Animal Welfare Professionals

Hey y'all,

I've been, more or less, obsessed with early socialization ever since I attended a seminar with Ian Dunbar in 2009 where he explained that young puppies and kittens are infinitely easier to train and socialize than at any other point in their life. (He and I also discussed this in a recent interview - coming soon!)

This is why our foster caregivers are so invaluable! They have the once in a lifetime opportunity to socialize our future cats and dogs and help prevent the types of behavior problems that often land them back at the shelter. Surrenders are not only heartbreaking (for everyone) but they are also expensive (feeding, housing, vet care, behavior modification, etc.) One of the easiest (and cutest) ways to prevent pets from coming back is to invest a little extra effort into them when they are young! It's like a behavioral inoculation!

This video was created to help people understand how to set up a safe socialization event and read body language.  It features puppies but the principles are the same for kittens (and other social animals).

If you think your foster program might benefit from this video, please feel free to share.

-Diane

About: This litter's mother, Maggie, was picked up off the reservation in Chinle, AZ in April 2020. Maggie was a little 40 lb mama who gave birth to 10 puppies on Mother's Day! We handled the puppies everyday and exposed them to new people, sounds, smells, sights, textures and more. We have a small farm so we were able to socialize the puppies to our chickens when they were around 5 weeks old. I've been in contact with their owners and several report back that their dogs like chickens : ) Learn more about Maggie https://worldreadypets.com/maggie-2020

Diane,

I saw Ian probably 20 years.  He's brilliant.  

Yes there is a brief window for any species for socialization.  This is crucial for survival.  That said 

I think the way we view socialization has changed over the years.  It used to be the "meet 100 dogs and people" for example but we've moved away to a dog for example learning to be calm so we have found it's not as much about exposure or quantity but more about quality.  Here's a recent article we did at our shelter for a local publication.  It has to be shortened but I still think you might enjoy the message.  

Carol Sumbry  ACDBC, CPDT-KA

Associated Certified Behavior Consultant/Certified Dog Trainer 

Sent from iPhone 

Hey y'all,

I've been, more or less, obsessed with early socialization ever since I attended a seminar with Ian Dunbar in 2009 where he explained that young puppies and kittens are infinitely easier to train and socialize than at any other point in their life. (He and I also discussed this in a recent interview - coming soon!)

This is why our foster caregivers are so invaluable! They have the once in a lifetime opportunity to socialize our future cats and dogs and help prevent the types of behavior problems that often land them back at the shelter. Surrenders are not only heartbreaking (for everyone) but they are also expensive (feeding, housing, vet care, behavior modification, etc.) One of the easiest (and cutest) ways to prevent pets from coming back is to invest a little extra effort into them when they are young! It's like a behavioral inoculation!

This video was created to help people understand how to set up a safe socialization event and read body language.  It features puppies but the principles are the same for kittens (and other social animals).

If you think your foster program might benefit from this video, please feel free to share.

-Diane

About: This litter's mother, Maggie, was picked up off the reservation in Chinle, AZ in April 2020. Maggie was a little 40 lb mama who gave birth to 10 puppies on Mother's Day! We handled the puppies everyday and exposed them to new people, sounds, smells, sights, textures and more. We have a small farm so we were able to socialize the puppies to our chickens when they were around 5 weeks old. I've been in contact with their owners and several report back that their dogs like chickens : ) Learn more about Maggie https://worldreadypets.com/maggie-2020

Diane,

I saw Ian probably 20 years.  He's brilliant.  

Yes there is a brief window for any species for socialization.  This is crucial for survival.  That said 

I think the way we view socialization has changed over the years.  It used to be the "meet 100 dogs and people" for example but we've moved away to a dog for example learning to be calm so we have found it's not as much about exposure or quantity but more about quality.  Here's a recent article we did at our shelter for a local publication.  It has to be shortened but I still think you might enjoy the message.  

Carol Sumbry  ACDBC, CPDT-KA

Associated Certified Behavior Consultant/Certified Dog Trainer 

Sent from iPhone 

Hey y'all,

I've been, more or less, obsessed with early socialization ever since I attended a seminar with Ian Dunbar in 2009 where he explained that young puppies and kittens are infinitely easier to train and socialize than at any other point in their life. (He and I also discussed this in a recent interview - coming soon!)

This is why our foster caregivers are so invaluable! They have the once in a lifetime opportunity to socialize our future cats and dogs and help prevent the types of behavior problems that often land them back at the shelter. Surrenders are not only heartbreaking (for everyone) but they are also expensive (feeding, housing, vet care, behavior modification, etc.) One of the easiest (and cutest) ways to prevent pets from coming back is to invest a little extra effort into them when they are young! It's like a behavioral inoculation!

This video was created to help people understand how to set up a safe socialization event and read body language.  It features puppies but the principles are the same for kittens (and other social animals).

If you think your foster program might benefit from this video, please feel free to share.

-Diane

About: This litter's mother, Maggie, was picked up off the reservation in Chinle, AZ in April 2020. Maggie was a little 40 lb mama who gave birth to 10 puppies on Mother's Day! We handled the puppies everyday and exposed them to new people, sounds, smells, sights, textures and more. We have a small farm so we were able to socialize the puppies to our chickens when they were around 5 weeks old. I've been in contact with their owners and several report back that their dogs like chickens : ) Learn more about Maggie https://worldreadypets.com/maggie-2020

Hey y'all,

I've been, more or less, obsessed with early socialization ever since I attended a seminar with Ian Dunbar in 2009 where he explained that young puppies and kittens are infinitely easier to train and socialize than at any other point in their life. (He and I also discussed this in a recent interview - coming soon!)

This is why our foster caregivers are so invaluable! They have the once in a lifetime opportunity to socialize our future cats and dogs and help prevent the types of behavior problems that often land them back at the shelter. Surrenders are not only heartbreaking (for everyone) but they are also expensive (feeding, housing, vet care, behavior modification, etc.) One of the easiest (and cutest) ways to prevent pets from coming back is to invest a little extra effort into them when they are young! It's like a behavioral inoculation!

This video was created to help people understand how to set up a safe socialization event and read body language.  It features puppies but the principles are the same for kittens (and other social animals).

If you think your foster program might benefit from this video, please feel free to share.

-Diane

About: This litter's mother, Maggie, was picked up off the reservation in Chinle, AZ in April 2020. Maggie was a little 40 lb mama who gave birth to 10 puppies on Mother's Day! We handled the puppies everyday and exposed them to new people, sounds, smells, sights, textures and more. We have a small farm so we were able to socialize the puppies to our chickens when they were around 5 weeks old. I've been in contact with their owners and several report back that their dogs like chickens : ) Learn more about Maggie https://worldreadypets.com/maggie-2020