The Socialization and Fearful Period

Now that you have picked a puppy and have taken them home, the next growth period for the puppy is from 8 weeks to 3 months.  This period is called the Socialization and Fearful Period.  In this period of the puppy’s life, the puppy is experiencing a lot of changes.  Between being away from home for the first time and being away from his/her brothers and sisters.  This means that this transition can cause the puppy to fear the weirdest things.  So, it’s best to avoid loud noises, stressful events and harsh punishments.  During this stage, its important to give the puppy a lot of attention.  They will most likely be very sad and confused during the first couple of days you have the pup so it’s best to be by their side constantly, so they don’t feel alone and get depressed.  Additionally, by being by the dog constantly during the first couple of days the puppy will become attached to you and will learn to trust humans.  This makes a puppy that is really loving and kind to people, which everyone wants out of a dog.  At this stage one can start training the puppy but only simple command like sit, lay down and shake.  As the puppy’s brain isn’t fully developed yet the puppy won’t be able to learn everything just yet. You could also start leash training but don’t expect to get a perfect walking puppy right off the bat.  They will most likely bolt at new things they haven’t seen before walk in front of you a billion times and constantly try to bite the leash. It is also a good idea to introduce the puppy to car rides because if you wait too long to introduce your dog to cars, they might not enjoy the car rides or fear them and they might get car sick, so it’s best to start early. It’s also a good idea to take the puppy to new places to get them accustomed to new surroundings.  However, you do not want to take the pup to any unvaccinated areas since the puppy’s immune system isn’t fully developed it could be deadly if you took them to places where unvaccinated dogs might go.