Here is a list of things to socialize your puppy around.  Remember, socialization is expo­sure with pleas­ant con­se­quences to teach accep­tance of new experiences. Common sense goes a long way when socializing a puppy.  If your puppy seems hesitant, go slower, let the puppy approach the person (not vice-versa), use rewards like food, praise and petting when the puppy does investigate something he was unsure of, and never force a puppy (this only creates fear issues later).

• Ten different healthy, happy small dogs
• Ten different healthy, happy big dogs
• Ten different calm, well behaved, gentle children
• Ten different calm, well behaved, gentle teenagers
• Thirty different calm, well behaved, gentle adults
• Ten tall people
• Ten average height people
• Ten short people
• Ten people wearing glasses
• Ten people wearing hats or hoods
• Fifty different sounds
• Five things red
• Five things blue
• Five things orange
• Five things green
• Five things purple
• Five things yellow
• One body of water, river, stream, or pool
• Ten different vehicles
• Ten things that are not in your house
• Fifteen things you can only find outside
• Twenty different ring tones
• Five different surfaces (sand, grass, concrete, etc)
• Five shiny things
• Twenty different dog toys
• One fence
• Five street signs
• One crate or dog bed
• Touch each paw twice a day for one week
• Twenty other people to touch or pet the puppy
• Twenty other people to give the puppy a treat
• See, be near, or interact with supervision, three other animals (cat, horse, etc)
• Sniff on a walk at least five times, for at least ten walks
• Respond to at least one easy cue (sit, target, paw, etc) in ten different situations (you’re sitting, standing, laying in bed, mowing the grass, carrying in the groceries, etc), in at least three different environments (outside, at your friend’s house, etc)
• Eat a treat in twenty different environments (your house, outside, the vet’s, a friend’s house, on a walk, in the car, etc)

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Related Posts:

http://sitstayandplay.com/dogblog/socialization-skills

http://www.petexpertise.com/puppy-socialization-by-jules-nye.html?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=6704741&utm_campaign=Stop%20Door%20Barking%2C%20Help%20a%20Dog%20Recover%2C%20Contest%20%26%20More%20-%20Pet%20Expertise%20October%20Article%20Newsletter

Socialization is the act of exposing your puppy to new, pleasant experiences — with the goal to create a confident dog.  That’s right, I said confident.  The polar opposite of confident in the dog world is anxious.  And not socializing a puppy will create a dog who is fearful, hesitant, nervous, anxious, or aggressive when introduced to a new environment or stimulus.  You know, those dogs who are scared to live in their own skin.

Also notice socialization isn’t just exposure.  It’s exposure with pleasant consequences. Just taking your puppy around new people, places, animals, and things DOES NOT socialize.  It’s the interaction with those things. Keep in mind that a negative experience can come from uncertainty (fear of the unknown), or a bad experience,  and it can come from you or the environment.  I had a wonderful Sheltie breeder in Ohio call me about a puppy she placed in my area.  This puppy left her just like every other puppy with no problems.  Within two months he was so fearful of people he wouldn’t even let the owner touch him.  After speaking with her and getting some back ground information it was obvious the problem was due to improper socializing.  You see, this Sheltie puppy was placed with a trainer’s assistant who had all the best intentions.  She wanted to socialize her new puppy and had access to hundreds of people and dogs.  Sadly, she didn’t realize passing her puppy from person to person with a goal of “the puppy must be handled by 100 strangers” back fired.  Let’s pretend you’re the puppy, and I’m your owner.  Now let’s pretend you’re not sure what to make of strangers, a little uncomfortable, but nothing serious.  Now let’s pretend I force 100 random strangers to hug you.  So that’s one hundred times something you are uneasy about comes into your space and just starts touching you (petting). Which actually had the side effect of “touch is bad.”

Socialization is teaching a puppy about the world around him.  It’s teaching the acceptance of new places, things, sounds, etc.  A much better plan would have been to do something that made the Sheltie puppy want to approach strangers.  Maybe letting the dog come to them and getting a good sniff.  Or how about giving the dog a small tasty treat (we call that “strangers have the best candy” in the training world.)  If you try and force “close” all they want to do is get farther away.  If you give them plenty of space to get close at their own pace, then they want to explore the option of being close.  Why?  Because it’s non-threatening.

So if you or someone you know is socializing a puppy, tell them to use motivation.  Tell them: Socialization is exposure with pleasant consequences to teach acceptance of new experiences.