Congratulations to the lastest graduates of our monthly puppy classes: Max, Abby, Tag, Marley, Bally and Louie (not pictured). They have all completed a very important step in the development and socialisation of a new puppy.
Puppy development includes a critical socialisation period. This critical development period ends around 12 to 16 weeks of age. Socialisation helps your little puppy feel relaxed as a pet within a society that includes a huge mix of people, environments, buildings, sights, noises, smells, dogs and other animals.
Many behavioural problems in dogs are due to inappropriate or insufficient socialisation. Your pup needs to get out there in the big wide world! You need to expose them to the people, animals, plants, objects and natural phenomena they are likely to encounter throughout their life. This includes things like the sight and sound of cars, buses and trucks, schoolyards of yelling children, crowds, cats, crying babies and thunderstorms.
After 12 – 16 of weeks of age, dogs become much more cautious of anything they haven’t yet encountered. Once they reach 18 weeks, it’s very difficult to teach a dog to like something new, or help them become comfortable with something they find frightening.
A great way to socialise your puppy with other dogs and people is through puppy school. In addition to your pup making new friends, you can learn about puppy health, behavioural and obedience training methods as well as how to troubleshoot any existing problems. Our puppy classes are run by our fully trained and experienced veterinary nurses. They run for four weeks, one evening a week between 7pm-8 pm. Our staff would love to answer your questions about puppy classes at Inner South Veterinary Centre.