Socialization - The Window of Opportunity

by Heidi Atwood

There is a well-known “window of opportunity” for socializing puppies. The timeframe for this is usually from around 3-4 weeks old, through the age of about 4 months old. This happens to coincide with us bringing our puppies home at around 8 weeks, and their first Fear Phase (8-12 weeks) as well. Add in the fact that the puppies are probably not fully vaccinated during this time, which further complicates the issue of improving social skills. That’s ok, although it may be a bit more challenging, we can find ways to offer safe socialization practice. 

Socialization doesn’t necessarily mean face-to-face introductions to people or other dogs; as I see it, the term refers to helping a puppy consider the new sights and sounds in their life “normal” and therefore, not that exciting. We want to normalize the strange new “thing” that your puppy is trying to figure out by giving them space and time to get used to it and to consider it a regular part of their world. By new “thing” I mean literally anything your puppy has not experienced or has limited experience with in their life so far. This can be a variety of distractions, such as other animals, people, bicycles, skateboards, traffic, sports events, and new sounds. To take it a step further, a puppy could even become fearful if they see a person that they know, who is suddenly wearing a hat, because this is something new and different.

When it comes to dog training, two of the terms I use the most are “casual” and “gradual”. I find these terms most useful when thinking about how dogs learn and the training methods that benefit them the most. Helping puppies get used to new things very casually takes the excitement out of the new thing. If we are acting calm and cool about the loud garbage truck passing by, our dogs will sense that all is well and trust our demeanor. If we quickly react and seem nervous about how the dog is going to perceive that same truck, they will sense that they should be excited or upset. Instead, we want to encourage the attitude of “all is well, that truck is big, but it is no big deal”. 

Gradual acclimation to new things means that we start out with very short, positive experiences, based on what your dog can handle. This may mean that you watch that garbage truck for 10 seconds the first time, casually (there I go again!), moving farther away from it if the dog’s body language is showing signs of stress, such as trembling, hypervigilance, panting, etc. If you are not familiar with the body language of dogs, check out our class on this subject for a better understanding of what your dog is trying to tell you through their body language. We then make a note to work on this trigger a bit more each time the dog sees or hears it. Getting closer to your puppy, but not luring or forcing them past their comfort zone, is important. We want the dog to “want” to get closer out of curiosity. You can reward them when they are handling the experience well, to show the dog that watching calmly is a rewarding behavior. 

Sound desensitization is a great way to expose a puppy or even an older dog to new sounds, so that they begin to consider them ordinary and less exciting sounds. If you notice a sound that causes your dog to react, look up YouTube videos of the noise or record it yourself, and start playing it randomly and frequently throughout the day, starting at a low volume. You can reward your dog for calmly listening, and slowly increase the volume as they handle it. To me, this is an easy form of socialization that you can practice from the comfort of your own home. 

What about shelter dogs, rehomed dogs, puppies that didn’t get adopted during the crucial first few weeks, or adult dogs who have limited experiences and didn’t receive adequate opportunities to learn about the world around them? Add in the fact that some puppies have had negative experiences, unfortunately, which can make this a bit harder and even scarier for them. While delayed socialization is not the best way to ease the fears of everyday sights, sounds, places, and people, it’s not impossible. I believe that we can take steps toward the goal of helping even an adult dog become comfortable in most situations, for the long-term. The so-called window of socialization doesn’t necessarily slam shut, but it can take more time and gentle acclimation practice to help a dog figure out that an item or sound that is new to them is not scary. 

To help your dog learn about new and exciting things in their world, offer exposure from a distance, which is explained further in our blog article titled “Socialization: Distance is your best friend!”. To summarize this type of socialization practice, start out by taking the dog to an area that allows you to give enough distance for them to remain calm while watching other animals, people, and exciting activities. Reward the dog for observing calmly, and move closer as they are able to remain calm. Or, simply walk farther away and watch from a greater distance if they are becoming overly excited. This helps a dog understand that calmly watching is rewarding, but that reacting results in moving farther away from the interesting sight. 

I experienced a socialization challenge with an adolescent dog who had no experience with cats. I tried to bring her to my home for some periods of training and care, but she had a really hard time settling down because she was constantly looking for my cat. This is an example of hypervigilance, where a puppy can’t rest or focus on anything else because the distraction is just too much for them to handle. 

My cat grew up with puppies and is not intimidated by them, so he doesn’t try to run away, which is helpful for preventing the excitement of the game of chase. The cat had an escape route, if necessary, where he could easily get out of reach of the puppy. However, I struggled to get the puppy to focus on anything else besides the cat, and she would never fully relax at my home. Even if you don’t have a cat, it is helpful for a puppy to know what they are, to prevent overexcitement and prey-driven behaviors such as chasing. If this had been my own puppy, I would have had consistent daily opportunities to practice limited and controlled exposure, periods of separation, and the rewarding of calmness, but since she was an occasional visitor, I didn’t have the ability to work with her on an ongoing basis, so I spent more time with her at her own home where she was able to remain calm and settled down much more easily. 

You can help a dog of any age consider new and exciting things “normal” in their world, but understand that it can take more time and a lot more patience to accomplish this, even though that window of opportunity has been lowered a bit, but not fully closed.