Education

Lately here at GSRV we have seen a lot of teenage dogs coming into our care. These dogs are often under socialized and lacking experience with the world outside of their back yard. They become too much for their owners to deal with and they often do not have the time to deal with the behavioural issues that result from this lack of socialization.

The critical socialization period for a puppy is 6-16 weeks, between 6-8 weeks is an extremely important time for puppies to learn social cues from their mum and siblings, if a breeder rehomes a puppy before this time, it is not only illegal but detrimental to the pup’s future and is a big red flag that the puppy is not coming from an ethical breeder. Whilst the breeder should start exposing pups to different scenarios, it is ultimately up to the new owner to do so once vaccinations have taken place. The experiences your puppy has during this critical period of learning development can influence and shape their behaviour well into adulthood.

We always recommend attending puppy classes that teach both you and your puppy key skills, but it is the responsibility of the owner to go beyond puppy classes and keep exposing their pup to the outside world. By doing this, it will help build your pup into a confident and well-adjusted dog.

Here is a list of just some of the things your pup should be exposed to while they are young. Please, help us create a generation of well exposed, well socialized dogs!