The Importance of Socializing Your Puppy

Socialized German Shepherds Photo Credit: Canva

An unsocialized dog is a dangerous dog. You won’t be able to bring it to parks, pet stores, or even to your friends’ homes. When you have friends over, you will need to crate your German shepherd dog if it is not socialized. An unsocialized dog as large and strong as a German shepherd can cause significant damage to other people and animals.

When you get your new puppy, socializing it so that the dog can interact with your friends, family and other pets is an important part of training.

Start Socializing Your Puppy Right Away

When you get a new puppy, one of the first things you should do is allow it to meet people and other dogs. One of the best ways to do this is to walk your dog with other friends' dogs – dogs that you know are not only well-socialized but well-behaved. You could also bring your puppy into pet stores and other places that allow pets.

Parks are also a great place to meet other people of all ages; however, we do not recommend dog parks. Not only will you find too many off-leash dogs that might be unpredictable, but those dogs could have illnesses they could pass on to your puppy or adult dog.

Before taking your dog to a park, check the rules to ensure dogs are allowed. All parks have leash laws that you must abide by when visiting.

Taking Your Puppy to Stores

Before you take your puppy into a store, be sure it is allowed. While your puppy is young, be sure it goes potty before you go inside so you don't have any accidents to clean up – hopefully. When you're inside, this is a good time to work on the “leave it” command with your puppy.

Let it sniff things, as puppies are naturally curious, but if it tries to take something, use the leave it command and redirect the puppy by gently moving its head away from the interesting item and walking away. You can use your hand to move the puppy away from the item.

Meeting Other Dogs with Your German Shepherd Puppy

When your puppy meets other dogs, teach your puppy manners by having it 'stay' or 'sit' until you give it permission to play or interact with the other dog. Giving commands that your dog readily obeys helps train your puppy not to react to other dogs. A reactive dog can be as dangerous as an unsocialized dog. Reward your puppy for keeping its concentration on you and not the other dog.

If the other dog is reactive or its owner allows it to run up to your dog, politely but firmly let the owner know that your puppy is in training and should not be approached. You can also let the other dog owner know that while his dog may be friendly, your dog does not like other dogs rushing up to it, and it is not safe to allow his dog to approach other dogs without permission.

Children and German Shepherd Dogs

We breed large, straight-back and family-friendly dogs. However, dogs must become acclimated to children and vice versa. Children are more active and are more likely to excite your dog, and it may “forget” its manners. Some tips for getting your dog used to children include:

• Never leave a child and a dog, even a puppy, unsupervised.
• Never let your child pull on the dog’s coat, ears, tail, legs or face.
• Teach your children – even toddlers – to respect dogs.
• Teach your puppy good manners, such as no jumping, approaching carefully, and not shoving or leaning on the children.
• Never let a child tease a dog.
• Teach your puppy to approach children slowly and to sit so the child can pet it.

Play Dates

Another great way to socialize your puppy is to set up play dates with other dogs. You'll get to socialize with your friends, and the dogs will get to play with each other. You'll be able to work on training together, which can be better for some puppies. Your puppy will learn to listen to you even with the distraction of other dogs.

Spending time with your puppy is not enough. You'll have to spend some time every day with training commands. Work on socialization skills a few times per week, if possible. If you can’t get out in public, a friend or relative stopping by is good practice.