Emergency Session 85: Puppy Socialization During Social Distancing

Core foundational skill building is critically important, and practical application of that in today's new "social distancing" environment is essential. I'm going to talk about training exercises that you can run through with your puppy to help determine the type of instinctive response your puppy has, and how to establish some good fundamental behaviors. I think about socializing in three different categories; Socializing to things Socializing to people  Socializing to other animals I usually use that order to establish skills by relative difficulty (since each step in order above is progressively more challenging to establish.) And by the way, if you want a more in depth understanding of what I'm putting into practice today I'd suggest listening to specifically to episode 73 and episode 74 on Skinner's Four Quadrants. Puppy aptitude testing involves sight, startle, sensitivity, and sound, and I talk about how you'll want to consider this when going through these exercises. The first will include the ability to manage their nervous system, recover from stimuli, get back to neutral, so they can get back to a "thinking mode" rather than a more systematic nervous system response mode. The second core skill is helping them stay mentally connected to you during different experiences you both encounter. I'll talk about two specific training exercises you can try!