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Long story short, I got dooped into a 4 month old puppy by a bad breeder (unfortunately), and I need help!
I decided on an Alaskan Malamute. I have read everything about them, EXCEPT for how to choose a good breeder. Bad on my part. Now, lets move on with being proactice. I have a beautiful, male puppy. He was supposedly 7 weeks old (too young still) when I adopted him but the breeder insisted that he was set to go. So, excitedly I paid for him and brought him home.
The next day, I called the breeder to ask for his birthday (for vet purposes), and she said he was born on 1/12!??? Seriously?! I was furious, and can't believe I have such a little orphan baby! I felt terrible, so I asked if I could bring him back for extra weeks of socialization with mommy and the litter. The puppies are almost gone, and she insisted that he'd be fine.
Now, I will be spending a lot of time with this puppy, keeping him inside, and waiting til he is old enough for immunizations. BUT...I am worried he will be socially awkward, and potentially aggressive in the future. What is the best way to socialize him?
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Member 1092274
on Feb 14th 2012
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in Behavior & Training
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The WORST thing you can do is keep him indoors and away from other dogs and people until his shots are done. He needs quality time with other dogs to develop his social skills. If you know any friendly, tolerant, vaccinated adult dogs, bring them over for playdates.
Take him with you wherever you go outside (within the law and reason.) He can ride in the car or be carried in your arms to avoid parvovirus. Let lots of people meet him, cuddle him, play with him. (Within reason, of course... if he's cranky or scared don't force the issue.)
And sign up for a puppy kindergarten class as soon as he's old enough- they usually start at 8 weeks old. Make sure it's a good facility that cleans thoroughly between classes to minimize disease risk, and keeps classes small so it's not complete chaos. Puppy classes can be really beneficial for socialization.
Bruno
answered on 2/14/12.
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I would take him to puppy classes, take him everywhere you can to socialize him with other dogs. Our SPCA has drop in puppy play time which is a couple of times a week. Pet stores are another good way to do that. When he is about 4 months old , you can take him to dogs parks. I would wait until he has all his shots first. As long as you are aware of the socialization thing and you do something about it, he should be fine. Good Luck!
Jax
answered on 2/15/12.
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