Puppy Socialisation

In the past I have owned 5 dogs who were rescues, the last one passed away a few years ago and I've recently got a new puppy. since my last dog passed away I've had bad experiences with friends dogs that I've looked after who are completely unsocialised with other dogs, it was a nightmare to take them for walks and made life very stressful. I'm extremely worried about my puppy turning out that way.

She's a puggle (pug x beagle) but she appears a lot more pug haha. She's currently 10 weeks old and has learnt basic commands, shes also due to start a puppy training class when she is 18 weeks.

Until then, what can I do to ensure she becomes a well socialised dog? I've considered carrying her around places with me since she isn't fully vaccinated so can't yet go for walks, would this be ok? I don't have many friends with dogs so how can I teach her to act around other dogs?

I would be so grateful for any advice! thank you

Carrying her is a great plan, it allows her to experience the world from a safe place .

Socialisation is not about everyone and every dog meeting her. Think quality, not quantity. Letting all and sundry (people and dogs) near a puppy can be overwhelming and frightening - the opposite of what you want. Control the socialisation by being selective, especially with other dogs and kids. Look for calm role model dogs, and adults and children who can be trusted not to get over excited. Socialisation is not about plunging your puppy into every new experience, but rather allowing her to see, hear and get used to people and situations calmly and from a safe position.

I am in the same position as my puppy is 10 weeks old and I’ve been carrying her around and seen a few local dogs from a distance, but it’s not quite the same. Luckily we met my sister in law’s very old dog one day last week who we knew was up to date with his vaccinations.
I have found out that the chain store “Pets Corner” has a weekly puppy play hour at 9:30 on a Saturday morning which I will start taking her to next week. Not every Pets Corner store offers it but most do. She had her final injections on Friday and the vet said 5 days later she can go out and about. I don’t know if that chain store is Nationwide or just around where I live but it might be worth researching.
Also, your vets might hold a puppy socialisation session, ours does.
Perhaps google “puppy play sessions” or “puppy socialisation groups” in your area. You never know there might be something. Some dog training classes hold separate puppy socialisation sessions.
This is just an idea but maybe you could ask your local assistant-dog training organisation (if you have any in your area) and ask if they could put you in contact with the people who “puppy-walk” their dogs (they have volunteers who take in the puppies and socialise them and train them in basic good household manners until they’re old enough to go back to the centre for proper training). They might be more than happy to have their puppy meet up with your puppy; the dogs are usually from bloodlines that are easy-going and good with other dogs which would be good for your puppy.
Do you know of any friends that have dogs that would be good to socialise with? If not, there might be a dog-walkers group in your local area that you could contact. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask if someone’s dog is very good with puppies - it’s not being rude to ask - you’re just being a responsible caring owner by asking.
I would be cautious though because a very bad early experience with other dogs might be worse than no exposure! Be very selective. Let us know how you get on .

JoanneF said:

Think quality, not quantity.

Click to expand...

That's the key!

Baby Miles is our 2nd puppy, and this time - NO DOG PARKS for us.
We took him to supervised "puppy playtime" sessions.
Limited number of puppies, with trainers watching interactions, stopping bullying and making sure no one feels threatened or uncomfortable.
But still... it's a bit of a Wild West. Check out this video or Baby Miles trying to play with St Bernard puppies
Baby Miles was really never out of his comfort zone too far, I suspect he even enjoyed being jumped on by the bigger ones, and if given a few more weeks he would have probably found a way to have an upper hand even with St Bernards - but that's the point, it may be fun for them, but it's not a nice play, it's play-fighting.