How to Socialize a Puppy: Comprenensive Guide From Birth Onward (2024)

by Janice A. Jones

Have you ever wondered just how to socialize a puppy?

Does it mean taking him or her to the dog park or introducing them to every neighbor, friend, or family member you have?

Maybe it means taking weeks off from work to acclimate your puppy to every possible sight, sound, taste, texture, and smell.

Actually no.

The process of how to socialize a puppy may actually be easier than you think.

Consider this.

Puppy Socializationshould start from birth but if you buy from a breeder or adopt, the chances are good that you will be getting yourdog at a much later time, mostly likely at the age of 8 to 12 weeks. What goes on from the time your puppy is bornuntil you get her makes a world of difference in how easy it will be for you totrain, but even more critical is how the dog will be as an adult.

How to Socialize a Puppy

Grisha Stewart, MA, CPDT-KA, from Ahimsa DogTraining, in Seattle, WA and the author of A Practical, Force-Free Guideto ProblemSolving and Manners suggests that very young puppies are just likesponges soaking up new information at an incredible speed until theyreach 12 weeks of age.

From 12-16 they continue to learn quickly,but not as fast as they did earlier.

When you think about it, puppies go from birthwhere their only sense is smell and the instinct to seek warm and food, to ayoung puppy that can run and play, learn commands, be potty trained, get alongwith litter mates, and solve problems.

In three short months, they accomplish as much as the average child doesbefore entering kindergarten.

What speeds up this development? Smarter dogs may benefit from an earlyenriched environment. This is nothingnew, but what is it that helps these puppies develop.

Margaret Huges is credited with creating thePuppy's Rule of Twelve. Adapting fromthe earlier work, the rule of 7 by PatSchaap, a professional dog trainer whomaintained that by the age of 7 weeks, a puppy should be exposed to 7 differentsurfaces, played with 7 different toys, been to 7 different locations and met 7different people.

The rule of 7 alsogoes on to propose that the puppy shouldhave 7 different experiences in a varietyof situation. For example, the puppyshould be exposed to 7 challenges, eaten from 7 different types of containers,been fed in seven different locations, and so forth.

How to Socialize a Puppy: Rule of 12

The Puppy's Rule of 12which expands on the 7-week list toinclude activities up through 12 weeks of age.

This presents a challenge for breeders who want to assure the puppies they are raising are wellsocialized. What are these 12 activities?

How to Socialize a Puppy: Puppy's Rule of Twelve

Experienced12 different surfaces: wood, carpet, tile, cement, linoleum, grass, wetgrass, dirt, mud, puddles, deep pea gravel, grates, uneven surfaces, on atable, on a chair, etc.

Playedwith 12 different objects: fuzzy toys, big and small balls, hard toys,funny sounding toys, wooden items, paper or cardboard items, milk jugs, metalitems, car keys, etc.

Experienced12 different locations: front yard (daily), other people’s homes, schoolyard,lake, pond, river, boat, basem*nt, elevator, car, moving car, garage, laundryroom, kennel, veterinarian hospital (just to say hi and visit, lots of cookies,no vaccinations), grooming salon (just to say hi), etc.

Metand played with 12 new people (outside of family): include children,adults (mostly men), elderly adults, people with wheelchairs, walkers, people with canes, crutches,hats, sunglasses, etc.

Heardto 12 different noises (garage door opening, doorbell, children playing,babies screaming, big trucks, loud motorcycles, skateboards, washing machine,shopping carts, power boat, clapping, loud singing, pan dropping, horsesneighing, vacuums, lawnmowers, birthday party, etc.

Beenexposed to 12 fast moving objects (don’t allow the puppy to chase):skateboards, roller-skates, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, people running, catsrunning, scooters, vacuums, children running, children playing soccer,squirrels, cats, horses, cows, etc.

Experienced12 different challenges: climb on, in, off, and around a box; go througha cardboard tunnel; climb up and down steps; climb over obstacles; play hid andseek; go in and out a doorway with a step up or down; exposed to an electricsliding door; umbrella; balloons; walk on a wobbly table (plank of wood with asmall rock underneath); jump over a broom; climb over a log; bathtub (andbath); etc.

Handledby owner (and family) 12 times a week: hold underarm (like a football), hold tochest, hold on floor near owner, hold in-between owner’s legs, hold head, lookin ears and mouth, touch in between toes, hold and take temperature (askveterinarian), hold like a baby, trim toenails, hold in lap, etc.

Eatenfrom 12 different shaped containers: wobbly bowl, metal, cardboard box,paper, coffee cup, china, pie plate, plastic, frying pan, Kong, treat ball,spoon fed, paper bag, etc.

