Puppy Socialization Guide
The most critical period for a puppies' socialization is between the ages of 6 weeks and 4 months. Whatever the puppy experiences during those times helps to determine how the puppy will be as an adult. You cannot over socialize a puppy but you can definitely undersocialize. This guide gives you a good idea of the amount of "stuff" you want your puppy to experience in a very positive way. The more check marks you have on your socialization guide, the better socialized your puppy will be. Always make sure the experiences are positive and avoid high traffic dog areas, where you don't know if the dogs are vaccinated. Take "cookies" with you where ever you and your puppy go, ask people to give your puppy cookies or give them yourself when in new situations. If you would like to print this out as a PDF click here: Puppy Socialization Guide
| 6-8 wks | 8-9 wks | 9-10 wks | 10-11 wks | 11-12 wks | 12-13 wks | 3-4 mos | 4-6 mos | 6-10 mos | |
| Young adults | |||||||||
| Middle aged adults | |||||||||
| Elderly people | |||||||||
| Disabled/odd gaits | |||||||||
| Loud people | |||||||||
| Big looming people | |||||||||
| Uniformed people | |||||||||
| People in hats | |||||||||
| People with beards | |||||||||
| People with glasses | |||||||||
| People with helmets | |||||||||
| People with gloves | |||||||||
| Crutches | |||||||||
| Wheelchairs | |||||||||
| Umbrellas | |||||||||
| Babies | |||||||||
| Toddles | |||||||||
| Juniors | |||||||||
| Teens | |||||||||
| Adult dogs | |||||||||
| Puppies (puppy class) | |||||||||
| Cats/kittens | |||||||||
| Small pets | |||||||||
| Livestock | |||||||||
| Horses | |||||||||
| The beach/ocean | |||||||||
| Shopping Malls | |||||||||
| Friends homes | |||||||||
| Parks/kites/ballgames | |||||||||
| Outside a schoolyard | |||||||||
| Riding in a car | |||||||||
| City Streets | |||||||||
| Slippery Floors | |||||||||
| Party | |||||||||
| Veterinarian's office | |||||||||
| Grooming parlor | |||||||||
| Bicycles | |||||||||
| Motorcycles | |||||||||
| Buses | |||||||||
| Trucks | |||||||||
| Shopping carts | |||||||||
| Roller blades/skateboards | |||||||||
| Elevators | |||||||||
| Automatic Sliding Door | |||||||||
| Automatic Garage Doors | |||||||||
| Vacuums running | |||||||||
| Walking over grates | |||||||||
| Walking through a box | |||||||||
| Hair dryer running | |||||||||
| Hard wood floors | |||||||||
| Linoleum floors | |||||||||
| Bath | |||||||||
| Brushing | |||||||||
| Nail Clipping | |||||||||
| Ears Checked | |||||||||
| Paws Checked | |||||||||
| Belly Checked | |||||||||