Puppy Social Handling & Socialization 

As soon as you bring your puppy home, you should begin gently exposing them to the kinds of experiences they will need to tolerate throughout their lives. Although you should carefully avoid outright scary experiences between the ages of 8-11 weeks, such as very loud noises or machinery at close range, the first few weeks are great for teaching your pup to accept and like appropriate touch and handling by people.

After 11 weeks, you can also take them out in the world to experience (at a tolerable distance, at first) passing traffic, busy places, elevators and escalators etc. Here are some projects for both kinds of socialization: 

Social Handling

Make a positive association with the kinds of touch that your puppy could naturally learn to dislike and resist as she matures by pairing with treats. Do the following things a few in a row, a couple of times a day, while cuddling or playing. Start slow and gentle, but get faster and more assertive with time.

• Touch/grab the collar
• Grab fat/skin around the collar
• Grab/gently pull hair
• Touch/grab an ear (at the base)
• Grab/stretch/lift the tail (hold at the base)
• Lift lips to examine teeth
• Brush a tooth, then more (BIG treat)
• Rub the cheek hollow (like ear cleaning)
• Hold/gently squeeze paw
• Hold paw and touch with nail trimmers
• Hold paw and line up a nail cut
• Hold paw and cut ONE nail (BIG treat!)
• Briefly restrain in “hug”
• Examine all over
• Brush coat
• Expose in stages to electric clippers (dogs that will be groomed) 

Socialization

After 11 weeks, start exposing your puppy to other, potentially scary, elements of their new life. Pair with happy play or treats. Start gently or at tolerable distances, before increasing the intensity of the experience.

• Passing traffic
• Elevators/Escalators
• Well-mannered dogs
• Busy places
• New people (allow some to do some of the social handling exercises)
• Veterinary office
• Vacuum cleaners
• Fireworks
• Find examples for your life with your dog