Now for the ones that are about to bite my head of , please wait and read the whole article and understand the points I raise.
I have seen quite a few dogs over the years that have been bred by women or men with no kids , that is their choice and no one should be judgmental, but, consider where most of the dogs that you breed will end up, in a household with children, possibly other pets and a whole lot of noise, so surely as a breeder its important for you to socialise those pups into the normal environment of children , after all, even if the owners don’t have children they may have grandchildren or nieces and nephews, either way your dogs need to understand the social world to which they are entering.
During the socialization period,3 weeks to 8 weeks , puppies need to be exposed to all situations that it’s likely to encounter during its life. THIS is the time to take your puppies to puppy classes , or for a walk in a park to listen to the noise of kids. For new mums and dads please whatever you do don’t let your vet or breeders talk you out of going to classes at 9 weeks. Although there is SOME risk of health problems, the risk of your dog developing fear and defensive behaviours due to lack of socialization is far too risky. Remember MORE DOGS DIE TODAY, NOT FROM DISEASE, BUT FROM BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS DUE TO LACK OF SOCIALISATION. 
Experts used to think we had until the dog was 16 weeks to socialize him to people, but they’ve discovered this to be inaccurate. If we fail to sufficiently socialise our puppies at this age to all sorts of dogs and all sorts of people, we will wind up having a dog that is always scared of other dogs and people., I see it every day in the parks. Now you can see why it’s so important for breeders to do what they’re supposed to do during these critical ages. There is much more to breeding than copulation or the cheque afterwards. I’ve gone into homes to train puppies where they didn’t get the puppy from the breeder until he was 12 weeks old. Selfish breeders who care not about the dog but their show potential. This happens a lot with the toy dogs. If the breeder didn’t expose the dog to enough people, guess what happens? The dog becomes shy and fearful, which can lead to aggressive behaviour. Irresponsible breeders set the dogs up to fail if they keep them too long and don’t socialize them. Trust me I have the scars to prove why this is very important, yet not many breeders fully understand this and its no wonder why so many toy dogs are snappy adult dogs. Then we come to hands on, many breeders crate their dogs which if done correctly is excellent, done badly though it creates the nightmare scenario for the dogs and its new owners. Interaction, talking and playing with these pups is paramount for the life of the dog, if you are at work like some breeders who then take on long grooming work at home , still not interacting with the litter then you are creating a tiny monster for your new owners and that is not good for you or your animals. Touching your pups is a necessity, its as important as feeding the pup, so why isn’t it being done by all breeders, its easy to tell who socialises litters correctly, just look at how long it takes for the pup to settle into its new environment and then look at its self esteem issues. I am encountering more and more dogs from show breeders or breeders that are doing this for the first time and frankly both are as bad as the other when it comes to socialisation issues. We should be expecting more from all our breeders no matter who they are, when they get it wrong, you have a duty to tell them, its only by doing that can they hope to get it right second time round.
All breeders should give you support and advice on how to interact with your new pup, a failure is negligence , yet it happens all too frequently.
For anyone seeking a new pup , please ask what type of socialisation has been afforded to your new pup, ask the breeder about their social circumstances , if they refuse to answer then maybe you should be looking elsewhere. I cannot stress enough the importance of correct social training for your dog. It’s what will make a long and wonderful harmonious relationship and not an uphill struggle.
Struggling with the socialisation of your dog ? Contact us via the contact page or email us at dogs@havanablast.co.uk for help and advice.
