Dogs are social animals. They thrive on being apart of the family and having close bonds with their people and other canines. All puppies go through a sensitive period for their socialisation and development and this is crucial to their overall characters and the difference between a fearful, shy or stressed dog in certain situations or a well balanced, confident dog that can manage their emotions and reactions to the world around them.
Having said this, no matter what the age, or background, all dogs deserve socialisation time and to do so safely. Its important to never saturate our dogs with new experiences, people, environments and new dogs. As their humans, we owe it to our dogs to try have an understanding of how their feeling and how to read their body language. For example, often people misconstrue their dog yawning as them being tired but actually dogs use yawning as a way to break tension or show they are feeling fearful or anxious. Also, dogs who show their belly are not always asking for belly rubs but they are showing submission to other dogs or people.
Understanding canine body language improves the bond between dogs and the people who love them. This is because our dogs learn that they can rely on us, as their guides, to remove them from situations they find stressful or uncomfortable. Remember, your dog can safely be introduced to new dogs, people and other animals but its important to always keep meet and greets short and be ready to remove your dog should they show any signs of them communicating that they are overwhelmed. Removing your dog when they are stressed or anxious means your dog has time to adjust and feel confident around things that are potentially scary or intimidating to them. Dogs who are forced to interact with everything and their communication signals are ignored run the risk of developing behavioural issues later.
For a look at other dog body language signals, take a look at the chart below
