The research con­duct­ed for my MSc degree on the impor­tance of pup­py social­iza­tion and its effect on long term behav­iour is now fea­tured on the Ontario Veterinary College web­site!  This is such an hon­or, I am tru­ly grateful!

The research high­lights the pos­i­tive impact that prop­er social­iza­tion can have for pup­pies and the sig­nif­i­cant effect that can be seen on min­i­miz­ing aggres­sive behav­iours.  It is an impor­tant top­ic for own­ers, breed­ers and those in the vet­eri­nary busi­ness to become famil­iar with, as the cur­rent beliefs still pre­dom­i­nant­ly lean towards wait­ing until 16 weeks and all sets of shots before begin­ning social­iza­tion.  The sen­si­tive stage is over at that point, and there are so many safe meth­ods of social­iz­ing pups ear­li­er.  The OVC itself now clear­ly states and trains new Veterinarians to encour­age ani­mals to be social­ized 10 days after the first set of shots.  I am so proud that my research helped to accom­plish this!

“The Importance of Puppy Socialization” on the OVC site.