08/30/2026
Socialization is not the act of flooding your dog with experiences. Youâll be helping your dog, regardless of their temperament, by learning to be neutral around anyone.
Indulge me for a moment: How would you feel if for one month, every time you walked into a new place, the grocery store, got on the bus, wherever: you had to say hi to EVERY. PERSON. Give them a hug, even. Some of them might be friendly and react well to it, some of them might be mean and tell you to go away, you never really know what youâre going to get. If youâre a people person, you may not mind the variety of reactions, but that may not be what others consider polite or enjoyable. On the inverse, you may be an introvert like me, and the idea of saying hi to people with the potential of upsetting others or getting a negative reaction, even if few, may create an anxiety around meeting people at all. Regardless, the outing would drain your social battery, never mind any physical exertion.
After that month was up, how would you feel when you went into social situations? Perhaps the anxiety would linger from the negative experiences youâd had? Perhaps you dread the exhaustion that comes with inevitable social interactions without end? Maybe the habit is so engrained that youâre that overly talkative person on the bus annoying everyone now? Maybe itâs water off a ducks back, and youâre just relieved to not have to interact with anyone anymore.
Now imagine you got a puppy. For the first few months of their life you flood them with meeting every person and dog, no exceptions, âitâs good for themâ youâve been told! What you risk in exposing them to unstructured social flooding is similar to the outcome of our hypothetical in the beginning. A more nervous puppy may come to dread meeting new people or dogs due to one bad experience that you didnât expect. A more excited puppy may lose what little ability to regulate that they had and can no longer be neutral or calm around new people or dogs. You may even build a dog that is stressed at the idea of potentially having to meet the person oncoming and will do anything to avoid it and relieved when they scare them away with a l
