Puppy Socialisation

• Read what clients have to say about Puppy PartiesMembers who have attended these regularly report the following problems:

  “My dog runs off to see other dogs”

  “My dog doesn’t come back”

  “My dog snaps at other dogs when approached”

“I was informed by a veterinary nurse just the other day that if a pup gets too boisterous she asks the owners to place their dogs on chairs. She then went onto say you have to be careful not to reinforce behaviour” – Surely putting a puppy on a chair is reinforcing the behaviour. JAN SPACIC

 

“It seems regular puppy party visits can create wrong expectations in the participants (dogs and owners) – instilling the idea that every dog wants to play, which can create very rowdy, boisterous adults with very little self-control and an owner who expects another dog to be as ‘friendly’ as their own dog is.

This is what I have seen and the reason why I would not attend puppy parties – quite often excitement is far too high during these sessions, the emphasis is on playing with the other pups rather than working and fun with the owners, they only experiencing their own age group, puppies are not allowed to practise their skills, conflicts are disrupted, only play is allowed, sometimes this ‘play’ isn’t even play.
These are the things I can think of now, but there is more.
I don’t want my puppy to be highly excited, I would rather they got the chance to deal with all age groups, not just youngsters and it is really important to me that they practise their communication skills, part of that are conflicts. Somebody who hasn’t experienced these, will not know how to deal with/ or avoid them.” – BEVERLEY APPLETON

 

“I only do the one-off vet’s puppy party as I am lucky enough to have a great agility club and breeder that allows my pups to have social time with a large pack of dogs in a safe and controlled manner. My worries were with the vet’s behaviourist who didn’t recognise or advise on a very fearful GSD with first-time dog owners, advising on early spay or castration, and the chop their bits off solves all problems” – ELAINE JONES

 

Please send us our views on your experience at Puppy Parties

Email: nij@bertiedogs.com