The correct socialisation of puppies is of paramount importance.  Studies undertaken by The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors have found that at least 10% of dogs are found to be aggressive due to poor socialisation.  These 10% of dogs are probably only the "tip of the iceberg" as many owners will not have sought help for dogs whose aggression is deemed manageable.

Socialisation can be described as the process whereby an animal learns how to recognise and interact with the species with which it cohabits. 

How sociable a dog will be is determined by the experiences it has as a puppy, especially those it has before the age of 12 weeks.  Sociable dogs rarely bite and are less likely to be returned to breeders because of aggression.

The sensitive period of development occurs between approximately 4 - 12 weeks of age,  in which socialisation and habituation must occur and be properly completed if the dog is not to grow up to be maladjusted.  This means that about 3 to 5 weeks of the critical socialisation time is spent with the breeder.  During this time, puppies should be exposed to a whole range of different encounters and experiences to equip them for life in the human world.

The degree of deprivation a dog suffers in respect of socialisation and habituation will be reflected proportionately in the extent of maladjustment.  Accordingly, a dog that has had no experience of a specific stimulus at the completion of the sensitive period will always be fearful of it. A dog that has had some exposure, but not sufficient, will be better adjusted, although not entirely sound  and a dog that has had adequate experience of the stimulus in the sensitive period will grow up to be "bomb proof". 

Dogs that grow up to be fearful because they have been subjected to stimulus deprivation can be improved by counter conditioning programmes, but the maxim prevention is better than cure was never more applicable than the first few weeks of a domestic animal's life.

Socialisation and habituation shouldn't be a haphazard affair with experiences occurring at random, as is so often the case, the puppy's exposure to environmental stimuli should be as systematic as possible to ensure the best chance of it developing a sound temperament and capacity to cope in all circumstances.

A lot of responsibility lies with the breeder.  Of course, it is the breeder who selects the genetic make-up of a dam and sire best suited to produce puppies of good temperament.  Having said this, it is not known what percentage of a dog's, or even a human's, temperament is determined by environmental influences.  The breeder's role continues the moment a puppy is born, as it starts to get used to being handled and to the breeder's scent.  The routines that are normally used to assist in whelping are enough to accomplish this, much more may distress the bitch.  As the puppy and its littermates grow up, the breeder should increase the amount of interaction, the puppies have with them and other people.

Prospective puppy purchasers can check that some degree of socialisation and habituation has taken place.  Ideally, they will have sought out a breeder who will let them see the puppies with their dam in their living quarters and searching questions should reveal the breeder's awareness of the need for a puppy's environmental enrichment, but the proof of the pudding is the reaction of the puppies themselves.  They should appear to be content and confident.  A few simple tests, such as the clapping of hands, the dropping of car keys etc. will enable the prospective buyer to gauge how well habituated the puppies are by observing whether they move away from the sound or towards it to investigate it.  A mild reaction to the sound and a quick recovery from the surprise is ideal.  Most telling of all is the puppies' response to the presence of strangers, i.e. the prospective purchasers.  They should be willing to approach, investigate the newcomers, and be happy to allow themselves to be handled.

Prospective owners should also observe the behaviour of the dam and any other dogs that are near the puppies.  If the puppies have grown up in the company of a nervous or aggressive dog, they may have learnt to be fearful or aggressive from its example and it may be wiser to look elsewhere for a puppy than to take the risk.

Puppies need to be continually socialised and exposed to different environments up to the age of one year if they are to stay sociable.

Puppy socialisation with the breeder & in the new owner’s home:

Visitors: Accustom your puppy to lots of visitors of both sexes and all ages.  This will develop its social experience and help to keep territorial behaviour to manageable levels in later life.  Ensure your visitors only say "Hello” and fuss your puppy once it has got over its initial excitement so as to prevent the development of boisterous greeting behaviour.

Children: Accustom your puppy to being handled by your and/or visitor's children, but don't let them pester it or treat it as a toy.  Remain in a position of supervision.  Arrange to meet someone with a baby regularly, especially if you plan to have a family.  This will help to overcome the common worries about how the family dog will react to a new baby and toddlers.

Feeding: Accustom your puppy to you and other members of your family adding food to its bowl when it is eating.  This will teach it that you are not a threat and prevent the development of aggression over food when it is older.  Conversely, teaching your puppy that you can take its food away when it is eating is a bad idea, as this approach can cause the development of defensive behaviour later in life.

Grooming: Groom your puppy every day, even smooth or wire haired breeds that may not seem to need it.  Grooming will accustom your puppy to being thoroughly handled and coincidentally it will help prevent the development of dominant behaviours.

Veterinary Examination: every day examine your puppy’s ears, eyes, and teeth, lift up its feet, check its paws, and check under its tail.  When your puppy is happy about this, get other people to do it (it makes a good talking point at dinner parties!)  The purpose of the exercise is to accustom your puppy to veterinary examination, very important, especially if first aid ever has to be administered.

Domestic sights and sounds: Expose your puppy to domestic stimuli such as the vacuum cleaner, spin drier etc. but don't make an issue of them.  The puppy should get used to them gradually without being stressed.

The postman and milkman etc: Carry your puppy and meet these people as often as you can.  If your puppy gets to know and like them and more importantly learns that they will not "run away" if it barks, it is far less likely to show territorial aggression towards them when it grows up.  (Many householders have to collect their post from the sorting office because the postal worker will not deliver because of their dog's behaviour).

