Socializing puppy

[Lisa Koch]

Hi all we are new her and are waiting for our boy to come home the 1st of December! How can I socialize puppy in the winter? We live in Minnesota so we have long cold winters but know this is one of the most important things. We do have a small yorkie, a cat and the four little girls six and younger. I want him to be use to more then our family. We are planning on starting puppy classes right away. Other then that do you just force yourself to be outside with them or hangout in a pet store? Any ideas on pet friendly places? He will be riding in the car with us everywhere. We just want a really well adjusted puppy. Love our Augie boy already❤

[Kaitee and Orwell]

If you are taking him everywhere in your car, take him to pet friendly places like Home Depot. I wouldn't recommend taking him to PetCo or Petsmart until he is completely protected with vaccinations. 

Welcome, by the way... can't wait to hear more about the cute little guy. (:

[Lisa Koch]

Wow that is news to me. I had no clue you could take them to Home Depot. Any other places that you know of?

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I don't know if they have these over in Minnesota, but Ace Hardware in addition to what Emily listed.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Welcome! 

Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowes, & Home Depot are favorite spots for our dogs. 

PetCo had a puppy play time on Saturdays for puppies with age appropriate vaccinations. They had it in a fenced in area and had protective covering on the ground. It was divided into age groups and was a welcome play time for us with a puppy in AK in the Winter. Maybe see if your local store has play times? 

Socializing with friends dogs whom you know are healthy is a good way to introduce your puppy to new social situations too. 

[BG and Gavin]

Here is a nice little chart to use to track all of your socialization.  We got something similar in puppy K and found it helpful to keep us moving forward to tick all of the boxes.

http://dogpact.com/Services/Training/Pet_Manners/socializeChart.pdf

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I would put him in a baby sling if it's very cold and hang out when children are coming out of school. Also encourage older people to gently stroke him under his chin. Stand where there is a lot of noisy traffic, get an umbrella and a bike and let him see men wearing hats. Find videos on-line of storms and fireworks and play them turning the sound up gently to get him used to the noises. Taking him in the car everywhere you possibly can will be so good. Some puppies get car sick so be prepared but don't let that stop you just go prepared as they usually grow out of it. Good luck with your new puppy and get lots of rest before he arrives :)

[Leslie J]

We also invited lots of friends/ relatives/ kids to come "meet the puppy". I wanted her to be accustomed to different people coming to our house so she wouldn't become over protective. Luckily, people love to come cuddle puppies :-).

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Our way of socializing the doodles with other puppies was to join a weekly, 1-hr 'puppy romp' session, held at a local doggie day care center. Check around your area, or ask your vet if they know of day care centers that offer the service. For us, the facility we took the doods to accepted puppies 10 weeks up to 6 months old, with up-to-date vaccinations (the younger pups were not fully vaccinated). The cost was something like $8 per session, so it was reasonably priced, and so worth every penny.

Okay, I'm not going to give up an opportunity to post a video from one of Oscar's first puppy romps! He was 12.5 weeks old here:

[Wendy and Myla]

When we first picked up Myla from our breeder, I asked her the best way to socialize.  She told me that many people think that socializing the puppy is just to meet different people. but she thinks that socializing means exposing the puppy to as many new things as you can when they are a puppy without overwhelming.  I took that to heart and tried to think of everything that Myla would be exposed to living with us.  We took her to horses, cows, chickens (you can tell we live in the country), streams, train tracks, lakes, logging trucks etc etc.  My FIL was in a nursing home and that was the best for us - she went in an elevator (that was hilarious) and saw people in wheelchairs, walkers, funny voices etc. We also took her to our grandkids house with their dogs, cats, hamsters and of course little people!  I think that you just have to go where you always go and take her with you - just in a sling or stroller until she has had all of her shots.  They are the most resilient when they are puppies so expose her to anything you think she will be exposed to later in life!  Of course, with four small girls, she has the best exposure ever to kids!!!  Have fun!!!!