Vet
surgeries often hold ‘puppy parties’ for their new clients, but
these should be treated with some caution. Well managed puppy
parties can be great social interaction for puppies of all ages and
sizes. Well managed parties
should:
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Match puppies up according to their size so that the bolder puppies don’t intimidate the more nervous or smaller ones, and thereby create negative experiences for the smaller puppies, and make the bolder ones ‘social bullies’.
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Manage any off-lead play carefully and if necessary, separate puppies that get a bit too boisterous so that they can calm down and re-join the party once they are calmer.
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Discourage any kind of anti-social behaviour, such as biting that gets out of hand, very rough play and also show the owners how to discourage this.
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Show owners how to handle and groom their puppies – and have others do this too.
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Be fun positive experiences for puppies and owners.