I am super happy to see more breeders getting on board with socialization and confidence building. Sadly, I see many are doing it wrong. There is no way to sugar coat it. So many are copying what they see others are doing or taking things they’ve seen in videos, posts, info graphics, memes, etc and just running with it without any clear understanding or knowledge of what they are doing. I know what you are thinking, “Any socialization is better than nothing.” Wrong! Doing nothing is better than socialization done wrong.

I was anti puppy programs, anti trainers know more than breeders years ago. I’ve shared this story before, but I originally bought Puppy Culture to prove it was bullshit. My husband said “Why are you spending money on this stuff, you raise great puppies and have never heard anyone complain.” I was in fact learning with each litter, trying to add enrichment, trying to do better. But I had to see what the big deal was. So, I bought the Puppy Culture video and workbook and sat in awe as I watched the video. My husband watched amazed as I clicker trained 4 week old puppies, I was in awe as I was communicating with them by doing games like the box challenge and completely could not believe my eyes as I taught 5 week old puppies to mand. Shortly after implementing Puppy Culture into my breeding program I took the Karen Pryor Academy’s Puppy Start Right For Instructors course and became a certified instructor. I was obsessed with early puppy socialization, confidence building, enrichment and training. I followed that up with more puppy socialization, dog training and behavior, courses, workshops, videos, books….. did I say books?

I have a solid understanding of puppy stages, puppy development, fear periods, learning theory, classical conditioning, desensitizing, early puppy socialization, confidence building, enrichment, body language, problem solving normal puppy behavior, and how to train and instruct training foundations. I’m not saying you have to have all these things to socialize your puppy, but if you don’t have a basic understanding, chances are you are not doing it correctly.

Socialization is not just puppies meeting other dogs and people. Socialization is introducing the puppy to the human world in a positive reassuring way. It’s not just exposure it’s positive exposure. Novel Sights, Sounds, Textures, Objects, Handling, etc. Your goal is not to have your puppy overly excited for every new thing he encounters you want them to be unbothered, calm, neutral, and maintain focus on you. In order to do this the experiences must be kept positive. Allowing the puppy to explore objects at their own pace, noise introduction should be started on low or at a distance, use positive reinforcement to create positive experiences. In the past 6 months I have seen breeders physically force 4 week old puppies to interact with objects, thinking by repeatedly doing it that it that they are “training them” to repeat the behavior. Placing 6 week old puppies on top, or inside of objects and saying “look at our brave puppies”. When it’s obvious the puppy is frightened. I’ve seen a breeder banging pots in front of puppies to prove they are “confident”. I’ve seen breeder manipulate puppy posing to create content, placing their own dogs in unsafe situations for content, cutting off the video right before the puppy falls. I’ve seen breeders “train” their 8 week old puppies with leash pops, jerks and pulls in combination with harsh verbal corrections and telling their audience this may look cruel but it is necessary. Attending a training class does not make you a trainer anymore then taking your car for an oil change makes you a mechanic. And when you have a large platform people just blindly follow and believe you because you have used smoke and mirrors to create this false narrative that you are knowledgeable.

Using Puppy Culture does not make you a great breeder, but lying and saying you do when you do not actually put in the work or even know what the work is, or putting toys in the pen you see others are using and using buzz words like “I use puppy culture protocols” is being deceptive for profit. All breeders should be doing some form of early socialization, but doing socialization wrong is harmful, unsafe and can potentially create the very same issues you are suppose to be preventing, creating life long fear for the puppies. There are free and low cost resources, videos on YouTube, books, workshops, etc. The socialization period is from 3 weeks to 14-16 weeks, it starts with the breeder but ends with the owner, and it’s important that you too are aware of what socialization is and how to properly implement it.

In a world where everyone is an expert, everyone is a content creator and influencer, make sure you are being influenced by the right people. – Missy