Last Sunday we went to the beach. We really like Crescent Beach on the East Coast, it is about a 2 hour drive from where we live. It welcomes on-leash dogs and is a short walk from the parking to the beach, most of it through a boardwalk, which makes it relatively easy to lug all the stuff we usually carry (chairs, cooler, umbrella).
So we took Oliver and his mom Holly as she loves the water and would be a good "role model" for him. It was his First car ride, First time on leash and First beach outing! and I was truly amazed at how well he did.
This beach outing is part of Oliver's socializing. It is very important that I expose him to a lot of places, things, noises, people and other dogs for him to grow as a confident and well adapted dog.
The ideal socializing period for a puppy is from 2 to 6 moths old and you know what? Time flies so I need to act fast because after this window of opportunity, socializing, though not impossible, will be much harder and I will really have to work very hard to help him overcome any issue he might have. So if life were perfect I should have taken the time to do each step individually; but the alternative would have been to not take him at all. I think that when it comes to socializing, "the more the merrier", so off we went on our "Three firsts" adventure.
Probably because there was so much other stuff to sniff and look at, he did not even notice he had a collar and a leash, watching his mom play retrieve in the ocean gave him a lot of confidence as he waddled, a little worried into that water that rolled back and forth and smelled funny. We were very lucky that the ocean was pretty calm that day, so we were able to carry him to the point where the waves were not crashing and he swam quite a bit. At home he swims in our pool two to three times a week, so this helped a lot. Walking along the beach lot's of people came to pet him which was really great for his social skills. Needless to say, he conked out the whole 2-hour drive back home!
When exposing a young dog to new things, he will cue off your attitude. So your feelings, body posture and tone of voice will determine his attitude to the new stimuli. I never for a second doubted that he would take well to the ocean, so by not cooing and pampering ("It's OK, it's OK") but just encouraging to chase his leash through the turf, watch his mom retrieve a toy and sitting calmly without reacting to the waves he decided it was OK.
A hot button for me regarding my "the more the merrier" approach to socializing is the fact that we are usually scared into NOT socializing our puppies until they have completed their vaccination schedule. Well that is not going to happen until my puppy is 6 months old and by that time my window of opportunity will be closed!
I understand the reason for this: my puppy could die from contracting a disease. Now consider this: most of the dogs that end up in shelters (which have a very real chance of being killed) are there because of behavioral issues. I am convinced this could be avoided by proper socializing and training which can only be accomplished if your puppy is out and about. So take your puppy everywhere you can, let him play with other dogs, walk him where he will meet lot's of people, everyone will want to pet him and enroll him in an obedience training class a.s.a.p!
The sooner the better and the more the merrier! And take lot's of photos because 6 months go by FAST.
So we took Oliver and his mom Holly as she loves the water and would be a good "role model" for him. It was his First car ride, First time on leash and First beach outing! and I was truly amazed at how well he did.
This beach outing is part of Oliver's socializing. It is very important that I expose him to a lot of places, things, noises, people and other dogs for him to grow as a confident and well adapted dog.
The ideal socializing period for a puppy is from 2 to 6 moths old and you know what? Time flies so I need to act fast because after this window of opportunity, socializing, though not impossible, will be much harder and I will really have to work very hard to help him overcome any issue he might have. So if life were perfect I should have taken the time to do each step individually; but the alternative would have been to not take him at all. I think that when it comes to socializing, "the more the merrier", so off we went on our "Three firsts" adventure.
Probably because there was so much other stuff to sniff and look at, he did not even notice he had a collar and a leash, watching his mom play retrieve in the ocean gave him a lot of confidence as he waddled, a little worried into that water that rolled back and forth and smelled funny. We were very lucky that the ocean was pretty calm that day, so we were able to carry him to the point where the waves were not crashing and he swam quite a bit. At home he swims in our pool two to three times a week, so this helped a lot. Walking along the beach lot's of people came to pet him which was really great for his social skills. Needless to say, he conked out the whole 2-hour drive back home!
When exposing a young dog to new things, he will cue off your attitude. So your feelings, body posture and tone of voice will determine his attitude to the new stimuli. I never for a second doubted that he would take well to the ocean, so by not cooing and pampering ("It's OK, it's OK") but just encouraging to chase his leash through the turf, watch his mom retrieve a toy and sitting calmly without reacting to the waves he decided it was OK.
A hot button for me regarding my "the more the merrier" approach to socializing is the fact that we are usually scared into NOT socializing our puppies until they have completed their vaccination schedule. Well that is not going to happen until my puppy is 6 months old and by that time my window of opportunity will be closed!
I understand the reason for this: my puppy could die from contracting a disease. Now consider this: most of the dogs that end up in shelters (which have a very real chance of being killed) are there because of behavioral issues. I am convinced this could be avoided by proper socializing and training which can only be accomplished if your puppy is out and about. So take your puppy everywhere you can, let him play with other dogs, walk him where he will meet lot's of people, everyone will want to pet him and enroll him in an obedience training class a.s.a.p!
The sooner the better and the more the merrier! And take lot's of photos because 6 months go by FAST.
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