The undeniable importance of early socialization cannot be understated. The goal period for socialization is 7-24 weeks old. The rule of thumb for puppy socialization is to make it a goal to meet at least 100 new people and 100 new dogs every month during that time. Studies show that socializing your young puppy with other dogs, people, and animals between 7-24 weeks of age drastically decreases the chance of reactivity when the dog gets older. At Petco, we offer a free Puppy Playtime Seminar at 1:00 pm, every Saturday and Sunday. This gives you and your puppy a special opportunity to be around unfamiliar dogs, unfamiliar people, in an unfamiliar environment. Socializing early and frequently puts your dog in a position for success as the puppy grows up and decreases the need to desensitize the dog to these kinds of stimuli later in life.

Be careful not to fall for the false narrative that your dog must have complete vaccination before socializing. Please do not misunderstand, proper vaccination is imperative, and though I encourage caution, the risk of adult reactivity far outweighs the possibility of our vaccinated puppy becoming ill. Most establishments, including our policy, requires a puppy to have received two rounds of shots from a certified clinic. With adequate cleaning and sanitizing, the chances of a disease spreading are low–even in a controlled public space like Petco.

A few years ago, I was given poor advice to not take my dog out until he received his rabies vaccine. Loving my dog, and not knowing any better, I refused to take my pup out until he was about 5 months old. Once he got his rabies vaccine, I was excited to take him to a campsite where my family was having a get-together. He took to the car well, but whenever he would see people or dogs, he had no idea how to act. Not taking him out around people and dogs left him without the proper confidence and social skills in public.

For months and months, I had to be careful about where we took him. We had to be very aware of our surroundings and could not let people or other dogs very close to us. His reactivity ranged from “alert barking” to lunging and growling. One of the first times we had him out, he snapped at my aunt out of fear, because he did not know if this new person was reaching to hurt him. Of course, my aunt only wanted to love on him, but he lacked that social experience growing up. It took time to condition him that reaching hands weren’t a threat, but usually an invitation to greet.

Today, Berkley is an AKC Canine Good Citizen. We can now take Berkley out into crowded areas such as the park, pet stores and I even use him as a demonstration dog frequently. But this did not happen without a lot of demanding work and effort, and I still must be careful and manage his behavior from time to time. Management for under-socialized or poorly socialized dogs is very important. For example, if someone turns a corner quickly or comes out of a door when Berkley was not paying attention, he sometimes startles and alerts. Sometimes it is a bark or two, and sometimes it is a series of bellowing barks. Just like children that are not properly socialized from an early age never reach their full social potential, Berkley will never be perfectly normal.

I share my experience with you: it was frustrating and discouraging at times. For some dogs, it isn’t so serious, and the effects can be helped; but for most dogs, these effects are irreversible. Don’t let this happen to your dog. Take the time and put in the effort to meet those 100 people and 100 new dogs every month, and it will only make things easier for you later. For those of you that are reading this and think, “my dog is without hope”, that is not necessarily true. I thought the same thing with Berkley. It’s not hopeless; it is manageable. But let’s avoid this happening to our young puppies at all possible costs.