At Van Stal, your puppy will get the chance to socialise with other puppies in a safe and responsible way. The socialisation period – roughly between 8 and 12 weeks – is an incredibly important phase in your dog’s life. Everything he experiences during this time he takes with him for the rest of his life.
During this period, your puppy learns to interact with other dogs, discovers his surroundings and builds a foundation of trust. But this does not happen by itself. Well-guided play is essential. That is why we make sure that puppies at Van Stal have nice, positive experiences and practice social skills through play.
We work in a large, covered indoor area (our horse arena), where puppies can play and explore safely. Our instructors pay close attention to body language and play behaviour. We guide where necessary and ensure that each pup can learn at its own pace.
To keep an overview and guarantee personal attention, we work with a maximum of 8 puppies per 45-minute group. This way, we can also explain to you as an owner what you see: play, tension or maybe something in between.
The play date is intended for puppies between 9 and 20 weeks old. But… no puppy is the same! Breed, size and character also play a big role in what your little dog needs – and when he or she is ready for something.
A confident 10-week-old Labrador can behave very differently from a sensitive 16-week-old Chihuahua. This is why we always look at the big picture: age is a guideline, not a hard limit.
Do you doubt whether this play date is suitable for your puppy? Feel free to contact us. We will gladly think along with you and help you make the best choice for your dog.
The socialisation period is a very important period in a puppy’s life.
Pups that would live in isolation during this period of their lives will never socialise with our busy existence and thus will always remain afraid of the outside world.
Socialising does not imply that a puppy should have direct contact with whatever it is socialising with. Above all, the pup must feel comfortable and comfortable in the situation. It is important to be able to read your dog’s body language well which involves watching stress and calming signals.
During Corona’s time, a pup can socialise just fine on people, for example, it is a bit quieter so dogs don’t get overexcited from everyone wanting to pet the pup which is often more difficult in a world without Corona. There we often see puppies who either learn that people are great. These puppies often learn to behave busy around people by jumping up and pulling the leash, for example.
We also see many puppies that do not feel comfortable in a situation where they are being petted and therefore become a bit human-shy. You often see this in small dogs that come barking at people or other dogs at a later age, trying to keep the person coming towards them at a distance in advance.
So socialising on people is not too difficult. But other dogs and other animals like horses becomes more difficult. If you know someone with a relaxed confident dog, then that dog might be a good socialisation partner for your puppy, among other things. Meet outside in a safe place, and let the dogs get acquainted (preferably off leash) A short quiet introduction is often the best.
Subscribe via our e-mail: honden@vanstal.nl for the socialisation playdate full of info on body language.
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