socialisation ends at twelve weeks ???

Hi grahama, good luck with Peanut when she arrives, we got Scooby when he was 10wks so he was quite old really, the advice from our vet was that if we were confident that the other dogs/puppies were up to date and Scooby stayed on our garden it was quite safe for them to mix, and mix he did !! He had friends round often and I think it did him the world of good, he's 9mths and a well socialised and happy dog, so go for it.

I took Oscar at 8 weeks to meet my friends Shi Tzu who was fully up to date with his jabs, it was the best thing i did, i let them lay regularly and they got on like a house on fire, and if anything, Oscar is too friendly and trusting of other dogs. So much that he was badly bitten

grahama said:

Hi,


I have been reading also that the best time for socialisation to occur is before 12 weeks old then it gets more difficult for them. How have you all found this pre and post 12 weeks??

Thanks in advance,

Graham

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Graham

There was a popular philosophy in the 70's-80's here in the states that a dog learned most of what it will learn by 14 weeks of age, and that a puppy should be picked up on the 49th day of it's life by it's new owner. In fact Richard Wolters, a gun dog training book writer, wrote a series of books that bounded this philosophy, and set about a macro schedule for dogs through the 1st year of their life.
There is some truth to his writings, in that a dog "learns a lot of what it will by 14 weeks". This is why this is a critical development phase for all aspects of development. Socialization, training, etc. Remember though that it will up to you to ensure that these are positive lessons, and not negative ones that could impact any facet of a dog's behavior for years.
You're going to have a blast! Lots of love, attention, interaction etc. Very easy training behaviors can be instilled in this critical phase, but they have to be introduced in small packets no longer than a few minutes long, and then go on to something else. Keep their minds engaged and active, but be careful not to over stimulate them which could lead to confusion.
Be especially careful of dogs up to about 2 years old. they still think they are puppies and will want to play, but Peanut simply won't be at that level and could get hurt.

Now to debunk all of what I have written about that philosophy. I recently took on a 2 year old female V that had been kenneled alone her whole life. Very little interaction with either humans or dogs. She was physically underweight, clumsy, weak, had no endurance and was socially retarded. Got her in shape, got her weight back up, let her find her coordination and turned her loose with a friends 2 Corgi's. It took a few weeks, but she learned to be a dog in time and has a blast with her special friends. Point being; With love, guidance, and attention, a dog's can overcome a lot of things and turn out just fine. Today she is just a sweet little dog, when I got her she was a little nuts.

Always trust your instincts. If a situation feels wrong for Peanut, it's wrong! Listen to that inner voice.