As a dog trainer, I looove working with puppies and find myself talking about puppy socialization A LOT on a daily basis!

A question I get often from my clients about puppy socialization is “Why do it and how do I socialize my puppy safely and effectively?”.

If you are a new puppy pawrent, I want to assure you that there is PLENTY you can do to help your puppy adjust to living in our human world.

But before we get into the meat of it, what exactly is socialization?!

The definition provided by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior is:

The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing over- stimulation manifested as excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance behavior. For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.

The socialization period is important because it will provide your puppy with the social skills needed to interact with other people and dogs comfortably and confidently, while preventing your puppy from becoming fearful, shy or skiddish in the future.

Here are the main puppy socialization categories and our tips on how to introduce your puppy to those safely and effectively:

Human Interactions

Inviting over close friends and/or family members can be a great intro to new people. Be sure to let everyone know that you need their help with puppy socialization and that the goal is to make it a positive experience so that they give your puppy space should s/he need it.

At its core, the main goal of socialization is to create neutral or positive experiences and we can certainly create those by getting our pupz used to being around new people or watching people out and about from a distance!

Taking your puppy on walks (while you carry them, or teach them leash skills) can be a great option for observing different humans too! Sit down in a quiet area and allow your puppy to take in the environment. You can work on creating positive associations by marking with a “yes!” and rewarding your puppy for looking at different people.

(HERE is a link to our podcast episode on "How To Train Your Dog Effectively" for more info.)

The lack of direct interactions with others will actually be beneficial for shy & fearful pups who often find themselves terrified while being handled by excited humans.

Another benefit of calm observation is the fact that your puppy won’t get magnetized to people!

It has happened to many of us — we let an excited person greet our puppy while saying they don’t mind the jumping, then the next thing you know, your puppy wants to meet every single person with the same amount of energy when out and about!

Some skills you can practice while observing different people are:

Playing the “Name Game”. As your puppy looks at a person, say the puppy’s name, and when they look at you, mark with a “yes” and give him/her small reward. This will teach your pup to disengage from others and to respond to you reliably instead.
Asking Your Puppy to Engage With You (whether through play or eye contact) while walking by another person. This will teach your pup to walk by distractions without pulling towards them!
Asking Your Puppy to “Sit” or “Look at You” before engaging with another person or dog. This will teach your dog to ask politely for those interactions.
Observing People Riding Bikes, Scooters and Skateboards. Marking with a “yes” and giving a reward when any of those appear, will help your dog become used to, and not become afraid of, this equipment, as they are some of the most common reactivity triggers for many dogs!
Playing A Variety of Recorded Sounds for your puppy and pair those sounds with treats or play to get them used those. You can grab a free library of sounds here.

2. Other Dogs & Animals

Introducing puppies to other dogs allows them to learn how to play appropriately and how to use body language and read body language in order to communicate.

Exposing your puppy to cats, squirrels, bunnies, birds, etc. can also help reduce future prey drive, reactivity or fears.

Meeting well-socialized and up-to-date on vaccinations adult dogs can be an invaluable experience for a young puppy. It is preferred that you know the dog to ensure it will be a positive interaction, so asking a friend for help will be a good option here.

You can also set up a playdate with another puppy. (Puppies who have had their first round of vaccines within the last 14 days and have a negative stool sample are safe playmates.)

Playing with other puppies helps when it comes to practicing “bite inhibition” (your puppy learning to control the strength of their bite). Puppies may roughhouse with each other, but if they get hurt during play, they will yelp and withdraw for some time. This teaches the puppy to be more gentle if they want to continue playing.

While your puppy is playing, practice calling your puppy over and giving them a reward when they come to you. This is great practice that will help them listen to you, even around other dogs. Make sure to incorporate breaks from play, in the event your puppy gets too rough or overexcited.

It’s important to teach your puppy to calmly observe other dogs, as well, as they walk by so that s/he learns that s/he doesn’t have to play with every single dog in sight.

And make sure, from time to time, to practice your pup’s basic manners skills (Sit, Touch, Watch), while other dogs are nearby. This will help them learn to focus on you around distractions.

3. New Experiences

These will teach your puppy to be calm in different situations and will build their confidence when it comes to exploring their environment. Pair new experiences with play/food/treats for best results. Here are some ideas you can implement:

Play a music instrument some distance away from your puppy. If you don’t have one, find a YouTube video and play that.
Open an umbrella, show your puppy a balloon, or show them a mirror.
Expose your puppy to loud noises, such as YouTube videos with truck, car or helicopter sounds. Check out our free puppy socialization sound library!
- Important: Play YouTube videos of thunder and fireworks, as well! These are common noise phobias that can be avoided if introduced in a positive manner. Begin in a low volume while playing with your puppy, giving them treats or feeding them meals. Then gradually increase the volume! This will teach your puppy that those sounds predict good things instead of being associated with fear!
Take your puppy to a river, a lake, an open field, etc.

