Handling is a wonderful way to communicate with your puppy, create a bond, encourage calmness and build trust. In order to do this you need to teach your puppy, at a pace they can handle, that being touched and petted is a wonderful thing. Without prior training puppies and dogs that are handled in a way that they don’t understand may become frightened or over aroused. This is the last thing we want, so it is very important to spend time teaching your puppy to be handled by all the members of your household.
It is important when doing handling exercises that your puppy learns they can trust you, so never restrain, or corner your puppy when doing these exercises. If your puppy wants to move away, let them. Take a break and start again in a few seconds or at another time if they are over aroused (biting, or trying to bite). You can practice while playing games like TUG with your dog, as long as they are not trying to bite you, to teach touching when they are excited!
First, make sure you have some super yummy treats. You can also fill a Kong or spoon with some peanut butter!
Next, pick a time when your puppy is already fairly calm and relaxed or slightly sleepy, not when they are already in an agitated aroused state, overly playful or excited. Only practice this for a couple of minutes at a time in the beginning as not to overly stress or excite you dog and teach them the wrong things.
TRAINER TIP*** Handling puppies while they are sleeping/very sleepy is great, but will not have the same associative effects as performing handling exercises when they are awake.
Step 1: Begin by just moving your hands towards the part of your puppies body you want to touch slowly, calmly saying YES as you move towards them, then deliver a reward after you move your hand away. This tells your puppy that a hand moving towards them predicts a good thing! It’s important that the order is correct and the dog receives the food AFTER you say YES the hand moves in as they will associate the food with the hand. IF feed before you touch/move they won’t make the right association and won’t learn the right thing.
Some puppies may be frightened or over aroused by any movement towards them in the beginning so take it slow, if they move away OR try to mouth, move more slowly or start with your hand farther away (or both). Repeat this step as many times as necessary. It could be 5 or 100!
Step 2: When your puppy is no longer backing away, OR trying to bite/mouth your hand when it comes towards them, begin to touch them for just few seconds on the side of their body (never the top of the head). Each time you touch say YES as you touch and deliver a tasty treat immediately after. Repeat this process a several times in the same place and again on different parts of the body, just touching lightly at first and slowly stroking your puppy. Don’t get too excited verbally or move too quickly as this may cause your puppy to become over stimulated. If at any point the puppy beings to try to bite you or wants to move away, end the training and try again when your puppy is calm. Never force these interactions.
Step 3: Once your puppy is comfortable with being touched briefly all over his body (ears, tail, paws, belly, mouth) begin to increase the amount of time you are touching your dog. This may take several sessions - days/weeks - don’t rush it! Touch places a bit more firmly to simulate possible brief restraint or vet visits. (we don’t want our puppies to be restrained at the vet, but they should be comfortable with slight holding for things like blood draws, vaccinations, emergencies etc).
Think about the following:
Pushing on the paws & nails - manipulating the paws
Opening the mouth, putting fingers in for tooth brushing
Lifting the ears and looking in
Lifting the tail
REMEMBER NEVER TO FORCE INTERACTIONS! IF YOUR PUPPY WANTS TO END THE INTERACTION, LET THEM! THEY MUST HAVE A CHOICE AND CONTROL!
Practice this with all (appropriate) members of the house until your puppy is comfortable being handled all over their body. Dogs to not generalize well, so they need to learn that everyone is safe and fun! Your puppy can probably handle these exercises once or twice a day for just a few minutes. This may take weeks to accomplish, or longer so be patient!
**TRAINER TIP: If you notice that the puppy is fixated on the hand that is holding the treats try holding the treats behind your back, this way the handling will be the predictor of the food, not your hand itself.
Remember to always pay attention to what your puppy is telling you. Your puppy may not always do something as obvious as move away but may still be feeling nervous or scared, being able to read basic body language is valuable! Here are just a few of the important body language cues to look out for that may tell you your puppy is uncomfortable with what you are doing.
Ears back / pinned : If your dogs ears are back or pinned while you are touching them or trying to touch them, they are likely not enjoying the interaction - better to stop and try again later.
Wide /Whale Eyes: If you can see the whites of your dogs eyes and/or their pupils are dilated - there is a good chance they are not comfortable with what you are doing. Better to stop and take a few steps back and move more slowly next time.
Lip Flick/Lick: If your dog flicks/licks their lips when you touch them or reach for them this could be a sign they are stressed. This can be a hard one to decipher when food is present, but this type of lip flick is a bit different from the one you see when your dog wants a treat.
Turning head away/avoiding gaze: If your dog is actively avoiding you, this is a good sign they are not enjoying the interaction and you are doing more harm than good. Stop now and try again later, but move more slowly next time.
Won’t take food: If your dog won’t take the food you are offering, then they are way too excited or scared about what is happening, this is a definite reason to STOP. Take your exercise back several steps before proceeding next time.
Collar / Leash Desensitization
When teaching our puppies to be comfortable wearing strange equipment on their bodies, we want to take it slow, and not force anything. Remember we want to create a positive association with the item and that it is going to touch them. I recommend starting with a quick release buckle collar first.
Have some tasty treats and your puppies collar ready. Pick a time when your puppy is calm or sleepy, not aroused and playful.
Step 1: Begin by just moving the collar towards your puppy slowly, saying YES as you move towards them, then deliver a reward after you move your hand with the collar away. This tells your puppy that the collar predicts a good thing! It’s important that the order is correct and the dog receives the food AFTER the collar moves in as they will associate the food with the collar. IF you feed before you touch/move they won’t make the right association and won’t learn the right thing.
Step 2 : Once your puppy is comfortable with you moving the collar towards them and no longer trying to bite at the collar, or backing away from it, slowly begin to touch the collar to their neck/back for just a second or two, say YES the moment you touch and deliver a reward immediately after. Repeat this several times. If they back away or start to bite the collar or your hand, stop and try again later.
Step 3: Once your puppy is comfortable with you touching the collar to their neck all over, take both hands and place the collar around their neck without buckling, say YES as soon as you do this and reward. Practice this several times and once they seem comfortable with this, buckle the collar and deliver several tasty treats. If at any time the puppy tries to move away or bite, stop and session.
Once the collar is on, try to do something fun for a few minutes like play a game with your puppy to distract them from the collar and help create a positive association. After 5 minutes or so take the collar off and repeat again later or the next day! After a few sessions or once your puppy is comfortable, leave the collar on when it is safe to do so (never in a crate).
Once your puppy is comfortable wearing their collar, repeat the above steps with the leash replacing bucking the collar for clipping on the leash to the collar . Once clipped on allow them to drag it around for a few minutes several times a day, allow some biting and playing with it during this time - you will need to replace it eventually so I recommend starting with an inexpensive one :). Never pull or drag your puppy by their leash or collar!!! Their necks are more sensitive than ours and their muscles can be damaged, plus it is a scary experience and will only teach them to not enjoy wearing their equipment and walking with you.
Practice walking your puppy with their collar and leash around the house, offering tasty treats for following you and walking by your side. Allow them to explore, stop, sniff and yes even PULL! They are babies and just learning. If you make these early experiences nothing but positive then later on when teaching skills like loose leash walking, they will already enjoy being with you.
These exercises should keep you busy for a bit, but I’d love to hear your comments below on what you’d like to hear about next or questions about puppy socialization in general!
Melissa Dallier
A Canine Affinity