The Rule of Sevens

As we noted in an earlier post, noted trainer Ian Dunbar believes that pups should have met 100 new people by the time they reach the age of 3 months. The pups have plans to meet lots of new people in the next month and should be well on their way to this goal when they go to their new homes. They've met a good number of people already and will meet a gaggle of puppy loving friends in town for the big dog show over for a lasagna feed on Saturday night to increase those numbers again.

Here is another "rule" and theory on additional considerations for puppy socialization:

THE RULE OF SEVENS ... TIPS ON PUPPY SOCIALIZATION

Pat Hastings, AKC judge and author of The Puppy Puzzle offers these hints for socializing very young puppies. Pat lives locally in Aloha, OR and will be performing the pup's structural evaluation.

By the time a puppy is 7 weeks old it should have:

• Been on 7 different surfaces, such as: carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips, newspaper, etc.
• Played with 7 different types of objects, such as: big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy balls, squeaky toys, metal items, wooden items, paper/cardboard items, milk/soda jugs, etc.
• Been in 7 different locations, including: front yard, backyard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, crate, kennel, etc.
• Been exposed to 7 challenges, such as: climbed a box, climbed off a box, gone through a tunnel, climbed up steps, climbed down steps, climbed over obstacles, played hide and seek, gone in and out of a doorway with a step, etc.
• Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, china, pie plate, frying pan, etc.
• Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, kitchen, basement, laundry room, bedroom, x-pen, etc.
• Met and played with 7 new people, including children and the elderly.