|
HOW DID THIS CONCEPT COME ABOUT ? To fully understand the process of puppy socialising let's apply the concept to wild canines - which gives us the basis for our understanding of natural canine behaviour. For the purpose of this scenario let's imagine two litters of wolf puppies. The first litter progresses as any normal litter of wolf puppies would, ie. they remain in the den for 5-6 weeks. Upon emerging they meet the big world outside. Because they stay close to the den until the age of 16 weeks, they spend a lot of time investigating and getting socialised to new objects - such as the wolves in their pack, trees, insects, rocks, thunder, birds etc. - which will become an integral part of their everyday life. After the age of 16 weeks they start exploring further a field and encounter different "new" objects. As they are past their maximum socialising period they view these items with great suspicion and caution. These objects would be other wolves, hunters, snakes etc. and this is nature's way of ensuring that the wolves exhibit necessary caution as adults. Now let's have a look at
litter two. Instead of coming out of their den at 5-6 weeks they remained inside
until 16 weeks of age. After this age they viewed everything outside of their
den such as rocks, birds and insects as highly dangerous and to be avoided at
all costs ! By drawing a parallel between the den and your home one can easily understand how puppies that do not experience proper socialising before 16 weeks of age have a MAJOR problem with the world outside of their den ! Not only do they not cope with the "big wide world outside" but they also have problems with new stimuli on their own turf.
HOW DOES IT WORK ?
A puppy's brain is still undergoing "growth" during the socialisation
period and the more positive experiences that they have before this age, the
larger their "experience bank". This larger database actually promotes
a thought process when the adult dog encounters a totally new experience and not
an instant fear reaction of fight, flee or freeze. All under-socialised dogs
will be fearful in new situations and how they react to this fear depends
primarily on the dog's breed. Bearing the above in mind one can understand why it is particulary important for a giant breed such as a Great Dane to attend puppy socialising classes. "But my puppy is not destined to be a show dog, so it doesn't have to get used to different things". While this may have some merit, a well-socialised dog will not go into a flat spin for example when it hears a motorbike whizzing past from behind a wall. As this dog has been exposed to various stimuli during the maximum socialising period it will apply a thought process to this strange noice and probably only show natural curiosity and perhaps a bit of territorial protection. The same dog will not also try to "kill" the new lawnmower or run away in terror from that vicious-looking pram that came to visit.
DO PUPPY CLASSES
INFLUENCE AGGRESSION ? HOW DOES THAT WORK ? Normally just as a puppy is starting to get the hang of "talking dog" with it's littermates and mother, it is removed from the litter. Even if it goes into a household with other dogs, these resident dogs most probably also had their canine communication schooling cut short, so we end up with a pack of semi-literate dogs, that encourage "no-brainer" reactions. So the solution may seem to be to leave puppies together until they are past the magic 16 weeks. But no, because this lands us with an even bigger problem - canine bonding. We must still remember that even though puppies are born into a domestic enviroment, they must still be "tamed" or socialised. By leaving puppies together, they end up imprinting on one another and not on human beings. A canine-bonded dog can be one of the most frustrating dogs to own - ears become ornaments as soon as another dog enters the picture. So what's the answer ? Puppy socialising - as this is a controlled environment where puppies can communicate with one another, without sacrificing any of their human imprinting potential. In a nutshell, good puppy socialising classes :
WHAT DO I LOOK FOR IN
A PUPPY SOCIALISING CLASS ?
A listing of Animal Behaviour Consultants of SA (ABC) approved puppy schools can be found at the ABC website: www.animal-behaviour.org.za Maximise your puppy's genetic temperament! Take them to school!
|
Page last updated: 18-09-08 11:02:04 PM Please direct all queries to Webmaster
All content copyright Saxony Great Danes 2003 unless otherwise stated |