Common Puppy Questions
When Can My Puppy Meet New Dogs?
The socialization period is over at 12 weeks, much earlier than people realize. I had my puppies around other dogs and puppies from 7 weeks of age when I brought them home.
Of course you need to be careful so your puppy doesn’t have a bad experience, but in general, my advice for puppy owners is to start socializing at 8 weeks. I offer private playgroups for clients to help provide safe exposure with a variety of dogs.
When Can My Puppy Start Training Classes?
At 8 weeks, but many trainers won’t actually start puppy classes until adolescence (around 18-20 weeks). I also find most puppy classes to be fairly pointless and really recommend 1-1 training for a new puppy so you can work at your own pace and get customized help instead of generic cookie-cutter advice that’s probably coming way too late.
When Can I Start Training My Puppy?
Puppies are capable of learning simple things at 3-4 weeks when their eyes and ears open. By the time you get your puppy, they are more than capable of learning, so start training immediately. Keep in mind that puppies aren’t miniature adult dogs and you’ll train differently and teach different things.
What Should I Teach My Puppy? Where Do I Start With Training?
Olive, 8 weeks, napping under a table on a pet-friendly patio while I have lunch.
In addition to house training and socializing (teaching your puppy that new things are no big deal), these are the skills I started teaching to my puppies from day one:
their name
being with me is fun
settle
how to be left alone
come
building play drive
Work with a trainer - it’s so much more useful than trying to figure it all out yourself! Most owners focus on things that really don’t matter, like sit, and miss the mark on what actually matters.
How Do I Socialize My Puppy?
Few puppy owners truly understand socialization. It’s not just dog-dog play. It’s also not carrying them through Home Depot. It’s teaching your puppy how to behave in society, teaching them how to be neutral and okay with new people, new dogs, new things, new sounds, etc. It’s exposing them to many, many, many new things so that they know what to make of it when they see it again in the future. This is most helpful before 12 weeks. I socialized my puppies by taking them everywhere - pet-friendly stores, parks, hiking trails to see bikes and runners and wildlife, farmer’s markets, etc. I had them walk over wood bridges and metal grates, climb on benches and rocks. They met and played with other dogs and puppies as well as met new people. I exposed them to the sounds of thunder, fireworks, traffic, other animals, household appliances.
There’s a whole separate post about socialization here.