Learn the right dog socialization cues and techniques before dog play dates and dog meetups!

It’s crucial to follow the right dog socialization techniques with your doggo at all times, starting from when they are a tiny puppy to all the way through adulthood. Learn to recognize your dog’s play styles so that you can schedule fun play dates and dog meetups with other dog parents! Our dog socialization guide will help you properly socialize your dog and schedule the right types of dog play dates and dog meetups for your pup or doggo.

Dog socialization for puppies: Pups learn the most about being social between the ages of 1 month and 4 months old.

Introduce your pup to different kinds of people and different types of handling. It’s important for your pup to develop positive associations with being petted by different types of people. It’s also crucial that you handle and cuddle your puppy in different ways so they feel comfortable with different types of touch — feeling their paws, their belly, their back and their head. This will make visits to the dog groomer or veterinarian a lot easier in the future!

Introduce your pup to different kinds of sounds and smells. Ease your puppy into sounds they will hear at home, the sounds of cooking or a microwave, the sounds of the dishwasher, the laundry. Gradually introduce your puppy to outdoor sounds — the lawn mower, the sounds of cars and traffic. Let your puppy sniff different things! This is how they learn and improve their ability to detect different types of scents.

Prevent food aggression by interrupting meal time with treats. Walk over to your puppy while they eat their meals and drop some yummy treats in their bowl so they associate your approach as a positive thing whenever they eat. Eventually, you can even pick up the bowl to place your treats, so that this too will be a positive association to your puppy.

Prevent separation anxiety by giving your pup some alone time each day. Use a crate or a gate to keep your puppy isolated for an hour or two every day. This will ensure that they don’t follow you around all the time and don’t get anxious when you leave.

Prevent aggression by ignoring ‘bad behavior”. Use positive reinforcement methods to teach good behavior. Refrain from using punishment methods. Punishment can scare your pup and they can act out by displaying aggressive behavior and this type of aggressive behavior will only get worse if they keep feeling fearful or threatened.

Give your puppy toys for their teething phase. Let them know that their biting hurts you by exclaiming “OW!”. Your pup will learn that their biting hurts you and will take their teething habits out on toys and chewy treats instead.

Dog socialization for teenagers and adult dogs: Actively socialize your dog till they are around 1 years old.

Introduce your dog to new people and new dogs. It’s important to keep your young teenage dog curious and help them make positive associations with new people, new sights, and new smells!

Introduce your dog to new experiences. Remember that your young doggo is still learning by experiencing new and interesting things! Keep them exploring and curious.

Ensure your dog feels comfortable when you and others handle them: Keep handling your doggo and cuddling your dog in different ways. Ensure that your dog feels comfortable when others handle them as well. This will only help keep them calm during vet visits and grooming visits.

Continue to use the right training methods to teach good behavior. If you need help, it’s always good to consult a certified dog trainer who can help you train your dog.

DIY dog socialization training: Identify common dog play styles before scheduling the right types of dog play dates and dog meetups.

The social networker: does your dog bark from the sidelines, round around the main action, and jump into the middle sometimes? This type of doggo likes to cheer from the sidelines and occasionally inserts themselves into the main action for some variety. They mostly like to watch the main action from the sidelines, running around in circles around the dogs playing at the center.

Tag, you’re it: does your dog like to chase and be chased? These dogs love to release energy by running around and are highly active! They can tire themselves out by playing a nice game of tag.

The bulldozer: does your dog like to run into people and other dogs during play? This goofball loves to start and stop, a short tag game might turn into bumping into another doggo!

Good-old-tug-of-war: does your dog like to tug on toys to release all that energy? These dogs love chew toys and a little bit of rough-housing. There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as slobbering over a toy with another friend!

The social butterfly: does your dog adapt to the play styles of other dogs and other people? This type of doggo can adapt to a few different play styles, playing differently with large dogs and small dogs. They might even vary the energy level of their play with younger dogs and older dogs.

Boop-nose: does your dog like a low touch, low key approach? This is common with dogs who have low levels of energy, especially senior dogs. This type of doggo likes to nuzzle his nose into another dog as a gentle way of saying hello.

Dog socialization between big dogs and small dogs: Closely control and monitor dog play dates or dog meetups between large dogs and small dogs.

Small dogs and big dogs can play nice! There is no rule that says that small dogs and big dogs don’t get along. In fact, it’s good to introduce your puppy or young dog to as much variety as possible. If you are hesitant with larger groups of dogs, start by introducing your pup to one dog at a time. It’s common for puppies to be excited about playing with groups of puppies. However, as your doggo becomes a teenager or adult (between 5 months to 2 years), they could become reluctant about playing with large groups of dogs. In this case, it’s best to introduce your dog to one other dog at a time, so that you don’t overwhelm them.

Ensure that big dogs’ prey drive isn’t activated when they play with small dogs. Sometimes in large dog groups, the large dogs could get carried away and play with a small dog could turn into catching prey, if the prey drive of the larger dogs is activated. This is why it’s important to control dog play dates and dog meetups between large and small dogs.

Remember, variety is always good for your doggo! Schedule regular dog play dates or dog meetups with all shapes, sizes and breeds of dogs!

Dog socialization for senior dogs: Senior dogs have less energy and have gentler, less energetic dog play styles.

Boop-nose: does your dog like a low touch, low key approach? This is common with dogs who have low levels of energy, especially senior dogs. This type of doggo likes to nuzzle his nose into another dog as a gentle way of saying hello.

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Check out Pawsitive app to actually put theory into practice and start applying all this knowledge. The Pawsitive app helps dog parents raise happy, healthy dogs by providing community and professional support. We connect you to other dog parents and professionals. We are building a supportive dog parent community and we are better than dog social media! Stay accountable for completing wellness milestones with your dog and other dog parents, dog moms, and dog dads.