When your eyes, nose and ears are knee high to a human,the world can be a very scary place!

Young puppies need to learn to relate to the world around them; to other dogs, to people, to places and things, to sights and sounds.

Up to the age of about 14 weeks, puppies feel little fear. During this window of opportunity it is essential to introduce your puppy to as many new experiences as possible. Your puppy will then accept these as normal and will not be frightened by them. You must be careful to ensure that all experiences are positive, controlled and at a level your puppy can cope with.

The 14 week age limit immediately creates a conflict, because your vet is likely to advise you not to take puppy out to public places until it has completed its vaccinations, usually at 13 weeks. However, with common sense and some organisation it is still possible to socialise your puppy from eight weeks old, while minimising the risk. Indeed, a good breeder will start socialising their puppies at an even younger age, before they leave their mother - we take our puppies out as soon as their ears and eyes are open.

It is generally safe to allow your puppy to mix with dogs that are vaccinated and in good health. Take your puppy to friends’ homes to mix with their dogs. Dogs communicate through body language and puppies learn this by being around other dogs and through playing and interacting with them. A puppy that has been kept away from other dogs will not learn how to behave with other dogs and this will lead to problems when it becomes an adult and could even lead to fights if your dog’s behaviour gives the wrong signals.

Properly run puppy socialisation classes where puppies are allowed to mix under careful control can be useful; but beware classes where there is no proper supervision and the larger, more boisterous puppies are allowed to bully and frighten the smaller puppies. We do not offer separate puppy socialisation classes, but you are welcome to bring your puppy with you to watch our classes and to meet some of the other members and their dogs.

On the following page you will find some suggested experiences for your puppy. 

Why not print the page and tick off the items as you complete them? 

Try to let your puppy experience each item as many times as possible.

click the arrow to view the checklist