Fear Imprint Period: 8-11 weeks

This is a tricky socialization period as it affects some dogs much more than others.  Dogs bred with stable temperaments and brave personalities may not be affected by the fear imprint period at all!  These are dogs where nothing seems to scare them.  But the vast majority of dogs will experience fear imprinting to some degree.  Between 8 - 11 weeks of age, the puppy is extra sensitive to fearful events.  If something frightens the puppy and his fear is confirmed by your actions, then he will remember for the rest of his life what frightened him.  He will also be careful to avoid the object or person who frightened him.

For example, say your puppy is following you around the kitchen and you accidentally knock over a baking sheet that makes a loud clash beside him.  This noise and the baking sheet falling from the sky would definitely scare the puppy.  If you laugh, pick up the baking sheet and ignore your puppy’s reaction, he will learn that there was nothing to be scared of.  However, if you drop what you’re doing and coddle the puppy, you have just confirmed his fear of the baking sheet.  From then on, he will avoid the baking sheet or that area of the kitchen.  This is the danger of the fear imprinting period.  Getting him to overcome his fear of the baking sheet later will be very difficult. So the best thing to do is avoid reassuring the puppy when he gets startled by something.  We can also be extra careful of our actions around the puppy.  Try to keep all learning experiences as positive as possible.