Hi everyone. I have an 11 week old puppy and was wondering what is the best way to socialze him? He hides from anyone that comes over and I want him to eventually feel comfortable enough to hang out when company comes over. He usually goes and hides in his crate until they leave.

I think one of the best way is to let your pup bond with other people. Going to parks and maybe taking him for a walk.

Really it s what vonoobs said, Take him for walks, Parks, stores! There are many stores that allow dogs. Where I live there is Petco, Murdocks, and Sportsmans Wearhouse that you can take them into.

You can also ask your friends to come over more often and just love on, play with, and give treats to him! If every few times someone came over and gave him a yummy treat, he would greet them with smiles and wags every time.

If ever Kal-el hides when you have a visitor, I think you can take him and let him greet your visitor and then ask them to pet, praise and give some treats to your cute pup.

We pretty much tell everyone to love on him a little and we give them treats to give to Kal-el when they come over. As far as the park goes we have one across the street and he has been making good improvements as far as wanting to go over there. It started out that he wouldn't leave the yard then I got him over there when it was empty now he goes with me when there are kids and even other dogs but he shys away from both. I know this is to be expected at first since he is still getting used to the big outside world. However yesterday he took a giant step back and wouldn't even be outside in the yard to play. We would go out and he would pee and come right back in. Before we would play for sometimes 30 minutes before coming back in. When he got in the house he would go curl up in a corner. He came out to play a few times with me in the house. I think that he wasn't feeling the greatest yesterday. Could that have been the reason he wouldn't want to be outside?

I noticed you are feeding puppy chow which is horrible because of the amount of grains.You should switch to grain-free kibble on top of increasing his exposure to strangers/men/children/dogs. It's amazing how a good diet changes a dogs sense of well-being for the better.

I would definitely not take an 11 week old puppy to high traffic dog areas like Petco, Petsmart, Tractor Supply, etc. Puppies are so susceptible to disease especially before they've had all of their shots.

Bring him around the neighborhood on walks, let him be around friends/family that you know have dogs that are healthy and UTD on shots. You can't keep them shut away from everything but you also don't want to bring them to places where there would be a high chance they could catch something such as a dog park or pet store.

And you have to understand that that's a big scary world out there to a young pup. Encourage him with soft praise and treats when he's outside. Eventually you won't be able to get them to go back inside. Lol.

Good luck!

Nonook will be 17 weeks old this weekend and we just got the ok to do low traffic areas..no dog parks, pet stores or regular parks until he gets his last shot in a month. It is very hard to socialize them with such restrictions. What we have done is have my kids friends over a lot plus family and we go for walks around the block letting neighbors say hi to him. Today we went on our first hike and he did great with people..i really did not know what to expect...and I am not even sure if that is consider High traffic area..but I think it was ok.

That is the food the breeder was feeding him so my fiancee bought it just to make sure he had something familiar to eat when we brought him home. I have heard about the low grain foods and would like to get him started on it but I dont want to break the bank either. Is there a good brand that is reasonably priced?

Taste of the wild. There are plenty of shops that sell it in your state you can use the dealer locator on the website

Thanks I will check that out

No problem! It stills costs more than puppy chow but it is worth it. Check out the quality rating of Puppy chow then compare it it TOTW:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/purina-puppy-chow/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/taste-of-the-wild-dog-food-dry/

Quite a few people have said they use the costco natures domain brand food, personally im using american natural premium right now, if we get a costco membership i may switch to that food.

I personally use TOTW, but its price isnt for everyone. If you can't afford $50 per 30 pound bag, look into Costco Domain and 4Health from Tractor Supply. Those are a bit cheaper brands without skimping on the quality your dogs need.

We will definitly be trying out a better food for him. Thank you for all of the suggestions. I have scheduled a play date with my friend and her husky/collie mix. We will see how Kal-el does with her. He was back to his playful self in the house today. He still did not want to be outside much but thats ok he will get there. Thank you for reassuring me on what we have been doing right and giving helpful advice.

What I have done for my little Meeka is I took her to my father's, grandmother's, sister's, and brother's houses. Other than my grandma's everyone in my family has pets and it made it easy for her to take to new people. I take her everywhere with me as long as pets are allowed. And anymore I stopped going to the places that do not allow pets all that much. She loves everyone that comes through our front door now. Not too long ago there was a contractor that came to the house to give me an estimate for some work that I would like done and as soon as he came through the door she was all over him kissing and wagging her tail. If anything she is waaaaaay over-friendly.

just to up date on this post. Kal-el had his playdate and he loved it and so did savannah. He is eating the new grain free food and loving it. He is actually starting to greet people, if only just a sniff when they come over. We had a bunch of family over for a cookout this last weekend and he greeted everyone then went and took a nap in a quiet corner but there is much improvement.

Thats awesome news! I'm so happy you and Kal-el