What is the best age to socialize a dog?

Puppies can handle new experiences best between 3 and 12 weeks old. After that stage, they become cautious about new things they haven’t encountered before. Puppies can begin socialization classes as early as 7 to 8 weeks. The risk of your puppy getting an infectious disease is increased before 16 weeks. This is also the best time period to socialize them. Don’t wait until they are fully vaccinated, because then you will miss out on the best opportunity to get them comfortable in unknown situations. However, you should avoid dog parks, beaches, and neighborhood parks until your puppy is fully vaccinated. The first three months of your puppy’s life is important for their development. During these months, the desire to be social outweighs their fear.

The greatest window of learning in a dog’s life starts around 3 weeks of age and closes between 16 and 20 weeks. This period allows puppies to be exposed to a wide variety of sights, sounds, smells, and sensations without becoming fearful. Puppies who miss out on these experiences may never learn to be comfortable around unfamiliar things, paving the way for anxiety, fear, and aggression later on in life. Young puppies should be cuddled and handled daily by as many different people as possible. Introduce your puppy to several new people every day, keeping the interactions pleasant and unthreatening. Note that while puppies under five months tend to explore the world with their mouths, dogs past this age are considered adolescents and should no longer be play biting.

The socialization period closes 12 weeks. Generally, the earlier you begin to socialize a dog, the better. Ideally socializing your puppy when they’re still within the impressionable stage is best but you’re not necessarily too late either. It’s never too late to socialize an adult dog. If we’re talking about dogs over 6-7 months you’ve missed the critical time period when puppies are most impressionable. Socializing an older dog is much like training a younger dog, but usually with more patience and encouragement required. The most important things to remember are to go at your dog’s pace and keep things positive. 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.