A Different Angle on Socializing
(This is an edited version of a column published in 2021. I no longer operate my puppy day school, but insight gained is timeless!)
As I type this, I’m attending the annual conference of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) in Colorado. There’s always much more to learn about behavior and training, from neuroscience to nutrition and everything in between, so I’m eating it up, eager to return home so I can apply new nuggets of knowledge in my own work.
“Play is fertilizer for our brain” (Jaak Panksepp)
We are at our most attentive, most resilient and have optimal learning during play.
The 10 or so puppies at PupStart, my day school for puppies, are playing, investigating our enriching and invigorating environment, engaged with each other and with us, tails up, loose bodies... JOYOUS.
While this delightful and downright adorable scene takes place, a sudden, novel noise erupts from the sidelines.
BOOM!
The puppies very briefly turn their attention to the source of the sound, then return to what they were doing: immersing themselves in Happiness.
Why is this? Why didn’t they get frightened or try to run away?
Start with a Fabric of Joy, then add Threads of Novelty
I underestimated the Power of Joy when I created PupStart in 2014, but it quickly became apparent how important and useful this emotion is when we are socializing our dogs to our strange and unpredictable world. Life is full of surprises and potentially scary things; things that can, with just one exposure, establish long-term fear in our animals. However, we can intentionally help build resilience in our dogs so that they can handle what is thrown at them as they prance down life’s crazy roads. We can work to maximize opportunities to help our puppies grow up to be as confident as possible, and those opportunities are everywhere. Young puppies are more likely to take things in stride and accept “new normals,” but continued socialization throughout the lives of our dogs can help maintain their ease of being.
Confidence builds Resilience
A Shift in Approach to “Socialization”
Recommendations for socializing puppies often included terminology like, “expose your puppy to these 100 things” ... followed by a detailed list of people, animals, surfaces, etc. It was overwhelming and carried with it the real potential of overwhelming our pups. Trying to do too much, too fast, without regard for our learner can have serious consequences. Let’s banish that list and instead focus more on, “Start with Joy,” and “make sure associations are positive.” The beauty of this style of socializing is that it snowballs, and new environments and new experiences can actually become predictors of fun. Pare that list down to things your pup is likely to be exposed to. Do you like to go boating? Help your pup love a wobble board and unpredictable surfaces. Going to spend a lot of time at kids’ games? Help her love the sound of groups of kids playing in the distance.
If we look at the socialization process as a chart with two dials, one for joy and one for novelty, we want the joy factor to be pumped up pretty high before we add a “dilute” amount of novelty. With practice, we can push the novelty needle way up and Joy will remain stable.
Novelty absent Joy may result in Fear
Imagine the bucolic puppy scene described above, but instead of puppies playing, they are standing around doing nothing, when…
BOOM!
All attention is focused on the novel sound. Some puppies might startle and instantly bounce back, but the risk is great that many puppies will have a fearful response. I call this an “uh oh moment.” Uh Oh Moments can be very difficult to recover from, and the anxiety they induce tends to linger. It will be difficult to get all the puppies to engage in play after that BOOM. Time-consuming damage control might even be necessary. It’s more efficient and humane to create resilience through an intentional and strategic blending of novelty into joy. Attempting to blend joy into novelty is far less likely to be successful.
“Active social behavior with peers (inter or intraspecies) drives positive emotion” (Dr. Jeffrey Burgdorf)
The puppies didn’t have a fearful response to the BOOM while they were playing because we very carefully controlled the timing, intensity, proximity, duration, and direction of the sound. This is vital. We did similar things with visual stimuli such as umbrellas flapping, bicycles or wheelbarrows moving, a person using a walker or crutches, etc. We start out being quite subtle, then we gradually increase the intensity based on the puppies’ reactions. If there is any indication that any one of the puppies might be on the cusp of an Uh Oh Moment, we adjust things accordingly. We have to err on the side of the least resilient puppy.
Skills and Games
Before you take your dog out in the larger world, work on skills (taught as fun games) first.
Here are some suggestions:
• Eye contact
• Hand targeting
• Perch (front paws up on something)
• Tug with a special toy
• Find it
“Play games with your dog in new environments, employing Tools of Joy.”
“Play can restore brain health” (Dr. Jeffrey Burgdorf)
This applies to all beings, so play with your dog, play with friends, find Joy in whatever way you can.
Happy Training!
Diana Logan, CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge-Assessed
Pet Connection Dog Training, North Yarmouth, Maine
www.dianalogan.com | 207-252-9352