Eatenin 12 different locations: backyard, front yard, crate, kitchen, basem*nt, laundry room,bathroom, friend’s house, car, schoolyard,bathtub, up high (on the work bench),under an umbrella, etc.

Playedwith 12 different puppies (or safe adult dogs) as much as possible.

Beenleft alone safely, awayfrom family and other animals (5-45 minutes) 12 times a week.

Experienceda leash and collar 12 different times in 12 different locations

All the experiencesshould be safe and positive and youshould have complete control to interveneif need be.

When I first learnedabout these activities while reading Grisha Stewart 's book, Ihad three thoughts about how to socialize a puppy:

1. What if the puppy I'm buying hasn't experiencedthese things?
2. How can I be sure that new puppy will have theseexperiences?
3. How does a breeder, even a good breeder haveenough time to do all these things?

What ifthe puppy I'm buying hasn't experienced Puppy's Rule of 12?

A Puppy whose has not experienced the rule of 12can still learn. Even if you get a puppyafter he has turned 12 weeks, don’t despair.Like humans, a dog’s brain is very malleable in the early weeks oflife. This means that they can learnvery quickly.

With positive experiences, the puppy has a muchgreater chance of developing into a well-adjusted adult. On the other hand, puppies and older dogscontinue to learn throughout their lifetime.The sooner, the better, but it isnever too late.

How canI be sure that new puppy will have these experiences?

You can always print out this list and post itsomewhere convenient. Try to provideyour dog with as many different experiences as possible without overdoingit. Puppies need rest, relaxation andsleep, so anything you do should be around those periods of sleep and eating.

Assuring that the Puppy has experiences with therule of 12 depends on who you have chosen for your new puppy’s breeder.

You will have more control of this if workingwith a breeder than if you adopt from a shelter or rescue. Puppiesavailable for adoption may not even be relinquished by the time they turn 12weeks. Remember also, that any puppiesavailable from such sources are not likely to have begun life in idealconditions.

If you are working with a breeder, you can alwaysask if she/he has heard of Margaret Hughes’ Rule of 12. If not, give her the link to this page orprint it out and give it to them. Ifthey feel you are unreasonable, keepreading.

How to Socialize a Puppy if You are a Breeder

How dobreeders accomplish all this socialization?

Before I could write this, I had to find out ifthis were actually doable.

So, I took alitter of 4 Shih Tzu puppies, two boys,and two girls, and put them through the trials.To make it harder, I did this in the dead of winter where at least 6inches of snow on the ground is the norm in my location.

How to socialize a puppy, became how to socialize an entire litter. This was my challenge and this is what I was able to do:

Eaten in 12 Different Locations

DidI succeed with the 12 by 12?

Asyou can see, many of my goals have been accomplished but not all. As of this writing, the puppies are sevenweeks old.

They will all go home by thetime they are 8 weeks old. Will they allexperience those 12 by 12?

The chances are good that the new owners willbe able to pick up where I left off, providing more experiences for their puppyby the time they reach 12 weeks of age. IfI had not begun the process, the newowners would have had much more work to do.

So,was it easy to accomplish 12 by 12?

Itis not impossible and it is not even that challenging, but the trick is beingaware that it is important to offer different experiences to the puppy.

The Most Interesting Part of This Experience on how to socialize a puppy:

The puppies were so well behaved. I did not hear much barking or yelping to get out of the pen because they were bored. Rather, the puppies wanted back into their beds because the challenges tired them out and all they wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep.

Help With Socializing a Puppy

If you have another dog or cat in the household, socializating that new puppy just got easier. How, you ask?

Simple, by putting that established dog to work. Richard, from Sacramento, CA, USA explains how Cinnamon, his spaniel mix helped teach a few house rules to his new puppy.

Cinnamon and Max - House Rules...
by Richard
(Sacramento, CA USA)

Cinnamon, our Spaniel mix, of about 12 years, is explaining the House Rules to our new baby Beagle.

Max, the Beagle apparently crossed a line and is being read the riot act in this photo.

It was Max's first day here.

Later they were inseparable.

Cinnamon never bit or went after anyone, or anybody in her 16-½ years with us. Though she looks a bit scary in the photo.

Our boy Max only made it 7 years with us, and cancer got him. WAY too soon.

Conclusion

Manysmall dog lovers are so ecstatic to bringhome a new puppy that all they want to do is hold the dog and carry himaround.

While this is a good way to bondwith that new puppy, we need to realize that the puppy is an individual too andneeds as many new experiences as possible.

Provide those challenges and you'll not only have a good puppy, but a well adjusted adult.

References and Further Reading For those Interested in How to Socialize a Puppy

Formore information on Rising Puppies (and adult dogs) may I suggest some of my favorite books. These books cover socialization, training, and puppy behavior and are a great resource for anyone with a puppy or who are thinking about getting a puppy.