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Fifteen
SOCIALISATION
The 1995 Annual
Report of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors
shows that there is a clear link between puppy socialisation
and behaviour problems. In fact in some cases a puppy
which has received no socialisation is over 50% more
likely to develop a behavioural problem then one which
has. Socialisation is the process of introduction
of young dogs to humans and other animals, in particular
dogs.
All animals
go through a critical stage of social development,
in the dog it is estimated to be between seven and
twenty weeks. During this period the young puppy should
be learning about its environment, exposure to such
stimuli as traffic, humans, dogs even the vet will
help the dog to adjust in later life to unusual situations.
After twenty weeks this critical development period
is over and it is more difficult to build the dogs
confidence in its environment.
There are
two factors to be considered here, first is the dog
which is raised or lives in a kennel environment passed
the twenty week point and the vaccination program.
In both these cases the young dog is isolated from
life outside its immediate environments. This can
lead to problems in later life, particularly fear
and phobia related.
It is important
that all dogs receive their protection against the
canine diseases and can be considered irresponsible
if you allow your dog to go through life without the
vaccination program. However you can still socialise
your young dog during this period. In fact Guide Dogs
for the Blind carried out an extensive research program
in this area and now instruct puppy walkers to carry
the dogs from six weeks old into the environments.
They stress that the dogs are kept away from other
dogs, not loose run and kept away from public areas
such as parks.
As long as
you get your dog vaccinated early there is no reason
why you cannot start socialisation with other dogs
at twelve weeks old. It is not unusual now to see
in the UK puppy kindergarten classes run at dog training
clubs, these are very low key training classes with
the focus on socialisation.
A majority
of people reading this will have received their dogs
at several months old and not really know the dogs
early history, especially if they are a Cypriot dog.
This does not mean that they will be a problem, our
last three dogs were all inherited at over two years
old and none had any problems. It is important however
that the dog receives socialisation training and a
very good way is to join a dog training club. Not
only will this socialise your older dog but can teach
the dog how to control itself around other dogs and
people.
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This article
was written by Paul C Bunker, a professional dog trainer.
You can visit the website at www.Southwestk9services.com for more articles and
dog training resources. You may freely distribute
this article or save to any electronic media as long
as it is left intact, including this copyright box.
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