Socialization of Puppies and Kittens

In early March, 2025, I attended the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas.  I am required to obtain 30 hours on continuing education every two years to maintain my Oregon and Washington Veterinary License to practice my profession.

I chose to attend a Dog and Cat Socialization Symposium.  There were four speakers renowned in the field of animal behavior.  One of the speakers was one of the founders of the Human-Animal Bond Association.  Their major point that they all were trying to make was that in both puppies and kittens there is a period of time between 7 and 12 weeks of age in which socialization is critical.  Another source I read listed a little broader range at 5 to 16 weeks as the socialization period.  This means that these young animals should be introduced to as many people as possible or reasonable.

The main problem with this is that this time coincides with the period when they are most susceptible to catching the diseases for which they need to be vaccinated.  This is why it is critically important to start puppies and kittens on their initial vaccination at 8 weeks of age.  It takes between 10 and 14 day to develop an immune response to the injection, and at this age it is only temporary and they need boosters and 12 and 16 weeks of age.  They cannot develop a full immune response to a vaccine until after 16 weeks of age as that is the time in which the immune system becomes completely mature.

Most veterinarians have been told this dog or cat was previously abused and that is why it is so nervous and scared.  The more likely reason is that the animal lacked the proper socialization during the early critical weeks.

There are 3 books available for free online about raising a puppy that I would recommend.  These are written by Dr. Ian Dunbar, who was a participant at the symposium, and are available at https:dunbar.info/FreePupBooks for you to download.