Precursor to Puppy Socialization - One Hour in the Lives of My Dogs
Updated: Feb 3, 2022
One Hour in the Lives of My Dogs
Before we get to puppy socialization, I want to illustrate one day – actually one hour in my and my dogs’ lives. They are adults, and I walk them three or four times a day for about one hour total time. During that time, every day they encounter new experiences.
A brief explanation – technically, this is not puppy socialization but habituation. “Puppy socialization” refers to puppies meeting other animals – humans included! Since almost everyone misuses the term “puppy socialization,” I have used that term for simplification.
Just for fun, I decided to inventory only the things that I noticed that were different from the day before, things I saw and heard and to some extent smelled. Our dogs’ perception of the world is different from ours because their primary sense is smell while ours is sight. I have included here things that I saw and to a lesser extent smelled.
I have included ages and races of people because each encounter is different for our dogs. Dogs can tell how old someone is both by looking at their size and by their scent. Dogs may also be able to identify people by their race because different races may eat different core foods, which smell differently to dogs (although many of us including myself eat anything that tastes good and have a multi-cultural palate!).
How Walks Contribute to Puppy Experiences
Someone going through the garbage looking for plastic bottles
Homeless man
Man on a bicycle exercising his Akita
Pile of leaves
Bike tied to lamp post
Bird poop
Crows flying and pecking at grass
Middle aged man walking small black dog
The smell of coffee brewing
Older woman walking two Yorkies
Young Caucasian woman walking black and white aggressive mid-sized dog
Hispanic man walking French bulldog
Asian woman walking Shiba Inu
Teenage male with baseball cap on skateboard
Candy bar wrapper
Motorcycle
Garbage truck
Hispanic woman walking little boy to school
African-American female school crossing guard
For Rent sign
Styrofoam plate on the ground
Fast food cup with straw
Young Caucasian man getting into car
Asian man opening trunk of car
Newly-planted flowers
Garbage cans set at the curb for pickup
Sprinklers watering grass
Metal security door closing
Teenage girl talking on phone
Cigarette butts on the ground
Middle-aged woman smoking
Blind Asian woman with service dog
Large branch broken and hanging from the tree
Shopping cart on the sidewalk
Old sofa by the curb
Dogs barking from a balcony
Three elderly men jogging down the street
Car racing down the street
Old baby seat left outside
The smell of baking bread
Tow truck
Man pushing vacuum cleaner
Crumpled up paper on the ground (People seem to be slobs in my neighborhood…….)
Motorcycle
Teenage girl washing car on the lawn (honest!)
Old newspapers
Candy wrappers
Dog barking from inside a house
African-American female postal worker pushing cart
Two men working on car engine
The smell of grilling chicken
Apartment for rent sign
Trees being trimmed
Wood chipper
Car backfiring
Horns honking
Palm fronds on ground
Again, these were different experiences from the previous day, included pretty much in the order that they happened as we were walking. My dogs took them in stride because they are exposed to novel events every day.
There are many, many things that I have omitted, the first one coming to mind is the different cars and trucks that passed us were definitely not the same nor were they in the same order as yesterday – and, of course, the smells. But you get the picture.
Please read my other articles on puppy socialization and training.
Thanks for visiting Precursor to Puppy Socialization - One Hour in the Lives of My Dogs. I make a small commission on any products or books I recommend.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only. It does not replace a consultation with a dog trainer, dog behavior consultant, or veterinarian and may not be used to diagnose or treat any conditions in your dog.
If you need help with puppy or dog training, we do both private in-person and virtual lessons via Zoom. Please contact us by calling or texting (310) 804-2392 or sending an email to caryl@DoggieManners.com . We look forward to working with you.