The first 20 weeks of your Caucasian Mountain Dog puppy’s life are the most important of his entire lifetime. A properly socialized puppy will grow up to be a confident and stable adult dog who will be a pleasure to live with and a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

The importance of socialisation cannot be overemphasized. Research on canine behavior has proven that puppies who are not exposed to new sights,sounds, people and animals during their first 20 weeks of life will grow up to be timid and fearful, and unable to flourish outside of their familiar home environment.

Socializing your puppy is not difficult and, in fact, will be a fun time for you both. Lead training goes hand in hand with socialization, so your puppy will be learning how to walk on a lead at the same time that he’s meeting the neighborhood. Because the Caucasian Mountain Dog is such a fascinating breed, people will enjoy meeting “the new caucasian on the block.” Take him for short walks, to the park and to other dog-friendly places where he will encounter new people, especially children.

Caucasians are naturally suspicious of strangers—keep this in mind—your dog will never be a tail-wagging Golden Retriever, but he still must be biddable around strangers. Just make sure that you supervise these meetings and that the children do not get too rough or encourage him to play too hard.

Take your puppy along on your daily errands. Puppies are natural“people magnets,” and most people who see your pup will want to pet him. All of these encounters will help to mold him into a confident adult dog. Likewise, you will soon feel like a confident, responsible dog owner, rightly proud of your handsome and, most importantly, well-behaved Caucasian Mountain Dog.

Your puppy needs lots of positive interaction, which of course includes human contact, affection, handling and exposure to other animals.

Once your puppy leaves the pack, he will look intuitively for a new leader. If he does not recognize you as that leader, he will try to assume that position for himself. Don’t let your Caucasian pup’s small size and youth fool you when it comes to his positioning for a place in the pack. You must remember that these are natural canine instincts. Do not cave in and allow your pup to get the upper “paw”!