With the emphasis on puppies, and socialisation (especially in view of the tragedy in Liverpool) I rummaged through my "favourites" and found the following - I cannot acknowledge where I got it from, as foolishly, I just cut and pasted it.

I thought it might be worth adding here, to see what experienced breeders might have to say about it.  It's obviously American in origin and has lots of food for thought

During the socialization stage of seven to twelve weeks, mental abilities are fully formed but puppies lack experience.   This is the optimum time to teach new things and is the period of fastest learning.   Research has shown that behaviours can be shaped and modified most easily during times when learning is occurring most quickly.    Training during this time will actually increase the capacity to learn by increasing brain cells in the appropriate
regions of the brain.

Many experts agree that this socialization stage is also the "fear imprint" stage.  It is important that your puppy be introduced to new experiences in a very positive way.

By the time your puppy is 12 weeks old, he or she should have:

Experienced 12 different surfaces - ie:-
wood, woodchips, carpet, tile, cement, linoleum, grass, wet grass, dirt, mud, puddles, deep pea gravel, grates, uneven surfaces, on a table, on a chair, etc..

Played with 12 different objects:

fuzzy toys, big & small balls, hard toys, funny sounding toys, wooden items, paper or cardboard items, milk jugs, metal items, car keys, etc.

Experienced 12 different locations:

front garden (daily), other people's homes, school gates, lake, pond, river, boat, basement, lift, car, moving car, garage, laundry room, kennel,vet's surgery (just to say hi & visit, lots of cookies, no vaccinations), grooming salon (just to say hi), etc

Met and played with 12 new people (outside of family):

Include children, adults (mostly men), elderly adults, people in wheelchairs, walkers, people with sticks, crutches, hats, sunglasses, etc.

Exposed to 12 different noises Always remain positive and watch puppy's comfort level

garage door opening, doorbell, children playing,
babies screaming, big trucks, Harley motorcycles,
skateboards, washing machine, shopping carts rolling,
fireworks, clapping, loud singing, pan dropping, horses neighing,
vacuums, lawnmowers, birthday party, etc.

Exposed to 12 fast moving objects (don't allow to chase):

skateboards, roller-skates, bicycles, motorcycles, cars,
people running, cats running, scooters, vacuums, children running,
children playing soccer, squirrels, cats, horses running, cows running, etc.

Experienced 12 different challenges:

climb on, in, off and around a box, go through a tunnel,
climb up and down steps, climb over obstacles,
play hide & seek, go in and out a doorway with a step up or down,
exposed to an electric sliding door, umbrella, balloons,
walk on a wobbly table (plank of wood with a small rock underneath),
jump over a broom, climb over a log, bathtub (and bath) etc.

Handled by owner - minimum 12 times a day:

hold under arm (like a football), hold to chest, hold on floor near owner, hold in-between owner's legs, hold head, look in ears, mouth, in-between toes, hold and take temperature (ask veterinarian),
hold like a baby,  trim toe nails, hold in lap, etc.

Eaten from 12 different shaped containers:

wobbly bowl, metal, cardboard box, paper, coffee cup, china,
pie plate, plastic, frying pan, Kong, Treatball, Bustercube,
spoon fed, paper bag, etc.

Eaten in 12 different locations:

back yard, front yard, crate, kitchen, basement, laundry room,
bathroom, friend's house, car, school yard, bathtub, up high (on work bench - supervised, of course), under umbrella, etc.

Played with 12 different puppies (or safe adult dogs) as much as possible.

Left alone safely, away from family & other animals (5-45 minutes) 12 times a week.

Experienced a leash and collar 12 different times in 12 different locations

Margot

Not a bad list at all - it certainly gives an idea to breeders (because a lot of those experiences should be done before the pup leaves) and new owners just how much work they need to put in with their pup in the early weeks, and how it can't possibly be done properly if there isn't someone with the pup fulltime for a couple of months after they bring it home. Taking a week off work and then leaving it home alone for hours just won't do! The last article I read gave up to 16 weeks, rather than 12, which is a great help to those with larger breed puppies who're too big to carry around at that age but yet aren't ready to be on the ground outside the home territory because of the vaccination factor.

Regarding the feeding part, I'd also add that in all these places the food container should be held by different people while the pup eats to try to prevent food-guarding.

