Socializing your bulldog puppy is one of the most French bulldog puppies for adoption important elements to training your dog. A bulldog puppy who has received frequent and early socialization does well with all sorts of environmental changes.
If they are not handled frequently and exposed to different situations and experiences during their socialization period, it can cause a lot of problems. By socializing them to different situations as early as possible, they are more apt to handle being petted by a pushy visitor or unruly kids not paying attention.
The socialization process normally consists of having a safe place for your puppy to explore, and being put into a situation where they can succeed. There are 10 different things you can do to get the ball rolling so to speak with socializing your bulldog puppy:
Expose them to different sounds: Some ideas would be to leave the radio or TV on so they can get used to different sounds in the house. Or you can run the vacuum cleaner in a distant room and then in closer rooms on other days. You can also leave the window open in the room he is in when you run the lawn mower.
Get your puppy to walk on different surfaces: This would include big plastic bags, or bubble wrap. You can place a treat in the middle of the surface so they can be rewarded for their bravery. You can also take them outside and find out what grass and concrete is all about.
Touch your puppy a lot: Get your puppy to understand that you are allowed to touch them any time you want to, wherever and whenever. While holding him, touch his feet and rub his face. You can play with his ears and or run your finger over his teeth.
If they growl at you, say “no!” or “quit” in a stern voice. Then continue as you were doing. This is good because when it comes time to bathe and brush them, they will be used to being touched and moved around.
Expose them to everyday things: This would include key chains and different house hold items and appliances. They need to be used to seeing and hearing the common house hold items that are used daily.
Take your puppy for a ride: Take your puppy with you on short trips in the car. Have a friend or family member hold your bulldog puppy just in case you decide to stop somewhere. You can even go through a drive through at a fast food place.
Get them meeting new and different people: This is especially good if your puppy’s experience with meeting new people will be limited. You can actually improvise this by using different costumes. Wear hats, capes or even a mask. You can even limp or walk with a cane to get them to see different types of people and their situations.
Take them for a walk in public areas: You can introduce your bulldog puppy to different parks, outdoor cafes, playgrounds (kids love puppies), the pet store, and stores.
Invite friends and their dogs: If you don’t have any other animals in the house, you can contact any friends that might have a dog and set up a time for you to get together with them. Make sure your friends dog is vaccinated first as well as yours though.
This is excellent for your puppy and will give them the chance to play and get some exercise with another dog.
Host a “Puppy – Warming” party: Invite 2 or 3 people over to meet your new bulldog puppy. Try to make it as diverse as possible. Invite guys and gals, young and older people. You can also invite people with beards and who are bald. The whole idea is to get your puppy used to all the different types of people around.
Let them see different animals: With this you will need to probably go to the pet store unless you have a friend with a farm or ranch. Let them meet the cats (on a leash of course!) If there are horses around, you can let them see and hear them. The point is to try and get them to be introduced to other types of animals.
Socializing your puppy is a must, and your imagination is the limit for helping them build up their confidence. You should start doing this the day you bring your new bulldog puppy home and continue. Just make sure it’s done in a relaxed way. Stay away from anything which may scare or intimidate them.
Be ready for three different reactions:
- They will walk up and check out whatever they are being exposed to by sniffing.
- They will become apprehensive and start barking and growling with their hackles up.
- They will run away.
Make sure you stay quiet during this time and allow them to find out about the situation themselves.
