Pandemic Puppies
The 2020 pandemic has brought many challenges, for sure. It has changed how we socialize, how we work, but it has opened up opportunities to welcome puppies into our lives because we’re able to spend more time raising them compared to pre COVID days when we spent more time away from home.
But with these “Pandemic puppies” comes extra challenges, because, like us, they are not getting the necessary socialization, and unlike us, a puppy’s developmental time-line to get appropriate socialization has an expiration date, so to speak.
When most people get a puppy, the first thing they think of is getting him trained such as potty training, leash training, come-when-called training, etc..These behaviors involve “task learning”, which can be compared to a human learning how to read, write, do math. No doubt, while very important, however, these tasks can be taught anytime during the puppy’s development. Clearly, we want Pup to be trained, but I use this example, because we need to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to influence Pup’s future through socialization.
We use the word, “Socialization” a lot, and from where I’m sitting, many pet-parents interpret that to mean that their dog needs to play with other puppies at the dog park or in a puppy-training class that offers playtime. But that couldn’t be further from the meaning. When we socialize a puppy, it means we take advantage of the very small window of time in our pup’s life, before 14 weeks old, when he’s emotionally open to experiencing environmental stimuli, and we introduce him in a way so that he has a good feeling about his experience. Once the window begins to narrow, Pup is not going to be as open, and suddenly the puppy who is lacking in experience and or lacking in positive experiences, may begin to exhibit fearful behaviors when exposed to novel stimuli.
Some service-dog organization understand this, so take for example, Leader Dogs for the Blind. They train dogs to assist visually impaired persons, however this begins with puppies as early as 7-8 week old. Their program teaches volunteers how to raise their puppy in such a way as to be socialized to the vast amount of environmental stimuli that will prepare Pup to go into the rigorous training program when he’s about 12-14 months old. Keep in mind that not all dogs, even with early socialization, will be accepted into the program, as there are genetic and human factors that impact the puppy, however, many of these dogs can still be wonderful companion dogs for families, having had a great start in life!
Your new puppy may not have a future job as a service dog, however, he does have a future job to be a great companion. This is why it is so important to start early. This pandemic has made vast experiences not as plentiful as they should be and several months down the road, your pup is likely to display fearful or frenzied behaviors, having been raised in relative isolation.
The key is to find a professional who can demonstrate the best way to safely expose Pup to things that are new, scary or potentially scary. Later in life, having had a lot of “currency” put in his memory bank, he’ll have a lot to draw on, making him more resilient as he matures.
While it’s important to teach Pup where to potty, what to chew, how to walk on a leash, etc., the one thing you don’t want to overlook is this once in a lifetime opportunity to shape his future. Yes, this pandemic has made early socialization that much more challenging, however, as I said earlier, socialization is much more than letting Pup interact with other puppies. A knowledgable, positive reinforcement trainer or behaviorist can help you via a Zoom call or in-person, with biohazard gear:)
Happy Training and Enrichment!
