IMPRINTING

Imprinting is the process by which young animals come to recognize an adult animal as a “parent” and build habitual trust. The most common example that comes to mind when we talk about imprinting is that of a gosling who, within a couple hours of being born, imprint upon another animal and will follow them around until they reach their next stage of development. This same process happens in dogs and even humans though- in an early stage of life, we internalize a concept of “parenthood”.

All animals who depend on another to provide for them will have a period while they are very young where they can learn easily and quickly which animals are part of their social group and which animals they can look to for guidance when they are unsure. We aren’t sure when exactly this period begins and ends for dogs and it’s highly likely that, like other developmental stages, it would vary between breeds and parentage.

That said, the importance of taking advantage of this brief stage of development cannot be overstated. We are presented with the opportunity to teach puppies, and impress upon them permanently, that humans are relevant in their world. By taking advantage of this evolutionary relic, we can be sure that our puppies look to humans for answers when they can’t figure it out on their own.

Ultimately, we want to cultivate a worldview in our puppies that centres around people. By doing so, we can provide dogs with the biological hardware to form deep, personal, and emotional bonds with their guardians based on mutual trust and love.