Stage of Life & Approximate age | What the dog is experiencing | What humans can do to help |
Neonatal 0-14 days
Eyes closedUnable to hearUnable to standMay vocalise to find motherNo teeth
| - Needs mother's warmth
- Environmental temperatures maintained between 27°-32°C
- Sleeps and feeds
- Needs to be with the mother and litter mates at all times.
- If not latching or feeding may need help to latch or hand feeding.
| - Keep the environment clean / remove any waste
- Ensure the nest is safe, warm and place out of the elements
- If possible get the puppies checked by a vet to ensure there are no health problems or defects.
- Ensure the mother is given ample water and nutrition and get her examined by a vet to rule out any complications.
- Discuss first worming needs with your VET
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Transitional 14 - 21 days
Eyes open
Can hear
Will respond to lights and sounds
Teeth begin to come out
Starts to stand (still unsteady)
Will wag tail
Will start to move further from the nest to toilet.
| - Still extremely dependent on the mother
- Will start to interact with litter mates
| - Introduce clean safe toys.
- Introduce novel smells like people, other animals and other dogs.
- Gently handle the puppy as often as possible.
- Avoid rough housing play and redirect any mouthing to appropriate objects.
- Provide a fake / real grass mat to encourage toileting in conditions similar o the outdoors.
- Teach the puppy to remain calm while being held.
- Learning is slow so be patient and consistent.
- Discuss second worming with your VET
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Primary Socialisation period 3-7 Weeks
Able to regulate body temperature
Actively explores environment
Observes and plays with siblings
Partial control over bowels
Will move away from the nest to toilet
Puppy begins learning behaviour
| - Needs good positive interaction with litter mates. Monitor for bullying or isolation.
- Learns many important lessons from mother and litter mates such as bite inhibition (how hard to bite other animals and people), social ques (good body language and polite etiquette), where and on what to urinate and deficate, social hierarchies, and fear learning (what to avoid). It is important to keep the puppy with the litter at this stage. If this is not possible a surrogate canine companion/s can greatly benefit the puppy who may otherwise be lacking in these areas.
- May start to nip and bite mother in a playful manner. watch out for reactivity from tired mother.
- Positive experiences with humans is critical (avoid too much rough play and mouthing)
- Needs to experience new things in a positive manner ie. new surfaces, hard soft, slippery wet, small stairs, ramps, different people, other animals, noises etc.
- Still needs plenty of rest with litter mates, avoid overstimulating the puppy at this stage.
| - Encourage and reward calm interactions with humans.
- Puppies are learning bite inhibition so do not allow any form of mouthing humans even if it seems cute.
- Provide the puppies with a designated toileting area, this is a good time to start training the puppy to toilet outside on grass like material.
- Introduce positive isolation, ie crate training for short periods of time.
- Begin various handling exercises (muzzle, paws, teeth, ears, tail etc)
- Provide as much positive intractions with the world as possible (introduce to new people, noises, smells, animals, surfaces etc)
- Provide a safe puppy proof area, as everything will be explored with the mouth.
- Avoid any form of reprimanding may result in fearful behaviour.
- Begin basic training exercises to set the puppy up for success and build a stronger bond.
- Discuss with your Vet to get the puppies wormed and vaccinated. (around the 6 week mark)
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Socialisation period 7 - 14 weeks
1st Fear period 8-11 weeks
Puppy is able to move on its own, may still be a bit clumsy on new surfaces.
Puppies start to show curiosity towards everything new.
Puppies still have their sharp baby teeth.
Will have moderate bowel control at this stage.
Most puppies are rehomed between the 8 - 12 week mark, good breeders will try to keep the puppy till the 12 week mark to help overcome the first fear period.
| - The puppy should be completely weaned and should eat puppy appropriate solid food
- This is the most important learning period for the puppy.
- Some puppies may be rehomed at this stage, and positive learning in their new environment is critical.
- Puppies still crave body proximity and warmth at this time. This helps build a bond with your new puppy.
- A safe environment to explore is critical to positive development.
- Puppies will learn and remember bad and scary experiances and the smallest things can have lasting impacts, where the puppy develops negative reactions to certain animals, objects, people, sounds and smells.
| - Set your puppy up for success, avoid putting your puppy into situations where it an make bad choices.
- Teach your puppy through positive reinforcement and redirection.
- Give your puppy positive exposure to as many things in your environment as possible.
- Avoid putting your puppy in scary situations where you can't intervene. When your puppy is scared reassure them and if need be gently reintroduce the stimulus in a more positive way.
- Try to introduce your puppy to as many things as possible in a positive controlled way. (See socilisation checklist)
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Juvenile period 3 - 4 months | - Puppy baby teeth are being replaced by their permanent adult teeth. They need plenty of chewing options during this stage.
- Puppies are also learning their boundaries and will often push and test them; they need to be in a safe environment that minimises risks.
- At this stage, puppies have almost boundless energy and they will need a creative outlet for this otherwise they will find a destructive one.
| - Patience is key during this stage. Puppies who previously were well behaved will not listen or ignore commands. Be calm and firm.
- Puppies will try mouthing and biting during play or when frustrated, be assertive and redirect this behaviour on to a more appropriate chew toy.
- Firm and gentle reinforcement, and obediance training is critical at this stage, to help the dog learn their boundaries.
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Adolesence period 5-14 months
2nd Fear period 5-14 months | - Puppies need consistency as they slowly start exploring the world and seeing if all previous learning is still valid
- Dogs go through drastic physical and hormonal changes.
- Males testies start to become prominent and females may experience the first estrus or heat cycle.
- Dogs may appear more rebellious, while they attempt to explore and interact with their environment and the people / animals they share it with.
- Dogs going through these physiological changes often lack impulse control, which may result in an increase in self gratifying / destructive behaviour (digging, chewing, barking, marking etc)
- Interactions with other dogs may be strained and dogs are prone to act out with other unfamilair dogs.
| - While your dog may start to look like an adult it's important to remember they are still puppies.
- Dogs need patience, direction and clear training to avoid confusion in this already tirbulent period.
- Dogs require positive reinforcement, a lot of guidance and redirection to help overcome any undesirable behaviours.
- Previous training should continuously be reinforced.
- Dogs in estrus or heat cycle should be kept under strict supervision for the duration of the cycle (2-4weeks) to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
- Dogs should be given a safe outlet to release their energy.
- Mental games and calming games will help immensely during this period.
- Do not force your dog into uncomfortable situations, allow them to take their time to get comfortable.
- Be patient to ensure that fearful situations are approached or viewed in a positive manner to avoid any reactivity in the future.
- Use the socialisation checklist and help your dog adjust to things they may find overwhelming or scary.
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Social and Sexual maturity 2 - 3 years | - Some dogs mature earlier than others.
- Dogs make friends and settle into their role in the family.
- Towards the end of this period dogs' brains go through a process called synaptic pruning, where the brain eliminates any connections that were not reinforced, making it harder (not impossible) to train the dog.
- Dogs still retain their puppy energy and playfulness.
| - Dogs need plenty of positive social interactions during this stage to ensure they are well settled adults.
- They require plenty of exercise and positive interactions with other people and animals.
- Problem or unwanted behaviours should be addressed early and changed using positive reinforcement.
- It is important to continue to run through the socialisation checklist to make sure your dog retaining all the positive memories into adulthood.
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