At the dog park

Earlier this week we took the puppies to the dog park for a visit. Seeing as they haven't yet had their vaccinations, we didn't let them wander around, but put some blankets on the ground, set the puppy playpen up on the blankets, and let them play there while we threw the ball for Garnet close by.

So what's the point of taking puppies to a dog park when they can't run around? Mainly it's socialization. Puppies need to be socialized to all kinds of new situations, new people, new dogs, new objects, new locations, etc etc. The more you introduce them to new things as puppies, the more they will become accustomed to new things and view them as "ordinary" rather than things to be afraid of. Many, many dog bits are the result of a fear reaction, so if we can work to eliminate the fear reaction - or at least significantly tone it down - when they are puppies, then they will grow into secure, confident dogs for whom doing new stuff is pretty blase.

We had a good dozen or so people stop by the playpen to say hi and cuddle the puppies, and many dogs who came up and sniffed at them through the grate. So they got to see big dogs, small dogs, white dogs, black dogs, brown dogs, male dogs, female dogs - and lots of different kinds of people, too. That's another dozen "strangers" to put on the introduction list!