Puppy Socialisation during lockdown

​Many people believe that puppy socialisation is all about meeting other dogs in a safe environment. Puppy training schools are a fantastic place for early puppy socialisation to happen but what to do while under lockdown restrictions?

Well the answer is, that there is a lot more to puppy socialisation than just meeting other dogs. And this is where you can have a lot of fun and creativity.


Puppy socialisation is actually about giving your pup different experiences, different textures under their feet, differing noises and sights and sounds.


These different experiences are critical for their learning and development and can shape their behaviour for the rest of their lives.
So it’s about exposing them to lots of different experiences in a safe and positive way! This way puppies will learn how to cope in different situations, how to interact with people and other animals when faced with new circumstances.

 An unfortunate incident....

I will never forget the day we took Ruby for a play at the park with the kids when she was about 4 or 5 months old. She was on the lead and a few other people were wandering around with their dogs on leads too.


All of a sudden, one dog escaped it’s collar, made a bee-line for Ruby and attacked her leg ferociously. I had grabbed her as soon as I could but still the other dog was hanging off her. The owner came over and had to prise the dog off Ruby’s leg. It was traumatic for me, for the kids but most of all for Ruby.

Thankfully there was no physical damage! But for a number of years after that, Ruby did not tolerate the company of other dogs. Today she can have some great play dates with other dogs which is so wonderful to watch.

I share this story to not only show you that long term mindsets are made in your pups at this young age but that with a lot of work, any negative experiences can be worked on.

Tips for creating positive experiences:

• Have some delicious treats ready for these new experiences
• ​Be ready with praise and petting as they experience these new situations
• Use reward based methods where the puppy is set up to succeed and then reward their good behaviour
• Make sure puppy is calm when you begin
• Allow the pup to be curious and reassure them but if pup is still worried, remove pup from situation and try again another day
• Make sure these experiences are very short and only introduce one thing at a time
• Don’t overwhelm your puppy with too many people trying to introduce these socialisation experiences

What socialisation can you give to your pup during this time?

• You can go outside for short walks
• If Puppy hasn’t received all their vaccinations then carry your puppy during these walks
• Every time you pass another person or dog on a walk, reward your puppy
• Once pup has had initial vaccination course, allow them to walk on their own and sniff new smells
• Explore your shed for different surfaces puppy could walk on like rubber mats, tarps etc
• Explore your dress up box for different hats, glasses, wigs to wear so you look like different people, high vis gear, masks, umbrellas etc.
• Have each new ‘dress up’ person come to your door and leave again. Hold pup in your arms and treat them when they behave calmly and investigate the ‘new’ person
• Try walking pup over metal, concrete, sidewalks, grass, tiles, leaves, pavement wood, ramps etc
• Create an obstacle course of different experiences in your back yard. Begin letting the pup experience each part one at a time. Once they are happy with all of them, connect two together, then three and so on.
• Try tying plastic flapping bags or bottles to wave in the wind
• Have kids ride past on bikes and scooters, etc
• Search for different sounds on your phone that you could play in short bursts around the pup like sirens and whistles, trains, barking dogs, motorbikes, birds etc
• Short drives in the car
• Practise grooming in the car
• Even feed the pup every now and then in the car as something different
• Have a selection of toys that you rotate including kong’s and treat toys. Check out DIY toys that you can make at home. These are fun projects to make
• Even teaching your pup to enjoy quiet moments alone is important. This is where using a crate is very helpful! Start with small amounts of time like 1 minute and slowly build up to longer periods of time.
• And finally you can begin basic training skills like sit, stay, down, come, leave it, tug and give etc There are many wonderful free videos you can find on Youtube that are very helpful in this area.

The other aspect of socialisation is getting your puppy used to being handled in different places that might be uncomfortable.
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Once again, when you make it into a game with rewards and praise and treats for short bursts of time, this will really help.


Areas you want to work on gently and for short bursts of time are:

• Letting you open their mouth and look at their teeth
• Rubbing their ears and looking in their ears
• Touching around their eyes
• Holding and rubbing along their tail
• Rubbing gently on their paws and between pads
• Holding their paws as if practising having their nails clipped
• Getting used to their coat being brushed gently

Hopefully that has given you some great ideas for socialising your new puppy, whether you are in a time of lockdown or do not have access to any puppy schools at the moment.


Enjoy your new puppy and know that as you do these activities, you are helping to raise a health and balanced pup that will enjoy exploring with you on all your adventures!