All About Magazine - Issue 16

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Puppy parties - It’s a social thing
The party season might be over – but year round Tern Vets are looking to
turn your puppies into sparkling socialites!
When you get a new puppy, it’s so easy to get
bamboozled by everything they need.
Organising vaccinations, givingwormers,
figuring out the night-time routine,
deciding whether to give in and let
them on the sofa after all – they
come with an awful lot to think
about! But one of the sometimes
overlooked aspects of raising a
well- rounded, happy dog is early
socialisation.
Compared to humans, who might
be fully matured in 20 years (most
of the time!), a puppy matures quickly,
each week forming a large proportion of
their puppyhood even if it feels like no time at all
to us. From 2 weeks old, puppies are inquisitive and
impressionable – approaching unfamiliar things to
learn about their environment with enthusiasm and
waggy tails. As they approach 16 weeks, fear of the
unknown begins to outweigh this enthusiasm and
they tend to be much more cautious.
This means we have a window of opportunity to
act in to give our puppies positive encounters
with all the things that might crop up in their lives,
teaching them to react appropriately. The more good
experiences we can fit into this time period the more
likely it is that we will raise a well adjusted adult dog,
capable of coping with unexpected scenarios.
Since vaccination courses are not usually finished till
12 weeks, we advise taking your puppy out in your
arms, letting him see as much of the world as possible
without risking exposure. Let him explore places
where no unfamiliar dogs have been and
carry him around traffic, talking to him in
a happy voice to give encouragement.
Alwaysallowyourpuppytoapproach
things in his own time, using treats
and toys as encouragements to
come and greet new humans. If
you are introducing a new adult
dog friend – make sure this dog is
well socialised and is on a lead to
start with until you are sure that the
experience is going to be a positive one
for your puppy. Never rush them, if you
think they might be a little afraid, just go slow,
make sure the puppy has lots of space and try to be
encouraging rather than sympathetic!
What if your puppy has a bad experience? The only
way to change their mind about this particular
environment or situation is to try and counter this
with lots of good and positive encounters of the
same thing. Take your time and be patient, some
puppies will need lots of good experiences before
they will forget the bad one!
Socialising with puppies is very important to us
at Tern, why not come to one of our free puppy
parties? They can give your puppy some positive
experiences of an environment that adult dogs are
often very fearful of as well as meeting lots of other
dogs their age for a play.
We love to see our puppies grow up and continue
to bound into the vets unafraid and ready for a fuss!
COMMERCIAL FEATURE
42 JANUARY 2016