A tried and true guide for socializing puppies is: THE RULE OF SEVEN. Simply stated this guide tells you that by 7 wks of age puppies should have met these bench marks:
- Been on 7 different types of surfaces
- Played with 7 different types of objects
- Been in 7 different locations
- Met and played with 7 new people
- Been exposed to 7 challenges
- Eaten from 7 different containers
- Eaten in 7 different locations
- met or seen 7 different pets (I added this to the conventional list)
surfaces - grass, gravel, carpet, linoleum, cement, couch, paper, wood (8)
objects - ball, plush toy, Kong, nylabone, white bone, tennis ball, cardboard, stick, leaf, canvas, rubber squeaky, rope, bully stix, (13)
locations - front yard, back yard, gravel run, grass/ dirt run, mudroom, kitchen, living room, porch, car, bedroom, under the deck (11).
people - 2 kids, 10 women, 4 men, 1 male teen, 1 female teen (18)
challenges - stairs, ramp, low gate, tunnel, whelping box, crawl over legs, box (7)
containers - plastic bowl, plastic double diner, metal plate, metal pan, metal bowl sm, metal bowl lg, ceramic bowl (7)
eating locations - kitchen, mudroom, porch, kennel run, yard/front, yard/back, crate (7)
pets- cat, sm dog tan, sm dog bi-color, big red dog (female), big red dog (male), big merle dog, big bi-color dog (7)
Phew! Looks like we're doing okay!
The pups will be 7 weeks old on WED 8/8 and will head off to their new homes shortly thereafter! We will miss them, but they are ready!
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