01/11/2025
🚨 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Early socialisation saves lives.
Every week, we see dogs come in for their first groom at 6 months, a year, sometimes even older.
They’ve never heard clippers. Never been handled. Never been lifted onto a table.
To them, grooming feels like danger — and fear turns fast into panic, snapping, or biting.
That’s not bad behaviour.
That’s what happens when no one showed them the world was safe.
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🧠 What socialisation actually means:
It’s not just puppy playdates.
It’s teaching your dog that people, noise, touch, and the world around them are safe.
The key window is 3–12 weeks old — miss it, and fear takes over.
Handled early = confidence.
Handled late = chaos.
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💉 “We’re waiting for the jabs first…”
That delay ruins more dogs than any disease ever did.
You can socialise safely:
• Carry your pup to see the world
• Meet calm, vaccinated dogs
• Handle paws, ears, and tails daily
• Visit the salon just to smell and listen
Both the BVA and AVSAB agree:
> The risk of isolation is worse than the risk of infection.
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⚠️ For bull and guarding breeds, it’s often life or death.
Staffies, Bullies, Rottweilers, Shepherds, Corsos — powerful, loyal, smart.
But without early socialisation, that strength turns defensive.
👉 Bull breeds make up over 60% of behavioural euthanasias in RSPCA centres.
👉 1 in 3 owners admit they never properly socialised their dogs.
They’re not born dangerous.
They’re born unprepared — because someone kept them hidden during the only weeks that mattered.
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❤️ The truth:
A puppy’s first groom shouldn’t be their first fright.
Every calm touch and sound builds trust.
Every missed chance builds fear.
Socialise early. Handle often.
Owning a dog isn’t a hobby — it’s a responsibility.
