Socialization

Can you imagine a Human baby taken from it's home and family and given into the care of another species?  Never seeing another Human Being, for several years, except, maybe from a distance.  Let's say this other species loves and cares for the adopted human but only in ways particular to it's own traditions and customs.  Let's also assume that those traditions and customs are very different from that of human society.

What sort of being would our human turn out to be?  He would look like us, he would probably walk erect like us and he would laugh and cry the same as us.  All things that his adopted kind do not do, indeed some of his human habits may even be disapproved of quite vehemently and he may be forced to suppress what comes instinctively and naturally!

So what would his reactions be should he come into contact with individuals from human society?  He would have no knowledge of human language.  He may shrink away in fear at a hand offered to be shaken in friendship!  Back among humans there would be a million things beyond his understanding and contrary to his experience and education.  He would be at a loss, a foothold in both societies but belonging in neither!

If we take puppies away too early from their brothers and sisters and/or let them grow to adulthood unable to associate with their own kind, we are putting them in the same position as our theoretical human.  In the dog, however, fear and uncertainty can turn into nervousness and aggression.  In extreme cases the dog can be abandoned by his owners and difficult to re-home.

When puppies and young dogs play together they are all the time learning how to behave and react with each other.  It's vital that they learn how to interact with their own kind and discover what's acceptable and unacceptable, they learn the language, so to speak, they acquire etiquette and perhaps, most importantly, bite inhibition. 

As soon as Hannah was allowed out into the world we always let her have contact with the other dogs we met out on her walks, and in the local park she quickly found a circle of friends. She had a particular friend, Ben, a black Labrador.  He was slightly older than Hannah and they met when Hannah was still a very young puppy.  They started going on walks together and they ran and played together constantly.  I'm sure they learned a lot from each other.

A lot of dog training classes have puppy play groups that can be invaluable for owners who don't know anyone else with a dog and the training classes themselves are a follow on from this.  Lists of local dog trainers can be found in Yellow Pages.  However much you may think you can cope with training yourself, nothing can beat the help and support of professionals and other owners and it's not just dogs that make friends at 'dog training'.