Blogspot - Companion Animal Psychology

Two recent Psychology Today posts are all about puppies. For National Puppy Day, I wrote about the best things you can do for your puppy . The post shares three essential tips for anyone who is getting a puppy. Photo: Spiritze / Pixabay And in response, Marc Bekoff wrote it's National Puppy Day so give them all the love you can . In it, Bekoff writes, "I'm a fan of all people who choose to bring a dog into their homes and hearts taking the time to become amateur ethologists and spending time becoming "fluent in dog." When we make this decision, and it should be a serious and informed choice, we become their caregivers and they assume we have their best interests in mind from "cradle to grave," the cradle beginning when we welcome them into our lives" Why not check them out. Of course, it's really Puppy Day (and Kitten Day) every day!!

Almost a third of puppies are missing out on important socialization during the sensitive period. A survey of puppy owners by Dr. Janet Cutler et al (University of Guelph) finds that a sizeable number of puppies are not receiving enough socialization. Puppies have a sensitive period for socialization from 3 weeks until about 12-14 weeks. During this time, they should have lots of positive socialization experiences with other people and dogs and habituate to the kinds of environmental stimuli they will encounter as adult dogs. Without these positive experiences , they are less likely to be friendly, confident dogs. The scientists recruited people with a puppy less than 20 weeks old. Then, when the puppy turned exactly 20 weeks, they sent an email with a link to the survey. Almost a third of puppies were not receiving many socialization experiences, which in this study was defined as up to 10 people and 5 dogs or less per 2 week period. Lack of socialization can lead to behaviour proble...

Research on a new program for socializing puppies in the nest finds it brings big benefits. Photo: Sarai da Silva / Shutterstock A new study by Dr. Helen Vaterlaws-Whiteside and Amandine Hartmann ( Guide Dogs National Breeding Centre ) (2017) tests an improved program for socializing puppies in the nest from 0 – 6 weeks. The program provides additional socialization in a way that is relatively cheap, easy to implement, and designed to fit with what science tells us about the development of puppies. In comparison to puppies receiving the regular socialization program, the puppies who got extra socialization got better scores in tests at 6 weeks old. By 8 months of age they were less likely to have separation-related behaviours, general anxiety, be distracted, or have body sensitivity. In other words, the extra socialization brought important benefits for their behavioural welfare as young adult dogs. These results will be of particular interest to those who breed and train service dogs,...