When you shouldn’t socialise your puppy

“We should have socialised her more!”

That’s what the owners said. They felt guilty, because now their dog has serious behaviour issues.

But here’s the thing - they did try. They took their vet’s advice to keep the puppy home until vaccinations were finished. They enrolled in puppy school. They did everything they were told.

And yet…

• Their puppy was scared and hiding.

• The advice was simply, “You need to socialise her more.”

• For six weeks she crouched and avoided the other puppies.

• She fought off the vet staff — and learned that biting makes people go away.

• She went to group classes and only became harder to handle.

Eventually, the owners stopped going. No one was enjoying it.

Now their little scared puppy is grown up — and dangerous to both dogs and people. She learned that the way to keep threats away is with her teeth.

And here’s the sad truth: she learned that during socialisation.

These owners did everything they were told. They knew they needed to “socialise their puppy,” but no one told them what that really means.

Most people think socialisation = getting your puppy used to other dogs.

But if socialisation had 100 parts, “other dogs” would only be one of them.

True socialisation is about helping your puppy get used to all the things they’ll face in life, including:

• Different environments

• People of all ages and appearances

• Noises and objects

• Handling and grooming

• And yes, other dogs - but only as one small part

And here’s the kicker: the most critical time for socialisation is up to 16 weeks of age - when vaccinations aren’t yet complete. So taking your puppy out comes with some risk - but there are many places you can take them where the risk is very low.

The risk of serious behaviour problems from missing this window is actually much higher than the risk of disease. With common sense (avoiding high-risk areas like dog parks or vet clinic floors), you can safely socialise your puppy without putting them at unnecessary health risk.

And if you’re worried about your puppy picking up something on the ground? Remember - you can carry disease home on your shoes too.

Your aim is simple:

• Help your puppy have calm or neutral experiences with new things.

• Avoid both negative experiences and total lack of experience.

Do that, and you’ll set your puppy up to be confident, resilient, and well-adjusted.

Get my puppy socialisation checklist to make sure you cover all the essentials safely.

It's inside the Puppy Priorities course along with step-by-step guidance for all of puppyhood. Check out my Puppy Priorities course. It’s the ultimate shortcut to raising a calm, confident, well-behaved pup.

Above all - get out there and enjoy the big wide world with your puppy.

Woofs and wags,
Tenille 🐾

PS: This isn’t about being anti-vet or anti-puppy school. It’s about choosing the right advice from the right field - behaviour and training experts - so your puppy gets the best possible start.