Well known veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar, recommends that your puppy meets at least one hundred different people before he or she is 12 weeks old to ensure he or she will be very comfortable meeting strangers as an adult dog. He suggests trying to introduce a variety of people in terms of age, size and gender. Having the ‘stranger’ give your puppy treats while insisting on the puppy demonstrating good manners (such as sitting calmly to be acknowledged or receive a treat) will increase the benefit.
We want Hudson to be a confident and outgoing dog! To motivate ourselves to make sure he meets lots of people we decided to keep a list – Hudson’s 100. As the numbers on the list have grown, we have observed Hudson becoming more and more confident approaching strangers.
Here Hudson is pictured with Laura and Marina – numbers 99 and 100 on the list 🙂
(It is important to remember that your puppy is not fully protected by vaccinations until after the final boosters at 16 weeks of age. You must be very careful about where you take your young puppy – it is probably best to have the ‘strangers’ come to your home.)