Early Puppy Socialization: People, Places, and Things

An important part of puppy raising is ensuring the pup is well-socialized and confident around anything they might come across in their future role as a working guide dog. With a little creativity, we can begin building confident, social puppies ready to take on the world even before they are ready to strut their stuff in public!

It can be a lot of fun to get dressed up or create other novel experiences, but don’t get carried away. To create a positive learning experience, the puppy needs to be having fun too! Your goal will be to use some of these ideas to introduce a variety of experiences and help the puppy learn that new is no big deal!

Why It’s Important
Think about all the many things that a guide dog may encounter as they navigate the world with a client – so many people, places, and things! It’s important that we prepare these pups for the world around them and make these new experiences as positive as they can be.

Getting Started
When introducing a pup to novel experiences, we always want to keep in mind the Rules of Three and using desensitization/counterconditioning techniques from Explore Together! Socialization to Build Confidence. Be sure to review these documents before getting started!

Here’s a Tip!
If the puppy shows any signs of fear (refusing food, cowering, barking, hackling, hiding, etc.), the experience is too challenging. Take a break and reach out for further support.

Guide dogs will see all kinds of people while working, so it’s important they are confident and unphased around people, no matter who they are!

• Play Dress Up: Go searching in your closet – or costume wardrobe! Puppies can be introduced to people wearing high-visibility vests, face masks, hoodies (with the hood up) or hats, backpacks, trench coats, Halloween costumes, and more.
• People With Things: People holding and using large or oddly shaped objects like an umbrella, lifting bulky packages, pushing strollers, or using crutches can unexpectedly change the picture!
• Visitors: Do you have friends who are really tall? Friends with kids? Friends with big hair? No hair? Invite them over for a puppy visit!
• Mock Vet Visits: Give puppies a head start for vet visits by placing a towel on a table and having a friend practice handling the pup from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail. Your friend can even wear scrubs to make it extra believable!
• In the Neighborhood: Take advantage of people in your neighborhood such as gardeners, postal workers, and garbage collectors. You can even hang out near people on bikes and skateboards, just make sure to start at a distance!

Once a puppy has some experience with Happy Car Rides, we can start to bring pups on fun, short trips outside of the home. Start from the safety of the vehicle. Here are some ideas for places that are great for people-watching and might have some interesting new smells!

• Neighborhood walks (near home or in a new area)
• Coastal area or nature preserve
• Echo-y parking garage
• Bus or train station – from a distance!
• Grocery store
• Stables or farm
• Outdoor café
• Quiet shopping center

Ready to get out of the car? Check out Let’s Go Sightseeing for your first leash walking adventures!

Sounds
GDB puppies will encounter all kinds of sounds throughout their time in raising, but we can start introducing them to these sounds while still in the safety of the home using a phone or computer with a speaker. Be sure to start with a low volume while the puppy is eating or playing – enough that the puppy notices, but doesn’t fixate on it. Over time, you can gradually increase it to a more realistic volume.

Build a Bottle Pool!
Try filling a kiddie pool or other low sided wide bottomed container with sturdy bottles (orange juice bottles, iced tea bottles, etc.) then adding kibble or other small treats to the pool. The pup will get to use their nose to find the kibbles and, in the process, hear and feel the bottles rattle around as they search.

When you first get started, use just a few bottles and lots of treats then gradually add more bottles and use fewer treats so that they need to sniff and search for a longer time to find them. Have fun!

Surfaces
Out and about, puppies will encounter many surfaces, but before they do, we can prepare them using common household items! Feed and cheer the puppy on for investigating, stepping on, and walking over surfaces that might feel funky or slightly unstable underfoot. If a puppy finds a surface challenging, you can start with a towel or blanket under or over the surface to make it a little easier.

Try using these surfaces:

• Cookie cooling rack or an x-pen laid flat
• Tarp
• Textured doormats
• Puddles, wet grass or cement (hose it down!)

The Floor is Lava!
A fun activity to try is creating a path of various surfaces (think towel, tin foil, cardboard, cooling rack, doormats, and more!) that you have to traverse with the puppy. Using lots of food and verbal encouragement will keep this game fun for you and the puppy!

Show and Tell
Simple household items can be new and exciting when put in unusual places or when experiencing them for the first time. Start by placing household items in a familiar room and allow the puppy to approach, sniff and investigate at their own pace. Use plenty of food and praise to ensure a positive experience. Try introducing some of these items:

• Flags
• Vacuum cleaner (off, then on, then moving!)
• Hair dryer
• Holiday decorations
• Garden statues or lawn decorations