Schipperkes and a New Look at Socialization

​       Schipperkes and a New Look at Socialization
                                    Mariah Jeon
            According to the AKC standard the temperament of the Schipperke is curious yet reserved with strangers but still confident about his surroundings. So, when we are covering the topic of effective socialization, we must take into consideration the genetic predisposition of the Schipperke’s temperament. According to the standard the Schipperke is, “…reserved with strangers and ready to protect his family and property if necessary. He displays a confident and independent personality, reflecting the breed's original purpose as watchdog and hunter of vermin.” (AKC Schipperke Standard) Being reserved or ‘aloof’ does not mean aggressive or fearful of strangers. These types of behaviors should not be confused. Aloof dogs, such as the schipperke, would scoff at the idea of cuddling up next to a stranger but is still tolerant of interactions with said stranger. While a fearful or aggressive dog would cower, flee, or bark at the sight of an unfamiliar person. The difference between a schipperke that reflects the standard and a schipperke that is fearful is reduced to two things: proper socialization and genetics. It is well established within the purebred dog community that temperament and soundness are passed down through genetics. This article is not focused on the genetic aspect of a dog’s temperament, but is focused on the influence of environmental stimuli that is commonly referred to as Socialization. A puppy that is exposed to proper socialization will be able to reach their full genetic potential. But proper socialization might be different from what you might be thinking. When you think of the word socialization you might think of dog parks, puppy play dates, and having every stranger pet your new puppy; envisioning these activities as being all you need to do to socialize your schipperke puppy. Unfortunately, these types of activities have shown to cause damage such as dog reactivity and hand shyness.  This is far from proper socialization. If, during the time from 3 weeks to 16 weeks of age, a puppy has a negative experience with another dog or person, they could be left with lasting negative impressions of dogs and people throughout the rest of their life. Or your puppy has such a positive experience with other dogs and/or people that you struggle to gain your puppies attention because your puppy finds these interactions more rewarding than engaging with you. As a dog trainer, I see the following four problems on a daily basis. Poor recall, pulling on the leash, reactivity towards people or dogs, and selective hearing. All of these are more often than not caused by improper socialization at a young age.  So, what does proper socialization look like? It is a puppy that is calm and engaged with their owner not fazed by people, dogs, smells, sights, and sounds around them. They do not shut down, bark, growl or cower when exposed to new places and are able to grow from stressful situations to become a more confident dog. This all starts young in the hands of our breeders, as soon as schipperke’s eyes and ears are open, they are ready to explore their environment. So, from birth till when they reach 8-12 weeks it is up to the breeder to properly introduce their puppies to new sights, smells, sounds, and simulation. Puppy raising programs such as Puppy Culture or AviDog are great resources for breeders to follow for proper early age stimulation and environmental socialization. Exposing puppies to sounds such as the vacuum, clanking of metal, storm noises, sirens, and other load noises can greatly help puppies be unfazed by similar noises later in life. Many breeders play soundtracks of storms, sirens, and other loud noises for their puppies as soon as they can hear so that the puppies become desensitized to the unfamiliar environmental sounds. Also, while in the breeder’s care puppies should be exposed to new sights and kinetic stimuli such walking on new surfaces like grass, reflective materials, crunchy material, and unstable objects such as wobble boards and bosu balls. Puppy play pens and tunnels are also important to help puppies become more confident with the objects around them. Another step breeders can take to ensure their puppies are happy, stable, and ready to learn is to create a positive relationship between people and treats. Clicker training can be started as soon as a puppy is on solid food and will provide a jump start to their training. Rewarding eye contact and a calm focus at a young age will greatly increase their focus on their handler and calmness later on in the puppy’s life. Once a schipperke puppy is in their new home, what can the puppy owner do to continue the hard work their breeder has put into helping their puppies reach their full genetic potential? Continue building the foundation that the breeder has already started. Socialization should not be pushing your puppy into a stranger’s hands or making them be sniffed by large unfamiliar dogs.  Continue socialization training by introducing puppies to new environments, sights, flooring, sounds, and smells. When out in public work with your puppy’s focus and reward eye contact instead of teaching your dog to seek out strangers which often leads to pulling and future training issues. Socialization is not only about creating positive interactions with the environment around them, but also teaching your puppy to focus around other dogs, people, and other animals. Take your puppy out as much as possible and expose them to as much environmental stimuli as possible. For example, go to your local home depot and work on your puppy’s focus, sits, and watching you while you walk. Taking these types of trips and continuing proper socialization as soon as your puppy is settled in to his or her new home will help your schipperke not only be a good companion, but to also excel in; the obedience ring, -and the show ring. Schipperkes are highly trainable when they are socialized and able to focus on their owner in new environments. These early steps can help schipperkes in AKC Rally, Obedience, Agility and other sports. When a dog is unsure of their surroundings or so focused on everything around them it can challenging for owners to work their dogs to their true potential.  A Schipperke who is desensitized to the outside world and is focused on their handler is a happy schipperke who has reached their full genetic potential. 

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