Socialization tips?

[Jack]

Hi everybody!  first post here!

Any tips for socialization for my 2 month old goldendoodle?   

I take him to puppy class at Petsmart but that's only 1x/week and he doesn't get much "playtime."    Im afraid to go to the dog park since he's so young.

Id like to see him play with other dogs around his age so he gets used to having other dogs around him.I  want to get a therapy dog certificate for him one day!

Thanks!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

The important factor here is: " fully vaccinated"

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I took Yogi everywhere I could think of to socialize him while keeping him safe. I went to a playground but held him on my lap, the kids wants nuts over him, went to the pet stores in a basket, Lowes on a leash, puppy classes, went to the circle at Xmas time to be near the horses, pulled up next a field with geese so he could look out the window... You get the idea, anything to expose them to new sights and sounds. I ran the vacumn cleaner( started it while he was in another room so he could come to it). Open umbrellas, walk on lots of surfaces, start the gas leaf blower, dropped things to make noise. Have people come over after the first few days. You want them to be used to children, men, women, people in hats, etc. I wanted him used to water so I took him to a lake so he could wade in ( it was starting to get cold, but I still wanted to expose him)
Probably the weirdest thing I did was go stand at a truck stop while holding him because I felt he hadn't been exposed to enough males yet. (They all loved him by the way)
Your window is small for this so keep at it and you will have a very calm well socialized puppy.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

LOL...I was trying to remember, just who it was, that hung out at the truck stop! Now THAT'S dedication to socialization! ;)

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

And I'm not too proud to admit it ;-)
As you've learned the time invested in it is so worth
the outcome !

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

LOL!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Just looked at his picture, he is so cute. I love the way his tail curls up

[Jack]

lol i didn’t even notice that the tail did that until YOU mentioned it!  Thx!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Socialization means exposing the dog to "stuff" like traffic or train noises, grates on the street, children at a playground, being near the school at dismissal time,  walking in front of the grocery store or other strip mall shops, large crowds (like at kids soccer), ummmmm.... ie. whatever you can think of.   Not all at once, of course, but over time.

[Jack]

yes i understand, but dog<>dog socialization is also important too.  I asked the question because my previous dog was great at everything else except when it came to playing/greeting/dealing with other dogs

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

We started yogi in puppy classes at 10 weeks for exposure to other dogs. Had my daughter bring her dogs over, took a tarp over across the street for our puppy to be on as he greeted a neighbor dog who I knew was safe. FYI the puppy class bleached the floors after the regular dog classes.
Also the trips to pet stores riding in a cart, we would see other dogs.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Like others here, I pushed Finn around in a shopping cart at Petsmart and our local Pet and Feed store. Lots of car rides, and carrying him around town.  Vacuums and hairdryers LOL Once he was fully vaccinated - a whole new world opened up. Walks at the lake, in town, visits to friends, family, and groomers (even though he didn't need grooming yet), playdates, playgrounds, walking around arts festivals, etc. (anywhere there might be lots of people).  It was fun finding 1-2 new places a week to take him.  Doodle pups draw people like a magnet!  You can find lots of places and events, no matter where you live. If you're interested in therapy work, I suggest talking to some local nursing care or retirement facilities.  Tell them you're interested in training him for therapy work. I found that some facilities will welcome a pup if he's housebroken and reasonably well behaved.  Just for a walk-through or to sit outside as residents come and go. Wheelchairs and walkers were no big deal to Finn by the time we started CGC training.  The vacuum was more of a challenge.  I'd leave it running and put treats on top of it :)  Have fun!