>I'd also add that in all these places the food container should be held by different people while the pup eats to try to prevent food-guarding.<

This seems like a good segue, I'm curious how many breeders on here feed puppies with at least one, but preferably two, bowls more than there are puppies to prevent food guarding. I just wondered how prevalent a practice this is.

I feed my pups from individual bowls - I can hold four in one hand - and use the other hand to make sure they each stay at a single bowl. No chopping and changing allowed! When they've finished I feed the next four. If there's another person available to help one person will hold four bowls in each hand and the helper does the controlling! Fast eaters get removed when they've finished to allow the others time to eat their ration in peace. :)

I feed from a pair of island feeders until the pups are eating too much for the feeders to hold enough. Then they get several large, communal stainless steel bowls. The bowls go on the floor and the only intervention is to make sure that smaller or less greedy pups get as much as they want. I've never bred a dog that guarded food - but that may be a breed thing as they aren't greedy dogs and don't guard anything much.

Hmm, I've seen that before and liked it. I think I'll print that out to save searching when I have my litter later this year, thanks! :-)

I have always used communal platters, and never had a food guarding issue.  I have always fed enough for them to leave some food when they have all had enough which Mum gets.

Once pups are on their own then they get their own dish, which they eat out ofin the kitchen along with the adults, each dog gets it's own dish and I never allow them to so much a sniff at anothers bowl.  Once they are finished the bowls are picked up.

I usually referee in the middle for the few minutes it take for their bowls rto be emptied.

Treats are given when theya re all together, and they are offered a treat one at a time.  Anyone pushing or growling gets sent away or has to wait longer.  They have no problem chewing bonews or chews together.

That's precisely what I do with the pup I keep once the litter has departed. It gets a bowl with the adults and like the adults is not allowed to go to another dog's bowl. They get so used to the position of their bowl on the kitchen floor that I've had dogs that wouldn't eat if the bowl was just a small distance from the usual spot.  The only exception to the communal feeding is that the shelties are fed away from the hounds as they finish very fast and then hoover up the bits the hounds drop when they are together. Over time that can amount to a fattening quantity for my very greedy littlest sheltie.

I know it goes against the conventional wisdom on CD these days, but I do take bowls away from youngsters and then give them back. Only one (an IW adolescent) ever growled and he quickly found out that it was wiser never to do it again. I simply don't buy into the 'if your dog growls at you that's good because it isn't biting you'. I'd sooner say that 'if your youngster growls at you that is bad because the next time you annoy him  - even for his own benefit - he may well bite'. Nor do I buy into the conventional wisdom that if you take something from a dog, you must bribe him with something of higher value. I want to be able to take anything from my dogs, including the tips of their toenails and the tartar from their teeth, without a murmur. Then if they have something I must take from them, I know I can, and if the vet has to do something uncomfortable to them I know I can control them.

We do the same as you with treats too. We call the ritual 'munchies' and the dogs gather round to get their treats in turn. The show dogs have to stand and the non-show ones sit. They have to wait their turn, take the treat nicely and not push forward. If a dog does, it misses out a treat on that round.

>Nor do I buy into the conventional wisdom that if you take something from a dog, you must bribe him with something of higher value.

Not forever, no. But that's far and away the best way to teach them to give things up willingly. It's like teaching them anything - if you make it worth their while to begin with they learn very willingly. Once the puppy's learned that the human is to be trusted then of course you don't have to reward every time. :)

Agree with you there Jeangenie.  If I want to take something off any of the dogs I take it.  I don't make a regular practice of taking food away and giving it back just because I can but I do take toys away and give them back until I want to end the game and then they are my toys.  Even the bolshy dogs accept this.

If you find yourself with dog that does not give things up easily then I do most definitely use a higher value item to get the object I want from the dog.  Once they have the idea I stop the swap but I do reinforce if they show reluctance again.

All puppies are fed from comunal bowls until they leave for their new homes.  Any puppies left have their own bowls and are fed a ration.  As the dogs get older I feed them separately as my top bitch would stomp around giving them all the eye and making them back off their food until she had taken some then to go back and finish her own food.  She is allowed to reinforce her position, rightly or wrongly by walking around the food bowls after they are finished when all the others, including the big boy step back and allow her to take anything that is left.  Any of the puppies brave or stupid enough to challenge her are held, by their heads, for a moment - by her - while shes give them a talking to.

We don't have any squabbles at meal times and we seem to have reached a natural balance.  Incedentaly the top bitch is in prime condition and not overweight so something is going right here.

Sorry forgot to add Excellent post Lokis mum