Who doesn’t love puppies? They’re fuzzy, clumsy, tiny, and either full of energy or completely void of it, no in-between. Bringing a puppy into one’s home is a big commitment and responsibility, and many are surprised that their puppy isn’t as friendly or willing to snuggle with them as they hoped.

To combat this, some breeders participate in “socializing” their puppies before sending them out to forever homes. But what does it mean to socialize a puppy?

Brittany Harvey, a labradoodle owner and breeder from Ravensdale, Washington, describes the process of socialization as bringing people in to see the puppies, pet them, “mess with their ears,” and play with them. Basically getting them used to human interaction and okay with people touching and petting them. Harvey says that, even with breeds known for being friendly, such as her labradoodles, socializing is an important process to make sure they aren’t afraid of their new owners when the time comes.

This, I agree, is a very beneficial idea. It’s by no means hurting the puppies, in fact it’s very important not to hurt them, as hurting them will cause them to be afraid of people, creating the exact opposite of the desired effect. All socialization wants to do is get the puppies used to people while they’re young so they have an easier time adjusting to new homes when they’re old enough to be adopted.

It’s not something that all dog breeders take part in, but perhaps they should, especially with more aggressive breeds. It might save them a lawsuit. It’s of course not their fault if the dogs are aggressive, but not all dog owners see it that way, and it’s always a good idea to take precautions. After all, it’s a simple enough thing to do if you have the resources. In any case, there’s no doubt it’ll be easy to find a few people willing to come in and play with puppies for a little while. So, if you know a dog breeder, they should definitely take puppy socialization into consideration for their next litter.