What age is too late to socialize a dog?
Jeffrey Doyle
2025-07-02 13:19:31
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Fortunately, the oft-repeated adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” isn’t true. Dogs are naturally curious animals who are always learning and excited to absorb new experiences. According to VCA Animal Hospital, older dogs are often easier to train because of their greater ability to concentrate. So while it’s best for your furry pal to learn social skills early on, it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Socializing a mature dog is also possible, but will require some practice and training to help build your pup’s confidence. Remember that slow and steady wins the adult dog socialization race. It may take more time, but older dogs can learn new tricks and shed old habits.
Newton Cormier
2025-06-19 11:56:18
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If my pup is 6 months or older and I don’t feel like I’ve properly socialized my pup, am I too late? It’s not too late but it’s important for you to be careful with your socialization strategy. If we’re talking about dogs over 6-7 months you’ve missed the critical time period when puppies are most impressionable because, even though they’re still young, your pup is starting to move into adolescence. By 7-8 months you’ve started to lose that flexibility that comes with a younger pup’s impressionability and it’s important for you to not force interactions. Socializing doesn’t necessarily mean interaction: Don’t force interactions after a dog is 7-8 months if they’re still hesitant to be social. Ideally socializing your puppy when they’re still within the impressionable stage is best but you’re not necessarily too late either!
Lolita Grimes
2025-06-19 10:59:41
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The socialization period closes 12 weeks. We have a cat too that we really want him to get to know as early as possible. We were wondering if it will be a bit too late to socialize him at 13 weeks. We’ve read that the socialization period closes 12 weeks so we are wondering if we should pick him up asap.
Lavada Prosacco
2025-06-19 10:04:07
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We believe, though it may be a bit more challenging with an older dog, it’s never too late. Generally, the earlier you begin to socialize a dog, the better. It’s never too late to socialize an adult dog. The most important things to remember are to go at your dog’s pace and keep things positive. Socializing an older dog is much like training a younger dog, but usually with more patience and encouragement required. You will find you’re most successful when you don’t overwhelm your pet with an overload of training or try to move too quickly.
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