Puppy development

My puppy was SO GOOD and now he's not listening to me at all!  She NEVER did that before!
These are the cries of my puppy owners as their puppies grow and change.

Puppies, like people, go through special stages in life relating to their physical, mental and emotional growth.  In this post, I'd like to share some of the main things to watch for in your puppy's development.  If you know what to expect, it can make it an easier stage to transition through.

A puppy is born both deaf and blind.  Their best senses are touch and scent.  They are completely dependent on the mother and it's a big job to feed, clean, and keep warm a whole litter!  That's why I usually give my mothers complete quiet and privacy the first week.  They need to recover from the birth and also to get into a rhythm with their babies.  The first two weeks the puppies sleep about 90% of the time waking only to nurse.  Even so, it's a critical stage to handle them every day and get them used to the movement of being picked up and stroked and set back down.  At two weeks the eyes and ears will start to open and the pups will begin to move about the whelping box.  Teeth are already coming in by 20 days and by three weeks they will begin to paw at and play with their littermates.

Even at such an early age, the pups are formed strongly by the actions of the mother.  Pups who live with an experienced, calm mother and are handled daily with regular living noises and actions about them are sure to get the best start.  Contrary to popular belief, this is not a time to "protect" the pups from noises and new experiences.  You want the pup to have these experiences so they can learn to adapt and adjust back quickly to a calm demeanor.  Puppies learn at this stage of development one of the most important lessons in a dogs life and that is to accept discipline.  Mother dogs can be very gentle and loving with their babies...but they also will "rough" them up and roll them over getting them to submit to her.  She'll start "talking" to them with grumbles and growls when they don't respond in submission to her messages.

From four to seven weeks, puppies are eating real food and are much more active and sophisticated in their play.  Lots of growling and chasing and physically wrestling.  Social interaction is crucial at this stage and the more people, animals and experiences they can be introduced to in a safe environment, the better.  It's absolutely critical that the pups have complete access to their mother and hopefully other dogs to learn how to be doggy social too.  Given the space and the situation, pups will begin to explore more independently and spend time away from littermates and adults.  From 5-7 weeks puppies have very little sense of fear and will explore and investigate if given the chance.  Most puppies at this stage are very trusting and friendly.  This is when each individual puppy's personality starts to show more strongly.

By eight weeks pups crave more individual attention.  They are ready to start permanently learning and bonding to new families.  But unfortunately,  from eight to ten weeks is also a period when pups will be more wary and fearful of new situations.  So it's important to go slowly with a new puppy.  Especially the first week set a strong schedule for the pup with ample rest and quiet periods.  You want to give him some time to adjust to the new environment of his home.  By all means still act normally around the pup and make sure they are continually exposed to sounds and smells and new things, but make sure you are paying attention and the puppy is in a safe situation.  You want to be a calm and reassuring presence, but allow the puppy to work things out on their own and thus, gain confidence in themselves.  Keep training consistent and situations positive during this period of 8-11 weeks.  A strongly negative experience at this stage can imprint on a puppy for life, so be conscious of what situations you are placing the pup.

From 9-12 weeks it's very important to give the pup many situations to develop in.  It's not the quantity of interactions as much as the quality of the experience.  A puppy who has always had a good interaction with other dogs but has only met five new dogs at this stage is a much more stable learning environment than a puppy who has been forced to meet every man, woman and child walking down the street, who never has a quiet, safe space to sleep uninterrupted and who has been beaten up at the dog park!  Puppies who never interact with other dogs at this stage will bond more closely to their humans, but they may never develop the proper doggie etiquette at dog parks when older.  It's best to have a nice mixture of people and puppy play so they learn to adapt to every situation.  Try and find a puppy of the same age so they can wrestle and be physical with each other.

