Puppy Socialization Guide - the BEST and SAFEST way!

This 30 minute video is a guide on how to socialize your puppy in a safe an easy way. The video begins with an introduction to explain the method. Then I break socialization up into easy to follow steps using lots of footage of socializing my puppy Halo as an example.

The way this video approaches puppy socialization is setting up the environment for success to reinforce the social behaviors you want while creating a positive emotional response. Approaching puppy socialization as if training a behavior. Breaking the training up into steps. The puppy’s prior history and genetics will determine how fast you move through the steps.

Dogs and babies website:
Read the articles here to learn how to train your baby, child and your dog who share a household.

[tedjack]

Most professionals tend to forget how they started,
how hard it is when you raise your first puppy and
just don't know.
But you return to the basics again and again.
That's your gift and a blessing for us.
Thank you for this super tutorial.
I will watch it many times.

[thedoglog]

(I’m 31) When I grow up I want to be Emily Larlham. In all seriousness I have been looking for a socialisation video like this for years. Simply brilliant. Thanks!

[brownbanana]

Would you write a course to 'become a dog trainer'? I'll be your first online student! You're the best trainer ever!

[kazzazable]

Oh man I see why other trainers call you the queen of R+ training. This is an amazing socialization explainer.

[dabodo]

Beautifully explanations with lots of examples & scenario every time. Love the way you break tutorials down into achievable steps for our dogs, handler/owner. Your explanations are always very easy ti understand & so also remember. Thank you so much.

Thank you Judy Patterson for helping to make these tutorials possible. Without you & others like yourself this high quality, time consuming & expensive to produce channel would be difficult/impossible to keep going. Your support is helping many thousands of dogs worldwide (my dog & I included) your support is very much appreciated, it truly is. Thank you so much.
As always Emily absolutely loving all what you do. Thank you for relentless dedication, commitment, sharing your valuable knowledge, & posting yet another fabulous tutorial. Thank you so much. You are absolutely amazing.

[SusanneBark]

Great video Emily, especially like the example of what stressed looks like. Learning to read your puppy's body language could be a video in itself. Well done yet again 🙂

[xokatieox]

perfect analogy with breaking up steps for diving. I can totally relate.

[mackenziec]

I always tell my clients that puppies are more like play-doh; they have their own characteristics and traits and while you can still mold and shape them, they will always still be made up of that original material 😊

[sang-minjin]

Best trainer on YouTube. Thank you so much for all your videos!

[taiga]

I'm getting a Belgian Malinois puppy this Friday and I've been watching your videos for the past two weeks. Feeling excited but also anxious because I don't want to do anything wrong. People are saying I won't be able to let her be loose in the house ever because of their love of biting (not just as puppies). After seeing many dog trainers videos and their ways of raising a puppy, I've decided I want to do it your way anyway. Will definitely use your videos every day to try and give my dog the best! Awesome work and I'm so grateful I found your channel :)

[marieke]

I was just looking for a video about socialisation, thanks you for this video!

[susanwymer]

This is a fantastic video! I have a very social 10 week old mini-Aussie. Going to Starbucks didn’t go well because not everyone wanted to meet him! He found this perplexing! Now I know he needs to learn a calm settle! Thank you so much!

[susiebolton]

After 12 years of trying to manage my dog's aggression and reactivity, and blaming myself for getting everything so wrong when she was a puppy, I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that there is a degree of genetics and personality at play! I certainly did get things wrong even with the best intentions, but many other puppies would have taken stupid human errors in their stride and turned out just fine - but my prey driven, adrenalin-junkie, ferocious working Patterdale Terrier wasn't quite so forgiving and lived her life being furious at everything. I lost her in November 2019 and I still miss her being her impossible cranky self every day, but tomorrow I collect our brand new Border Terrier puppy - I hope I don't mess it up this time and that he gives me an easier ride! Thank you for your great videos, if you come to the UK please train me. 😊

[carsonreneau]

Thank you so much for your videos! You offer the best videos for dog owners by far! So much better and more informative than many other videos out there and it's clear you love dogs so much by the way you present your material!

[i.am.OK.]

