New Puppy 101 – 5 Tips To Socializing Your New Family Member

New puppy tips.

Congratulations, you’ve brought home your new puppy!  Now it is time to help him learn how to live in his new world and make him comfortable around new things such as the mailman, the vacuum cleaner and the occasional guest.

1. First of all, you want your puppy to meet new people. This means both inside your home and out and about at new places.  When your puppy engages successfully with new people reward him for demonstrating a good behavior.  Initially, it is a good idea to introduce your puppy to new people on his own turf – at home.  When new people come over, suggest they crouch down low and let the puppy approach them on his/her own time.
2. Once your puppy enjoys new adults, introduce him to kids for a short amount of time.  Sometimes children might accidentally play too rough with your pup so make sure you supervise them constantly in the beginning.  As an alternative, if you bring your dog to a park your puppy will likely draw kids to him on his own.
3. Next you will want to socialize your puppy around other dogs.  A great way to do this is to bring your dog to a dog park.  This way you can let your pup decide who to meet and for how long.  It is also helpful to host doggie playdates.  Invite friends to bring their dogs to your garden or backyard for a game of Frisbee or ball chase.
4. If you have other pets, introduce them slowly to the new puppy.  By keeping the new puppy in a kennel, this allows the new pet to visit it through the safety of the bars.  Gradually extend the length of these visits until you allow them to meet face to face.
5. Lastly, you should introduce new experiences to your puppy such as vacuums and other types of loud things around the house.  First let your puppy check out the quieted item, then place your puppy a safe distance away before turning on the object for a second or two.  After you turn it off, stand the object up and call your pup to you.  Reward him with affection.  Lastly, after the noise has been turned on try calling your pup.  After a while loud noises will not bother him.

Putting in extra time when you first get your puppy to socialize him is a labor of love that will pay off later – for both you and your pup.