Page 27 - Chow Life - 2025 01 Spring

Puppies exposed to standardized socialization Sources:
protocol of one time a day over five days a week, Dr. Annie Valuska, Principal Scientist, Nestlé Purina Pet
ranging from 5 minutes per puppy at weeks 1 and Behavior Team.
2 to 10 minutes at weeks 3 and 4 to 15 minutes at 1 Battaglia CL. Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
weeks 5 and 6, had significantly better scores on 2009;4(5):203-210.
separation anxiety, distraction, anxiety and body 2 Gazzano A, Marifi C, Notari L, et al. Applied Animal
sensitivity at 6 months of age. 3 Behaviour Science. 2008;110(3-4):294-304.
3 Vaterlaws-Whiteside H, Hartmann A. Applied Animal
2) Create Positive Experiences So Socialization Behavior Science. 2017;197:55-61.
Is Fun for the Dog 4 England G. Dog Breeding, Whelping and Puppy Care.
Manage the dog’s exposure to new experiences. 2013. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey.
All activities should take place below the fear
threshold when the dog is interested but not afraid
or stressed. Create a socialization staircase
using short, frequent sessions to
establish confidence and ensure
that your dog has positive
experiences. One study
found that puppies
that had negative
experiences with
stimuli were more
likely to become
fearful than
puppies that had
no exposure
at all to those
stimuli.

3) Reward
the Dog at
the Right
Time for
Appropriate
Behavior

A dog that is
calmly responding
to a new stimulus
should be reinforced
for that behavior with
praise or treats. This will
link the new experience to
something good happening.
Over time, those links will build
a positive cognitive bias toward new
things, resulting in a more confident and less
fearful dog.

Used with permission from Today’s Breeder,
Nestle Purina Petcare Company.
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