Puppy Socialisation During Lockdown

Spring is always a popular time to pick up a new puppy. With many people having more time at home, it’s ideal for those first weeks when your puppy needs lots of opportunities to establish good toileting habits. New dog owners may be concerned about puppy socialisation during lockdown but actually, this is the perfect environment.

Many people confuse socialisation with interaction. This is a fundamental mistake that can cause big problems later on. Exposure to a new environment is not the same as interaction. You don’t want your dog to be afraid when the bin lorry comes round but you wouldn’t want them to run over to the lorry as it came down your street either. It should be the same with other people and dogs. Exposure involves allowing your puppy to see other people and dogs at a distance. They do not need to run over and interact. If you allow or encourage this behaviour, as times goes on, this will become their automatic response. You will then have problems with recall. Exposure satisfies curiosity without encouraging playtime.

It looks like some measure of social distancing is here for the long term. This will mean that you may be walking your young dog at a distance from other dogs and their owners for sometime. As a result, I can see this generation of puppies being some of the best behaved dogs out there. It’s a strange side effect that puppy socialisation during lockdown is actually a good thing.

With restrictions on travel now being eased to include travel for dog walks, now is the perfect time to book your new dog in for puppy training lessons to establish those essential foundations. If you live further away, my virtual puppy training is also available – just contact me for details.

Posted: April 23, 2020