The sensitive period of socialisation
The sensitive period of socialisation starts at 3-4 weeks of age, ending approx at 16 weeks (for some breeds its around the 12-14 week mark). The reason this is called the ‘sensitive period’ is it’s because this is when your puppy’s neuroplasticity (how flexible the brain is) is at its HIGHEST and they are more sensitive to experiences. Exposure to stimuli at this age affects the development of the brain and it’s flexibility. The exposure your puppy gets should be positive, as anything traumatic and scary that they haven’t had the chance to overcome will be very strongly imbedded once they are passed their sensitive period.
At this age puppies should be introduced to ‘mild’ stressors and given guidance and strategic ways to become resilient from mild stressors (for example being introduced to novel objects/experiences puppies can feel naturally reserved and cautious but when given time, choice, and paired with tasty food they come to enjoy novelty because it’s pleasurable).
Socialisation as a whole should carry on well after 16 weeks, as the brain is still flexible and has the ability to change it’s just not as sensitive as it was prior to 16 weeks.
If you’re picking up your dog at 8 weeks old, that’s an ENTIRE MONTH your puppy is going through a hugely critical stage that the breeder is responsible for. Ask the breeder what they are doing in terms of socialisation: introducing pups to novelty, sensory experiences, handling, noises, exposure to dogs/animals other than their littler. If you're reading this well after you've taken your puppy home and you have no idea what the breeder has done with them; work as if they haven't had any exposure. This means taking it nice and slow, pairing new experiences with positive results (such as tasty food) and look for any signs of hesitation and nervousness and note these down.
What about the individual in front of you? YOUR DOG
Socialisation is NOT a one size fits all type of deal. If you have a dog who appears to be more nervous, introverted and easily overloaded (the library dog); they do not need the same experience as the puppy down the road who is extroverted, confident, and curious about everything (the disco dog). One dog may need much less exposure and making sure they have plenty of choice, positive outcomes, and reassurance. Whereas the next dog might need guidance in a completely different way, can cope with lots of information and strives to seek out more.
So what does socialisation actually involve?
Google will tell you a different answer on every site you click on. But essentially socialisation is your dog learning key life skills while being exposed to the world, developing relationships and communication skills with other dogs, people and the environment.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Socialisation is not free, unstructured play with other dogs.
You’re never going to be able to expose your puppy to everything in the world in the small window that you have. So when people say your dog should be meeting X amount of dogs and people, which is what has been drilled into everyone about socialisation for so long. If you’re only concentrating on getting your puppy interacting and exposed to all these different dogs and people, you’re leaving NO room for exposure to the MORE important stuff. This might be part of the explanation of why so many dogs have issues in late puppyhood and adolescence of over excitability and not able to concentrate when there are dogs and people around, because during their most sensitive period where experiences are solidified in the brain, dogs and people were the things they have most value with. However, realistically in day to day life you are going to need your dog to be socialised with novel sights, sounds, odour, textures, environments, vehicles, AND people and dogs, not just the latter. Trust me when I say that your puppy doesn’t need to have constant face to face interactions with other dogs and people to have positive socialisation and exposure to them. Of course it’s important to have these interactions especially with other appropriate dogs, but it’s also hugely beneficial to learn that dogs are around close by but hanging out with YOU is more important and fun.
Socialisation ideas
Instead of listing everything again, here are 3 great links to a list of typical stimuli you need to think about when it comes to socialisation and positive exposure with your puppy. Of course there is plenty of opportunities to learn social skills around dogs and people but there is SO much more to it than that.
KEY TAKEAWAY: You will NOT be able to acomplish all these things in the sensitive window, think QUALITY over QUANTITY, if your puppy only meets 10 dogs but they are all emotionally stable friendly dogs that can teach your puppy skills, this is better than meeting 50 dogs with an inconsistent or negative experience.
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