March 23 is National Puppy Day https://nationalday365.com/national-puppy-day/. We have been seeing a lot of puppies lately, for a variety of reasons. A new tool that I have been using is a “game” called “Puppy Bingo”. It is a free handout, also available online, that is a grid of 25 squares with things to do with puppies to help socialize them to 25 different things. I was amazed when I saw it. I could probably think of 10-15 of them, but 25 if great! Our goal is to help expose puppies, especially before the age of 16 weeks, to novel experiences that might generate fear if exposed later in life. Some example are hearing construction sounds, seeing a train or bus, or walking on 3 different surfaces like wood, gravel, sand, rubber, and metal.
The same concept of new experiences works for kittens too. It has squares for meeting new people, being touched by towels, and walking on different textures.
If these experiences trigger fear, then we stop, and “circle back” when the youngsters are in a calm, happy place, maybe distracted with food or toys, and try again.
Imagine a world where adult dogs and cats aren’t afraid of vet visits, thunderstorms, or other animals.
Check out this link.
https://fearfreepets.com/puppy-kitten-socialization-bingo/
