There are a thousand and one different ways to do foundation training on your new puppy. Young puppies go through several critical imprint periods that you should be aware of so you can make the most of socializing your puppy.

The initial imprint stages you should be aware of start before you even get your puppy.

In what is known as the Neonatal Period (birth two 12 days). There have been limited studies done showing what kind of handling a breeder should do with puppies at this time. For the most part, your puppy at this stage is blind and deaf, and will just begin to gain some of its senses. It should also start becoming more mobile and responsive to its environment during this stage. There have been some interesting studies done researching the amount of stimulation done during this time and its benefit on puppies later in life. Dr. Carmen Battaglia, a leading researcher in dog breeding and genetics, details more about the US Military’s use of what was later termed the “Super Dog Program.” This program of bio-sensor stimulation in puppies during the Neonatal period was thought to have improved the dogs function later in life as a service animal. You can read more about Dr. Carmen’s Battalgia’s overview of this program by clicking here.

The Transitional Period comes next, encompassing 12-20 days of age. At this point, the puppies begin taking on their new personalities and begin showing the first signs of wanting to explore their world.  Often time’s breeders start introducing new elements into the whelping box so puppies can have a rich environment to explore. Several breeders I know use things like raised surfaces that puppies can climb over or around, toys with noise capacity, or they begin introducing sound tracks of various noises so the puppy is habituated to strange sounds.

The Awareness and Canine Socialization Period is a time of rapid growth and development in young puppies. This is between the ages of 21 and 49 days. Breeders often notice this is a period where dogs begin to develop distinct personalities and a pack hierarchy of sorts. There’s an ample amount of play time where puppies learn their individual social skills. It’s often thought that dogs removed from their litter before this period will be deprived of these social skills and demonstrate this lack later in their interactions with other dogs.  During this period, many breeders introduce their puppies into new areas outside of the whelping box. I still remember the fun of taking eight 3 ½ week old Rottweiler puppies on their first trip outside. My pick female was the first to travel the distance of the yard, while the rest of the litter remained huddled on the patio. In later playtimes in the yard, she was also the first to begin knocking things over, picking things up, and getting into all kinds of mischief. During this stage we introduce to many people, other animals, sights, sounds, surfaces as well as introduce the puppies to small amounts of separation from their littermates to get them ready for leaving for their new homes.

The period for Human Socialization with the new owners begin at around 7-12 weeks. Puppies go through a wide range of stresses during this period as they are weaned from their mother and littermates, taken into new homes and environments, and allowed to start exploring their world. While there is a lot of debate about whether dogs should be socialized during this time because of the higher risk of diseases like Parvo, the problems associated with not socializing give a good argument for why socialization must be attempted at this critical period. All social outings should be fun and filled with positive experiences. Owners should take care to not allow their puppies to pick items up off of the ground because this is how diseases like Parvo, Giardia, etc are transmitted. Also, its best to stay away from dog populated areas such as dog parks or dog beach where the risk for spreading disease is much higher.