4. Care & Handling

Getting your puppy comfortable with being handled with these exercises will prevent your puppy from becoming uncomfortable being touched, groomed or washed as an adult dog.

Brushing their fur.
Brushing their teeth & gums with your thumb.
Introducing your puppy to a nail clipper and the sound of a nail grinder.
- Touch your pup’s nail with the clipper and give a reward.
- Start the nail grinder and give a reward.
- Creating positive associations right now and showing your puppy that this is not a scary experience will really pay off in the long run.
Putting on snow booties and a raincoat on your puppy.
Picking up your puppy; practice gently restraining your puppy is your arms.
Giving your puppy a massage, touch your puppy’s ears, paws, tail, lift mouth to look at teeth.
Filling up a bathtub with a little water and introducing your puppy to water. Bathe your puppy.

5. Surfaces

Walking on different surfaces will help build your puppy’s confidence. These surfaces include:

Grass, cement, wood & metal surfaces
Snow, mud, and sand on a gravel road
A slippery floor, tiles, stairs, uneven surfaces
A chair, plastic containers and cardboard boxes
A bridge, street or sidewalk

6. Prevention Training

Resource Guarding (Tips for Meal Times) — Most of us have heard the old adage about messing with your puppy’s food as they are eating. This, however, can cause more trouble than help!
Imagine you are enjoying your meal and then your sibling comes over and starts messing with you, touching your food, taking away your plate. Would you learn to share, or would you become more protective of it? The same goes for our puppies! I have heard many stories of well-meaning pawrents gone into more serious resource guarding because of these types of interactions. So how should we go about it?
- Teach your puppy that when you approach them while eating, the most fabulous rewards appear in their bowl! Grab a piece of chicken, or something else that’s more exciting than kibble, approach your puppy and toss the treat in their bowl, then walk away. Repeat this randomly during meals.
- Practice taking something away from your puppy by approaching your puppy's food bowl, tossing a treat in it, and once they are done eating it, pick up the bowl, place another treat inside and then place it back down for your puppy to eat. Repeat this randomly during meals.
Separation Anxiety — Puppies generally have a hard time being left alone. This may be a completely new experience, assuming they’ve been with their mom and siblings prior to arriving at your home. However, even though we currently spend a lot of time at home, we should prepare our puppies for being alone eventually. Here are some tips:
- Crate train your puppy and provide this space as their down time/chew time/nap area. Here are some tips on how to crate train a puppy. Allowing your puppy to spend time by themselves will help teach them to self-soothe and nap undisturbed.
- Make your puppy a chew-a-holic! Providing your puppy with a variety of different chews & interactive feeding toys will teach them to self-occupy with appropriate items. Prepare a special frozen Kong for your puppy before you leave them alone. This will keep them busy and get their mind off of missing you. Plus you preparing to leave may teach your puppy to expect a special chew — that’s exactly the opposite of separation anxiety!
Basic Manners Training — Training your puppy to respond to different cues is not just so you both can show off to friends & family! Training helps establish a common language, a way to communicate with our pups, and to build a stronger relationship. Puppies learn fast and they need both physical and mental stimulation. Positive reinforcement training helps not only teach your puppy WHAT TO DO in different situations (which is super important), but it also helps motivate your pup to WANT TO DO the things you ask, because the interactions with you are fun and rewarding!
To learn about what puppy training entails, please visit our page here.

There is No Better Time Than Now

Remember that every puppy is an individual and both nature and nurture play a role here.

Our goal during the socialization period is to create neutral or positive experiences with the world around us. If your puppy gets scared during the process — help them bounce back by encouraging them to explore, showing them that the stimuli isn’t actually that scary after all, and pairing that experience with treats to create positive associations.

Never force your puppy into interactions — always allow your puppy the choice to move away. You can always create a training set-up to help your puppy overcome their fears by careful and positive exposure later.

And last, but not least, you don’t have to go at it alone! There is no better time than now to square away many of these behaviors with a positive-reinforcement dog trainer, many of whom are offering private or virtual puppy training sessions, including yours truly! I also host in-person puppy socialization & training classes every month that you can learn more about on our events page.

All the hard work that you put into training your pup will pay off with a lifetime of love and companionship!

Stay healthy and happy training!

For more information about puppy socialization, check out our podcast episode with the authors of the book, Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It, Eileen Anderson and Marge Rogers below!