If you are a dog owner, you are probably aware of the importance of socialising your puppy. Dogs have a sensitive period for socialisation between the ages of 3 and 12 weeks. This means that pleasant exposures to people, other dogs and other animals during this time will have long-lasting influences on the sociability of your dog. Well socialized dogs tend to be friendlier and less fearful of the kinds of individuals they were socialized to.

Veterinarians, dog trainers and other dog professionals urge new puppy owners to take their dogs to puppy classes and to provide other socializing experiences. Although this is excellent advice, it shouldn't be the end of a dog's social training.

Don't underestimate how important it is to continue to socialise your dog well into adulthood. We've seen quite a few dogs that seem to have been well socialised early in life, were friendly and accepting of people and other dogs and then began to react with threats or aggression during social encounters. These dogs had no traumatic or frightening experiences but became fearful and/or aggressive later.
Socialisation is ongoing for the rest of your dog's life. Your dog may have gone to a puppy class, and a lucky dog is walked to the park each day. But, while this dog has met a number of people and a number of dogs, it is also likely that he will meet those same familiar faces each and every day. To keep your dog socialized, he must continue to meet new dogs and new people. The two best ways to do this are walking a different route each day and going to socialisation classes.

Socialising your dog is so easy and so much fun that a lot of people fail to take it seriously. However, without adequate socialisation, your dog may become fearful and is likely to develop two of the most serious and hard-to-resolve problems, biting and fighting

Our classes are held on Sundays at Hartley Wintney.
Check the Calendar for dates and times
Register for classes here