Helping your puppy to socialise

Socialise your puppy and give him the best start in life

Socialisation. It looks and sounds like a big, important word. And indeed it is, when it comes to ensuring that your puppy will mature into a friendly, adult dog that’ll live life to the full.

Now that you’ve taken on your puppy, you owe it to him to make sure he grows into a well adjusted dog, happy in the company of people and other animals.

You can’t start socialising soon enough

The benefits of early socialisation simply cannot be over-emphasised, but the good news is, it’s easy and can be fun for both you and your puppy. All you have to do is take him out and about as much as you can and as soon as possible. And with first vaccinations being offered at six weeks, you can take him out of the house as early as 8 weeks. A word of caution, though, try not to do too much too soon; build up your puppy’s new experiences slowly at first.

Your puppy and other people

It might be stating the obvious, but people are different; different ages, different shapes and sizes. And your puppy should encounter them all. Get him used to strangers, but be careful they don’t overwhelm your new pet in their show of affection.

It’s important that your puppy becomes acquainted with children, too. Even if there aren’t children in the house, get him to meet some outside. One proven suggestion is to take him to the vicinity of a school; children will need no encouragement to make a fuss of your cuddly new charge. But don’t forget that puppies can become tired quickly, so make sure that meeting times with other people are kept quite short, and give your puppy time to rest.

Let your puppy go to the dogs

A crucial aspect of socialisation is the introduction of your puppy to other dogs and indeed, other puppies. However, it’s important that he meets other animals that you know are well socialised; a nasty experience can have a lifelong affect on a youngster.

By being around adult dogs, your puppy will learn to respect his elders, even going so far as being “told off” by an older dog if he gets a little over-excited.

But be careful that your puppy doesn’t become overwhelmed by a bigger, playful dog. The last thing you want is for him to be frightened, so make sure you’re on hand to crouch down to his level and provide a safe haven if necessary.

There’s no reason why your puppy shouldn’t meet other four-legged friends, such as cats, horses and even farm animals. This kind of exposure will pay dividends as your puppy grows into a confident, friendly adult dog.

Your puppy and other places

As part of the socialising process, get your puppy used to a variety of environments, sights and sounds. To a pet that socialises well with humans, this should happen naturally. Getting him used to cities, the countryside, traffic and car travel should be an enjoyable experience for both of you; just remember not to do too much all at once.

If you would like more detailed information about socialising, your vet will be happy to recommend further reading. You might like to consider enrolling on a puppy socialisation class which many vets hold. It is recommended that you start somewhere between 8 and 16 weeks.

