CRITICAL PERIOD EXPOSURE
AND SOCIALISATION
One of the most common misunderstandings in dog ownership is the balance between Vaccinations and the Socialisation of your puppy.
Vaccinations are important and should be carried out as per the schedules provided by your Veterinarian. The problem however, rests with the often conflicting needs of early or critical period socialisation and the full vaccination course.
I have no doubt that all Vets have the best physiological interest of your dog at heart, but I am not convinced that they all fully appreciate the importance of the Critical Socialisation Period (CSP).
The CSP is basically the period of time from when your puppy is born, weaned, moved to your home and reaches the age of 14 to 16 weeks. During this time it is imperative that your puppy sees and gets a great association with all aspects of the world that you want it to embrace as an adult.
Sounds simple yes? Sadly, the CSP just happens to run parallel with the typical Vaccination schedule issued by your Vet and often the advice given is to not allow your puppy to socialise or even in extreme cases to venture outside your home for the entire vaccination period, which can be up to 14 weeks. We have a serious problem here.
If we follow this strict approach we are missing out on the most important period of Social development that your dog will experience, hence why it is called the Critical Socialisation Period.
Imagine if you will, you have a new baby, and on leaving the hospital, the doctor says to you, there are many childhood illnesses out there so I suggest you keep your child away from other children and society in general until it is 7 years of age. Sound stupid? That is because it is, yet we do this to dogs without a second thought.
Vaccinations and CSP should be balanced with safety. Some simple points to remember;
Vaccinations are important and should be carried out as per the schedules provided by your Veterinarian. The problem however, rests with the often conflicting needs of early or critical period socialisation and the full vaccination course.
I have no doubt that all Vets have the best physiological interest of your dog at heart, but I am not convinced that they all fully appreciate the importance of the Critical Socialisation Period (CSP).
The CSP is basically the period of time from when your puppy is born, weaned, moved to your home and reaches the age of 14 to 16 weeks. During this time it is imperative that your puppy sees and gets a great association with all aspects of the world that you want it to embrace as an adult.
Sounds simple yes? Sadly, the CSP just happens to run parallel with the typical Vaccination schedule issued by your Vet and often the advice given is to not allow your puppy to socialise or even in extreme cases to venture outside your home for the entire vaccination period, which can be up to 14 weeks. We have a serious problem here.
If we follow this strict approach we are missing out on the most important period of Social development that your dog will experience, hence why it is called the Critical Socialisation Period.
Imagine if you will, you have a new baby, and on leaving the hospital, the doctor says to you, there are many childhood illnesses out there so I suggest you keep your child away from other children and society in general until it is 7 years of age. Sound stupid? That is because it is, yet we do this to dogs without a second thought.
Vaccinations and CSP should be balanced with safety. Some simple points to remember;
- Don’t let your puppy play with unvaccinated dogs.
- Don’t let your puppy lick urine or feces in the public area.
- Avoid off leash parks, but allow your dog to see and experience safe dogs such as a good trusted obedience school.
- Take your puppy everywhere and allow it to get comfortable in many varied locations.
- Don’t let your puppy get a fright anywhere as this will have an impact on it going forward.
- When taking your puppy to the vet, be careful who you allow your puppy to socialise with as many dogs there may be sick.
- Safety first at all times but expose your puppy to your lifestyle.