Thank you so much for this incredibly valuable information!! I simply can't stress it enough! The internet is filled with terrible, amateurish, downright dangerous, wrong information, so that it's difficult to stay on top of things and you don't know who is trustworthy anymore. It is my dream to have a puppy one day, and the fact that your videos will always be there is extremely reassuring.
You should be the N°1 trainer on Youtube, but people fall for smiley attitudes, great editing and sensationalistic clickbait-thumbnails... I honestly believe that your content could mean the difference between a happy dog living a fulfilled life and and a dog being surrendered into a shelter for behaviour problems after "training" with aversive methods failed.

[CUniqueTheOneAndOnly]

This is all very good advice...recently I was out with my puppy and It went extremely well. When we went out she was not feeling it and when we got back home she was super stoked ( awesome experience). I had a HUGE gut feeling we should stop, pack it up and go back home....we were out about 30 mins to an hour. She was super happy and so was I but I followed my gut I went home and she had a wonderful day.

I always follow my gut...I agree.., I think it should never be too long when building a good experience...it should be short and sweet. I feel like each puppy is an individual but my gut tells me when my puppy might get over tired and a mentally over tired puppy can become overwhelmed suddenly.

I wish everyone would watch your video. I have a firm approach but I entirely agree with all of your points. Its good solid advice.

[brookedavid]

Well, thank goodness your scuba experience didn't work out, you are the most talented dog trainer! It's beautiful to witness you living out your true calling. Thank you for helping us all understand how to break down dog training into bite-sized steps, Emily!

[pestpet]

Wow! The water story really resonated with me. Thank-You so much for sharing that part in your tutorial.

[tulsisevadasi]

So so helpful. My arthritic 10 year old collie is highly unimpressed with my new poodle puppy. Working on keeping them calm and separating when necessary. Luckily my 12 year old labrador is perfect. Quiet and calm. Just have to make sure that she doesnt get less attention.

[crosita]

What a fantastic video! I love everything about it. When I brought my youngest rescue into our house I had a female dog who was chill and a male who would try to fight any new dog he could reach. I was extremely cautious with my old little reactive guy, and started them out on separate floors but in earshot. I used a treat robot (he was already trained to the robot) to reward him when the new dog made noise. I took things very slowly with removing space, visual barriers, using a muzzle, and within 3 days they were making friends. A few years later they are bffs and play constantly. Unfortunately I wasn't as cautious with my chill girl and when the new pup got his (puberty and health problem related) onset of anxiety, they started having problems getting along. So now I really have to be careful with them and always encourage them to be tolerant of each other, and never let them have food near each other when I am not right there. If I had taken more time for my chill girl and encouraged a more positive relationship between her and the new dog at the beginning (like I had for my reactive dog) we might have avoided some of the more scary things like his tooth narrowly missing her eye when she got too close to his nose ointment (he considered that his food). Alas. Luckily as we get better at encouraging tolerance and preventing guarding situations, they are getting more and more comfortable around each other and the last disagreement was vocal only which is SUCH an improvement!!!

Also, I had a similar experience to you when getting my SCUBA cert to get started in aquarium work. Pool was great, then suddenly we were in WA in frigid saltwater, all the extra wetsuit thickness and the hood and super low vis, and I couldn't descend. My instructor was awesome and encouraged me to do some snorkeling that first day. After the snorkeling I was fine, so we made up the 2 dives I missed the first day once we got back. If you ever want to try again on your SCUBA cert, the open water classes pay super poorly so instructors who are making a living off of those try to pump as many people through as quickly as possible. If you pay for private (or small group) instruction it is way less pressure. Getting your cert in cold water is better preparation for all kinds of diving, but tropical diving is so much more pleasant. I would never dive cold for fun now. We spent 8 years on Guam and the diving is amazing, although if you go to the less developed islands in the chain it's even better.

But I am glad we have you in dogs now. I feel like dog training really needs you, while positive and humane training is much more standard/expected in exotics and aquatics. Although it's amazing how behavioral training and enrichment has spread through the taxa in zoos and aquaria between when I began in the field through my injury and transition to dogs up till today.

Thanks again for the great video on a very important subject!!