Gauteng	Area	Contact Person	Telephone Number
Gauteng	Area	Contact Person	Telephone Number
Bedfordview Veterinary Hospital	Bedfordview	Zoe Gunstone	(011) 616 4088
Top Dog Club	Benoni	Chantal Barris	076 315 7364
Park Veterinary Hospital	Boksburg	Stephanie	082 979 9725
Scallywags	Bryanston	Sonia Munting	(011) 705 3411
Bryanpark Veterinary Clinic	Bryanston	Kate Lyne	(011) 706 2590
St Francis Veterinary Hospital	Edenvale	Avril Fry	(011) 453 8525
Fourways Veterinary Hospital	Fourways	Amanda Pybus	083 306 4599
Northrand Animal Clinic	Kyalami North	Di Thompson	(011) 468 3100 or 082 349 7354
Puppy Pre School	Midrand / Kyalami	Bronwyn Heitmuller	(011) 318 0043 or 083 706 2041
Dog Challenge	Muldersdrift	Karlene Treurnicht	083 360 5839
Perfect Pups	North Riding	Melissa Kroukamp	073 367 1828
Valley Farm Animal Clinic	Pretoria - Faerie Glen	Julia van Draanen	(012) 991 3573
Menlyn Animal Clinic	Pretoria - Menlo Park	Sr Nicolette Swart	(012) 460 5252
Edupet	Pretoria East	Dr Quixie Sontag	(012) 480 2021
Vetland	Pretoria East	Sr Georgina Pickett	073 144 1473
Randpark Ridge Veterinary Hospital	Randburg	Debbie Langkilde & Natasha Lax	(011) 678 7526
Rivonia Village Veterinary Clinic	Rivonia / Sunninghill	Amanda Pybus	083 306 4599
Sasolburg Animal Hospital	Sasolburg	Anlé Allison	082 774 9531
Midrand Veterinary Hospital	Vorna Valley	Melissa Kroukamp	073 367 1828
Pups and Hounds Academy	Weltevreden Park	Janet Willenberg	079 503 9982
Palm Gardens Veterinary Clinic	Witkoppen	Gina Trotter	(011) 465 6914
Western Cape
Tygerberg Animal Hospital - Bellville	Bellville	Sr Karen Forsdicks	(021) 919 1194
St Francis Veterinary Hospital	Bergvliet	Mary Sproston	(021) 712 0357 or 083 357 4080
Constantia Veterinary Hospital	Constantia	Carole McMullen	082 430 4513
Durbanville Animal Hospital	Durbanville	Sr Karen Forsdicks	(021) 976 3034
DogSense	Durbanville	Claire Grobbelaar	(021) 979 0848 or 082 784 7524
Puppy Pre School	False Bay	Karen Gray-Kilfoil	(021) 785 5814
Taryn Blyth - Animal Behaviourist & Trainer	Fish Hoek	Taryn Blyth	(021) 780 1616
Panorama Veterinary Hospital	Kuils River	Dr Brandt	(021) 930 6635
Pups @ Play at Friends of the Labrador	Marina da Gama	Juliet Bradley	072 111 3080
Blue Cross Veterinary Hospital	Newlands	Karis	(021) 674 4093
K9 Connections	Paarl	Sr Thineke Momple	083 235 6850
Helderberg Animal Hospital	Somerset West	Rose Humphreys	(021) 852 3019
Bernice Jaffe - Animal Behaviourist	Southern Peninsula	Bernice Jaffe	079 883 7566
Fourways Veterinary Clinic	Sun Valley	Anita Louw	083 499 2477
Koornlands Veterinary Clinic	Swellendam	Dee Hazell	(028) 514 1646
Avalon Veterinary Hospital	Tokai	Danielle & Adrienne Hackett	(021) 715 6324 or 082 465 2425
Kwazulu Natal
Rinaldo Veterinary Hospital	Durban North	Vicki Blom	(031) 563 5180
Durban North Veterinary	Durban North	Laurence Thom	(031) 564 2338
Empangeni Dog Club	Empangeni	Maggie van der Merwe	072 387 6362
Glenashley Veterinary Clinic	Glenashely	Lynette Buttery	(031) 562 8406
Petwise	Hilton	Lynn Walker	(033) 343 1752
Eastern Cape
Knysna Veterinary Clinic	Knysna	Cindy Smailes	(044) 382 1844
George Rex Veterinary Clinic	Knysna	Jane McBeath	(044) 382 6766
Marine Way Animal Hospital	Plettenberg Bay	Tina van Reenen	(044) 533 3100
Kragga Kamma Animal Clinic	Port Elizabeth	Lyndi Smith	(041) 379 2740
The Dog School	Port Elizabeth	Joan & Mike Saward Dumbries	082 775 4545
Kragga Kamma Vet	Port Elizabeth	Amanda Young	083 330 3356
Camp K9	Port Elizabeth	Nadine & Rory Shortland	083 554 4301
Good Dog Training Academy	Port Elizabeth	Denise Schoombie	084 200 0502
Queenstown Veterinary Clinic	Queenstown	Mrs Godley	(045) 839 7077
Limpopo
Blouberg Animal Clinic	Louis Trichardt	Rionie van der Merwe	(015) 516 2046
Pietersburg Veterinary Clinic	Polokwane	Melanie Brook	(015) 291 2107
Namibia
Windhoek Dog Club	Windhoek	Mrs Angela Curtis	081 275 7786