Socialization… It can't be stressed enough just how important it is. Socialization develops the basis for how a dog will interact with other dogs, other animals, people, and in a variety of different situations and environments, influencing his behavior for the rest of his life. A good example is cats. Dogs who have been exposed to cats from an early age, brought up with them for instance, can certainly get along well with cats for the rest of their lives. On the other hand, a dog who has never been exposed to cats will not know how to appropriately react to them, chasing them perhaps or even attacking them.

Socialization, however, doesn't just begin with you. In fact, if you're looking to get a puppy between the ages of four and seven weeks, that's time in which he's already received some form of socialization. Though there's still much socialization to do, how that puppy interacts with his littermates, his mother, people and various external stimuli will strongly affect his behavior and personality as he matures. Much of this very early socialization, within the first 12 weeks, is controlled by the breeder, so that's one important thing to discuss with any breeder whose puppy you're interested in acquiring.

More about early socialization for your dog.