Puppy Socialization in Quarantine: Home Alone Style

If you have never seen the 1990 Home Alone movie, SPOILERS AHEAD!

One of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is the 1990 Home Alone movie. Home Alone is about a young boy named Kevin who accidently ends up home alone on Christmas and must use his imagination to battle two local burglars! But what does this movie have to do with puppy socialization in quarantine? Creativity! Kevin uses his imagination to solve problems throughout the movie and that is what puppy socialization is all about, even outside quarantine. So, lets take a lesson from Kevin, and look around the house for creative ways to solve the problem!

The TV and the Pizza Guy

One well-known scene from Home Alone is the scene where Kevin plays a clip from a movie to scare off the pizza guy after paying for the pizza. While I do not recommend scaring your puppy with the TV, you can use a version of this to help socialize your puppy to odd sounds. You can play the TV for a while during the day to simulate crowded locations or show your puppy odd sounds. Put something on TV with people talking, then after a while change the channel to the sports channel, then to a movie, etc. Make sure to toss lots of treats (or feed your puppy dinner while you do this) so your puppy gets yummy things while it hears the new sounds coming from the TV. Please make sure to allow your puppy to choose whether is stands near the TV or not. Please make sure they don’t get too close and make sure they cannot knock the TV over or off the wall. However, also make sure you allow them to approach the TV at their own pace. If your puppy is noise sensitive, start with the volume much lower than normal and work your way back up to normal volume from there (you can go a little louder than normal if your puppy is comfortable with more noise).

The pizza guy is also a great socialization opportunity. If you have food delivered to your house, keep an eye out for the delivery person. When he or she arrives, give your puppy treats when they ring the doorbell. As soon as the doorbell goes off, have a friend or family member toss your puppy one treat after another while you get the food and pay for it. Make sure your friend or family member keeps feeding treats to your puppy until the delivery person leaves. Over time you can do this with the puppy closer and closer to the front door. Please make sure your puppy cannot run off, and put it on leash if you need to do so (Note: Make sure the treats are high value! This will set your puppy up for success). Also, if your puppy does not handle the doorbell very well at this point, place a note on the door that asks the delivery person to knock because you are working with a puppy (many people will gladly help you and your puppy out). When the person knocks on the door, toss your puppy treats the same way you would with the doorbell training. Once your puppy can sit calmly while the doorbell goes off, you can then teach it a release cue. Leave a treat on the porch for the delivery person. Then, if the delivery person is comfortable doing so, give your puppy the release cue and allow the puppy to approach the delivery person and get a treat from them. Make sure your puppy is on leash and comes back when called. Only do this if your puppy has done “come” training and will come back into the house when you ask. I would have a treat ready to offer your puppy when you call it back inside. Thank the delivery person and give your puppy a yummy jackpot!

The Basement Heater

Another good moment in Home Alone is when Kevin faces his fear of the basement heater. Let’s take a lesson from Kevin and see what we can find in the basement or garage that might be a good tool to socialize puppies. Make sure to always allow your puppy to have space and retreat if it is scared (never force your puppy to face something it is afraid of). Always have high value treats on hand and make sure it is safe for your puppy to be in the space. If you need to, put your puppy on leash so that it does not get into anything it should not get into. Give you puppy treats for investigating new things; maybe the boxes make an odd shape, there is a new smell, or there is something that your puppy simply would not experience regularly, such as unusual flooring. Once again, take things slow and be considerate of your puppy’s emotions. Rather than forcing your puppy to encounter something, your goal is to help them see that new things are good things and that they are safe with you and the new object, sound, or place.

Beware the After-Shave

One of the most iconic scenes from Home Alone is the scene where Kevin is acting all grown up by imitating his dad’s morning routine; he showers, shaves, and put on after-shave. Having completed shaving, Kevin rubs the after-shave on his hands and slaps them down on each cheek, only to pause for a moment, then scream in pain! Once again, you might be thinking “What does this have to do with socializing a puppy?” This scene is a great example of what happens when we do not educate ourselves. When socializing your puppy in your home (and in public), make sure to check places before you enter them with your puppy. Never assume that a place is safe, check it first. Plan out what objects you will work with, when, where, and for how long. Then be ready for your puppy to change things up! Make sure that you know each space well enough that if your puppy blows past one thing you thought would work as a socialization tool and goes for something else that you can either easily redirect your puppy, remove the object, or safely manage how they interact with the object. Make sure you know what you are getting you and your puppy into so that you and your puppy can have safe and enjoyable experiences.

As always, have fun and enjoy! Be creative with your problem solving and be safe!

Happy Holidays!