Cats: If you have, one introduce your puppy to it.  Keep the puppy under control and reward it for not pestering.  Be careful not to worry the cat, as it may scratch your puppy.  Placing the cat in a cat carrying basket just out of the puppy's reach can be a useful method of introduction with little chance of an unpleasant incident occurring.  This can be repeated after a few days so that both puppy and cat learn to become settled in each other's company.

Other dogs at home: If you already have, a dog introduce your puppy to it in the garden.  Once the older dog has made the initial acceptance, the two should find their own level and settle down without too much intervention from you.

Prevent play-biting: In pack society once, puppies become active they play physical games with each other and pester the adults by pulling their ears, tails, etc.  In the early days, puppies have licence to do what they like but as they grow up, adults and littermates alike become increasingly intolerant, especially of their very sharp teeth.  By eighteen weeks puppies learn that hard mouthing or play-biting is taboo and a reprimand will quickly follow any transgression of the rules.  When a puppy is introduced into the family, this learning process is normally incomplete.  The family must take over where the puppy's mother left off.

How is this done?  Whenever a puppy uses its teeth in play the person concerned should respond with a sharp "No!  and sound as if they have been really hurt.  They should then walk off and ignore the puppy for about five minutes.  In this way, the puppy learns (a) to limit the strength of its bite in both play and for real and (b) that biting is counter-productive as an attention-seeking device.

Lead training: Prepare your puppy for walking on the lead by getting it used to its collar and lead in the garden.

Going solo: Socialisation is very important, but so is learning to be alone.  Puppies who are not accustomed to being left unattended on a regular basis are much more likely to suffer from separation anxiety (i.e. become anxious when separated from the owner) in adulthood.  The three main symptoms of separation anxiety are destructiveness, incessant howling or barking and loss of toilet control.

To help prevent your puppy from suffering from this very common syndrome, you need to leave it unattended (i.e. in the house on its own) for over an hour on most days, preferably in the area that it sleeps in overnight, which should not be your bedroom, as sleeping there can contribute to separation anxiety and other problems.

For your puppy's safety, to prevent it from toileting in inappropriate places, chewing inappropriate items etc. ensure its area is "chew proof" and free from hazards such as electrical cables etc.  You may need to construct or buy some purpose-built barriers to make a pen.  Indoor kennels are often used and are readily available.  Leave your puppy with some appropriate chew items, such as long lasting chews from the pet shop, and fresh water.

Initially you should accustom your puppy to you sitting in another room, with the door between you open.  Over a period of time, the routine can be carried out with the door shut.  Once your puppy accepts this, you can start to leave the house; go next door for a coffee, for example.  Gradually extend the time you are away until you are absent for over an hour on a regular basis.  Do not go back if you hear your puppy crying.  Return when it is quiet.  If a puppy thinks it can "call you back “ it may never accept being left.

Be very matter of fact about going out and coming home.  If you fuss, your puppy before leaving you will unsettle it and make it want to be with you every moment you want your absence to be accepted.  (There is nothing in dog language for "Bye-bye, see you later”.  Any interaction means, "Let's go!")  Too much fuss on returning home highlights the loneliness of your absence.

Things to do away from home:

Go to all the environments you can think of that will help your puppy become "bomb proof”.  Start in quieter places and gradually find busier ones.

The street: Expose your puppy to the sound of traffic and the movement of people.  Start in quiet side streets and gradually build up to busy ones.

Places where people congregate: Any environment where people tend to congregate to sit and chat will do, so that they have the time to take interest in and handle your puppy.

Children's play areas: This is obviously a good place to meet many children (but consult your veterinary surgeon about the appropriate worming programme before bringing your puppy in contact with children).  Children should not talk to strangers, so make arrangements with their mothers.  Start with just a few children and control their enthusiasm to prevent your puppy from being overwhelmed, which can easily happen.

The car: Plenty of car travel will accustom your puppy to it and help prevent carsickness.  Do not let your puppy sit on the front seat or on someone's lap.  Accustom it to travelling in the place it will occupy when it is an adult.

The countryside: Accustom your puppy to the sights, sounds and smells of the countryside and livestock etc. (in your enthusiasm don't forget the Countryside Code).

Lead training: Once your veterinary surgeon has said that your puppy can be safely walked on a lead instead of being carried, carry on as before but go back to using quiet areas, then gradually build up to noisy and busy ones again.  In addition, think about the unusual places to which you can accustom your puppy, for example, open staircases can be a problem, as can the vibration of station platforms when trains arrive or the movement of the floors on trains, buses and lifts.  In the countryside keep your puppy on a lead and reward it for staying with you and ignoring livestock.

Socialising with other dogs:

Removing a puppy from its dam and littermates at six weeks is ideal in terms of socialising it with people but its socialisation with other dog’s stops.  As already discussed, socialisation will wear off, which means that some steps have to be taken to ensure that the process of learning to interact with others dogs continues if owning a maladjusted puppy is to be avoided.  However, socialising with other dogs does not entail allowing your puppy to run amok with other dogs in the park.  If they, the other dogs, are not properly socialised with their own, interactive and communication skills may be poor, which can often result in a misunderstanding and aggression.  This sort of encounter could result in the puppy learning to be aggressive towards other dogs.  If you go to any town park on a Sunday afternoon, you will see plenty of dogs not getting on simply because they cannot communicate properly.

In order that their puppy's canine interaction skills can be properly developed, it is very important for puppy owners to locate and attend one of the increasingly popular puppy socialisation classes, even if it means travelling some distance to get there.