From 13-16 weeks pups are cutting teeth and becoming independent.  Puppies who have been very compliant might start forming an opinion of their own and testing dominance and boundaries and even resorting to some temper tantrums!  It is a very critical stage of learning for the puppy and extremely important to make sure you are training in small lessons every day what you want from your puppy.  The puppy can distinguish between playtime and worktime now and so puppy classes are good.  Lots of distractions are also good, so a puppy learns to focus on the owner and to comply when told to, not when they feel like it.  This is the time above all others to follow through on your commands.  Never let a puppy run away and ignore you now, or growl or snap at you.  You don't want to bully them, but you do want to make it clear that you will stick it out, EVERY TIME, and stay with the lesson until the puppy complies.  Very, very important time to teach your puppy to tolerate grooming, nail trimming, children, other animals......set the standard now for what you expect the pup to live for the rest of his life.
This is not the time for impatience or rushing.  Be calm, patient and consistent in your lessons.  Establish to the pup you are the leader and you are to be obeyed.

A very important stage to watch for is a "flight" instinct which can occur from 4-8 months.  It can last for a few days or several weeks.  The puppy who came when called every time may suddenly become "deaf" to your calls.  It's important to limit situations where the pup is off leash at this stage and ignoring you.  Keep them on leash as much as possible in open situations and praise them up for correct responses!  Once the pup is listening well again, you can slowly go back to off leash situations, but once a pup has learned it can run from you and isn't corrected, you're in for a frustrating time.  In the pack, a leader would never tolerate a pup to ignore them and would chase them down and correct them hard.  When mother calls, puppy comes-always.

There is also a second "fear" period that comes to the puppy from 6-14 months.  It is usually regarding a fear of new situations and may come and go during this period so be patient and don't label your puppy as fearful.  It's very, very common for this period to be uncertain for them and even when they look all grown up at 14 months, the fear response can surface.  It's normal and part of their development.  A well socialized puppy who has been outgoing with people and new situations may overnight start to fear people and things it would never have noticed before.  Again, don't stop the new things,  just make sure the overall situation is safe and allow the pup to figure things out on their own.  NEVER console a fearful puppy--you are reinforcing the fear.  Just be calm and encouraging and allow the pup to gain their own awareness and self confidence.  Never pressure or force at this stage, some situations may take minutes and some much more time.  Give them the time needed to work it out.  The puppy is still teething and having hormone changes and growth spurts so it makes sense they may feel out of balance and unsure.  It's often helpful to keep a light, playful attitude and show the pup that all is well.  I learned this with my Australian Shepherd who started to become very fearful and aggressive in this stage whenever the doorbell rang.  I wasn't having much success with correcting the behavior, it was only intensifying her reaction.  But my wise friend asked to try and when the doorbell rang, she jumped up and exclaimed very excitedly,  "It's Bob!  It's Bob!" and ran to the door, knocking the dog aside!  My puppy forgot her fear and got caught up in the excitement and wiggled her way to see who is this fantastic being Bob at the door?  My friend had the guest "Bob" give the pup treats and before you knew it, my dog loved to hear the bell ring!   So keep it light and keep on track with the big picture.  If the pup is unsure and you are uptight-bad combination.

By 18 months to 2 years you are on the downward slide.  Most puppies are still filling out their leggy, long bodies but if you've done your work, they are making a smoother, more consistent transition to their adult behavior.  A dog will usually make a big shift in energy at age two and show a settling in and calmer demeanor.  By now, they are pretty confident in their abilities and trusting of your leadership.  They have gone from the Ugly Duckling to the Beautiful Swan and will continue to mature until about age four.  There is still much to learn from age one to age four so by no means think your dog is done developing!  But there should be a more relaxed training and learning going on as you've established your relationship solidly.

The development of a good dog starts with the breeder in choosing good genetic stock and sound parents.  From a good beginning with the dam and breeder, a new owner must give the puppy what it needs as far as socialization and consistent training.  Put the time and effort into those first two years and you will see your puppy reach their full potential and become the dog you've always wanted.