He will also go through another one at the age of about 3 months old.
During this period, if they are frightened by something, it could be something as simple as a plastic bag blowing near them, or a cushion falling off the sofa next to them and making them jump out of their skin! If the 'fear' isn't dealt with sufficiently at the time that it happens, this could give a dog a fear of plastic bags or cushions for the rest of it's life, because that fear and what the puppy associates it with has now become imprinted on their brain.
For instance...You could be carrying a dinner plate, when you accidentally step on your pup's foot, the puppy could forever associate dinner plates with you stepping on his foot and consequently develop a fear of dinner plates.
Our first instinct is to cuddle the puppy to comfort him, but by doing this what we are actually doing is reinforcing the imprint, by making him believe that he was right to be frightened.
To help get him through this, the dinner plate should be left on the floor near the puppy with a treat placed on it to make the puppy think it's a good thing and he should be left to sniff and investigate in his own time. (Ok, maybe a dinner plate isn't a good example! Because we are also teaching the puppy that it's ok to eat off our dinner plates! But you get the idea!)
It may be that they suddenly refuse to go up a certain walkway that they have previously gone up without any problem, this could be that on their last trip there they heard a loud noise or saw something that frightened them. Rather than avoiding that walk way or trying to pull them along on their lead, without making a fuss, pick them up and carry them up the walkway so that they can see there is nothing to fear.
Always keep in mind that your role is to provide direction for your pup. Your puppy will thank you for your clear and calm instruction and you'll have a well-balanced adult dog.
This probably explains why a lot of adult rescue dogs have rather bizarre fears, especially if they have come from a dubious or bad background, where these fears won't have been dealt with in a sensitive way. I once had an adult rescue dog that was absolutely terrified of balloons....maybe one popped near him and scared him when he was a puppy?
By the time a puppy reaches about 12 weeks of age, any new encounter will be approached with caution and trepidation.
Therefore, it is vital that a puppy meets a wide variety of people, situations and other animals between 3 and 12 weeks of age.
This means a real effort should be taken to socialise young puppies well during their first few months
Socialisation after this time is also necessary to build on the foundation or to make up for lost time, particularly if your puppy was not socialised adequately in the litter, or was unwell.
Puppies that are well socialised grow up to be friendly and happy with people and other animals, and make very successful pets.
Dogs that were taken out regularly as young puppies can take different situations in their stride and enjoy going anywhere with their owners. Dogs that like people can be taken anywhere and live life to the full.
My present Border Collie Ollie has many irrational fears and although he has improved dramatically, he is still not 100% happy around strangers. We got him at the age of 5 months old from a breeder who had not only failed to socialise him, he also bragged that he had never stroked him or shown him any love or reassurance, because he didn't want to bond with him! He was kept outside with his litter mates and had never left that property.
I'm pretty sure there is probably a lot more to Ollie's fears than just lack of socialisation alone though.
For instance...You could be carrying a dinner plate, when you accidentally step on your pup's foot, the puppy could forever associate dinner plates with you stepping on his foot and consequently develop a fear of dinner plates.
Our first instinct is to cuddle the puppy to comfort him, but by doing this what we are actually doing is reinforcing the imprint, by making him believe that he was right to be frightened.
To help get him through this, the dinner plate should be left on the floor near the puppy with a treat placed on it to make the puppy think it's a good thing and he should be left to sniff and investigate in his own time. (Ok, maybe a dinner plate isn't a good example! Because we are also teaching the puppy that it's ok to eat off our dinner plates! But you get the idea!)
It may be that they suddenly refuse to go up a certain walkway that they have previously gone up without any problem, this could be that on their last trip there they heard a loud noise or saw something that frightened them. Rather than avoiding that walk way or trying to pull them along on their lead, without making a fuss, pick them up and carry them up the walkway so that they can see there is nothing to fear.
Always keep in mind that your role is to provide direction for your pup. Your puppy will thank you for your clear and calm instruction and you'll have a well-balanced adult dog.
This probably explains why a lot of adult rescue dogs have rather bizarre fears, especially if they have come from a dubious or bad background, where these fears won't have been dealt with in a sensitive way. I once had an adult rescue dog that was absolutely terrified of balloons....maybe one popped near him and scared him when he was a puppy?
By the time a puppy reaches about 12 weeks of age, any new encounter will be approached with caution and trepidation.
Therefore, it is vital that a puppy meets a wide variety of people, situations and other animals between 3 and 12 weeks of age.
This means a real effort should be taken to socialise young puppies well during their first few months
Socialisation after this time is also necessary to build on the foundation or to make up for lost time, particularly if your puppy was not socialised adequately in the litter, or was unwell.
Puppies that are well socialised grow up to be friendly and happy with people and other animals, and make very successful pets.
Dogs that were taken out regularly as young puppies can take different situations in their stride and enjoy going anywhere with their owners. Dogs that like people can be taken anywhere and live life to the full.
My present Border Collie Ollie has many irrational fears and although he has improved dramatically, he is still not 100% happy around strangers. We got him at the age of 5 months old from a breeder who had not only failed to socialise him, he also bragged that he had never stroked him or shown him any love or reassurance, because he didn't want to bond with him! He was kept outside with his litter mates and had never left that property.
I'm pretty sure there is probably a lot more to Ollie's fears than just lack of socialisation alone though.