When a puppy is born, it is deaf and blind, it finds its mother’s teat by smell. A constant process of learning that lasts throughout the whole life gets started. From the 14^th day of living, all negative and positive influences on the further development of the puppy’s behaviour and character are irreversible; unfortunately, these cannot be changed even by training. The mother’s model of behaviour passes on to the puppies! HENCE – THE BREEDER’S RESPONSIBILITY! A good breeder starts socializing the puppies – he/she lets them grow in a normal life environment with all its sounds – cars, vacuum cleaner, falling pan lids, etc.; familiarizes the puppy with other animals, humans, children and so on.

A GOOD BREEDER KEEPS IN MIND THAT WHAT IS EXPERIENCED ON WEEKS 4-7 WILL INFLUENCE THE DOG FOR THE REST OF ITS LIFE! Everything that the puppy experiences and learns will stay forever in its long-term memory.

The most important instincts before the 8^th week of living are the instincts of finding food and catching prey. The breeder’s task is to develop those instincts as much as possible, for example by letting the puppy find some of the food himself. (A “trace of food” is drawn down.)  This enhances the puppy’s brain. When about 7-8 weeks old, a radical change comes to the puppy’s life – he gets a new home and family. The sweet time of socializing continues, the puppy must get used to people, the voice of a man, touches. Whereas, all the experiences have to be positive. Take him for a ride with your car to as many different places as possible, for visits, etc. DO NOT LEAVE A STRANGE PLACE WITH YOUR PUPPY BEFORE HE HAS CALMED DOWN! It means that when you are visiting someone, do not leave before the puppy has peacefully lain down to have a rest after exploring and adjusting. A puppy needs to play a lot; in order to stimulate his senses, start training the puppy through games, he will learn unbelievably fast and everything he acquires will stay in his long-term memory. ATTEND THE PUPPY AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE! This is the time you can never have back. The puppy is curious by nature, encourage him to familiarize himself with the surroundings. Organize him many new but good experiences! At 8 weeks, the puppy will learn the meaning of fear, be very careful not to let him get many negative emotions or take fright during that period. Pay close attention to your behaviour, offer the puppy security, teach him to “cope with life”.

What to do if the puppy takes fright? He will probably run behind you to hide, then you should stay absolutely calm, do not start pitying him, by doing this you will only escalate his fear – yawn for example, this is a strongly relaxing signal, play with him, distract his attention. Avoid such behaviour that he might interpret as praising for fear. Show with your whole being that everything is OK, nothing bad has happened. Encourage him to check out the source of fear with you, be optimistic – he senses your emotions. And the fear will soon disappear. The puppy senses that you stand higher in the hierarchy, that you are balanced, courageous, just. OFFER THE PUPPY LOVE, GENTLENESS AND SECURITY! Yes, this period of development is so important that some specialists recommend giving the puppy to a new home when either 7 weeks or already 3 months old.

Socializing continues when 3-5 months old, the puppy will find a place in the hierarchy of the family, it will come out, who the leader is. TEACH, DIRECT THE PUPPY TO BEHAVE CORRECTLY, PLAY AND ATTEND HIM! If he has received all vaccinations, be sure to attend a socializing group aka puppy gatherings. 
 

GOLDEN RULE – SUPPORT THE PUPPY IN EVERY SITUATION UNKONWN OR NEW TO HIM! ALWAYS BEAR IN MIND THAT HE LEARNS THROUGH EXPERIENCES, GOOD AND BAD ONES. 

THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES WHEN SOCIALIZING / RAISING A PUPPY

• The puppy is kept locked up because the owner is afraid to socialize before vaccinations have been done. No need to! You can habituate with sounds at home, visits are safe if there are no unvaccinated dogs. To some extent, the puppy also has the immunity got from mother; choose the golden mean using your conscience. Take him to places where not too many dogs move about. Diseases can spread through shoes as well – hence a dead end.
• The puppy is grabbed into lap as soon as a strange dog (often a big one) or person passes by – this way we teach him to be antisocial and incredulous to dogs and people. You will definitely end up with a dog that barks at strange dogs and people, because you as the leader of the pack have taught him that something peculiar is happening…
• The puppy is punished by yelling at him or even physically. Well, if you made it clear, how a leader of a pack should act, these comments here would be pointless. An insecure, nervous and easily angered person is certainly not a leader. Much less one that needs to prove his physical superiority on weaker ones.
• The puppy is not taught to be alone. You should start teaching being alone when the dog has got used to his new home and feels safe in there. It is enough for the start, if the owner goes to another room just for a few seconds, this period of time will be lengthened gradually. This works out best when the puppy has just eaten or is tired. One choice is to use some certain expression before leaving, “I’m going, take care”, etc. This is when the dog should go and have a rest. By the way, it is useful to know that when the leader is away, the pack rests. Absence of the leader’s position is what often disengages loneliness assaults; but naturally, hormones and genetics play also a role in this.
• The puppy is not enabled to have contacts with strange people or those contacts are unpleasant. If the puppy tends to be cowardly, do not let strangers scare him; moreover, do not let them touch or move towards him. Let the puppy contact the stranger himself, the stranger could silently squat down and you could encourage the puppy in a cheerful voice. If he is really scared, you have to coax him with a treat to approach the stranger. Easy does it, just like for any kind of problematic behaviour. 
• The puppy is not accustomed to physical contact, such as grooming, showing teeth, cutting nails, etc.
• The puppy is not taught to be in contact with his owner – he must from the get-go get used to keeping close to his pack and maintain eye-contact with the leader, if necessary. A glaring error is made when starting to run after the puppy – he thinks this is a game, and a very interesting one.
• If the puppy comes looking for the feeling of security, he is pushed away – a big mistake that decreases the dog’s trust for his leader of the pack. You must always offer security for your dog, be calm and confident. Naturally, you do not need to praise him when he is afraid – you do not want to escalate the fear, now do you?

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT:

Week 4-7: attaching oneself to the pack, the puppy should especially commune with people, socializing is important; this period is on the breeder’s conscience.

Week 8-12: period of fast learning, the puppy should learn commands and other necessary words, he is very eager to learn, this is the sweet time of socializing, he is extremely receptive to influence, everything he learns is stored in long-term memory!

Week 13-17: the puppy is no longer that dependent on his owner; he finds his place in the hierarchy of the pack; during this period, the puppy should never win his owner in, for example, pulling games (an exception is a cowardly puppy who is especially being taught  self-confidence); the owner should activate the puppy a lot, give him problem assignments.

Month 5-6: the puppy is very receptive to authority; he enjoys learning and being with his owner. NB! If during this period, the owner cannot make clear to the puppy, who the leader is, the dog will start to try taking over the position constantly; in this age, the dog will finally understand his position in the hierarchy in the pack.

Month 7-12: puberty; the dog may be unbalanced, disobedient, his moods can be unsettling; he might try to obtain a better position in the pack, especially a male dog; you have to be understanding but consistent; you can make a short pause in trainings and activate the dog instead.

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