Socialisation: new pet owners’ most important task

Every pet deserves a loving and respectful home: please only consider acquiring a pet if you will be able to take care of its long-term needs. Also, consider choosing your animal companion from a shelter, where there are so many wonderful furry friends who need a forever home.

In this video, veterinarian Dr. Alex Avery talks about the importance of socialising our cats and dogs in the most effective way for their development and ease with other companion animals and habitual environments or activities.

Socialisation is vital for all puppies and kittens, and, correctly done, can also be a great activity for adult dogs with behavioural problems. The biggest cause of death or rehoming in young dogs is due to behaviour issues such as aggression, fear, and destructive tendencies.

But proper, safe puppy socialisation could prevent this, given that, in the crucial first few months of life, a puppy learns what is normal, and develops coping strategies when encountering new situations later in life. And cats are just the same.

So, Dr. Avery advises letting puppies or kittens used to being handled all over their body, as well as familiarising them with the car, other animals, different kinds of people of all ages, load noises, and so on.

View the original video here.

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