POSITIVE EXPOSURE & SOCIALIZATION
Introducing your puppy to the world in a positive way while they're young is crucial for a happy, well-rounded adult dog in the future. Lack of socialization during the critical "imprint period" can lead to a higher chance of behavioral issues when the puppy becomes an adult.
This means carefully and thoughtfully expanding experiences and making sure these experiences are viewed by your puppy as positive. If he / she is in the critical socialization stage, 7and 12 weeks, you will need to be extra careful when exposing your dog tonew sounds, people, and new dogs. Dogs learn in two ways - by association / emotion and by consequence / doing. Because of these two ways of learning, dogs see the world in two ways: What is safe / good for me vs. what is dangerous / bad and what works vs. what doesn’t.
For all socialization and proactive exposure training, take everything slow and let your puppy guide the pace. Keep socialization practice short and sweet, and start new exposure low and slow.
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