It’s never too early to start training your puppy. Like babies of any species, puppies start learning from the moment they are born. Ideally, the breeder or shelter where your puppy is born will have started safely exposing your puppy to new experiences before they come home with you. You can continue to build on that foundation as soon as your puppy comes home.
The Socialization Stage
The socialization stage of development occurs between three and sixteen weeks and it’s one of the most important times in a puppy’s life. Proper socialization teaches your puppy how to be comfortable and confident around all the people, places, and things they’ll encounter in the human world.
During the socialization stage, puppies are especially sensitive to new experiences. Socialization will shape how your puppy will engage with other animals and people as an adult and what their overall temperament will be like. The idea is to gently expose your puppy to a variety of people, places, sounds, textures, smells, and etc. throughout this window of time. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has recommendations around safely socializing your puppy to new places, dogs, and people. This early socialization will help your puppy to be comfortable with new places and people in the future.
Puppy classes are a great way to socialize your puppy and to start their education off on the right paw. It’s a good idea to start teaching your puppy new skills like potty training and basic obedience as soon as…
How to train a new puppy: commands, rewards, socializing. Retrieved February 15, 2021 from https://embarkvet.com/resources/blog/how-to-train-a-new-puppy-commands-rewards-building-a-routine/
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