Your Puppy's Development

Your puppy’s behaviour is being shaped from the moment they are born.  Whilst your puppy’s genetics play a major role in their innate character, how they learn to adjust to their environment is, to a large extent, very much under your control.  You will find many excellent books to help you through the process, but finding the philosophy and formula that best suits you and your lifestyle may be the tricky part.  Our philosophy is that there is no single “right” way – there are certainly methods that may be detrimental to the well-being of your future adult dog, but there are just as many that will produce desirable results for the responsible owner.  We have created this web site to provide the broad-brush necessities to get you pointed down the path of owning a happy, well-adjusted dog that above all, is under your control at all times. 

This section of the site outlines the stages in your puppy’s development, more importantly, what you can be doing during these stages to promote positive results. As a lead-in to each stage, we remind you that you are a human and your puppy is… a canine, a completely different species.  Please don’t expect them to think and reason as a human;  in fact, on the simplest of terms consider that every choice your puppy makes – from here forward and throughout its entire life – is based on whether it is Safe or Not Safe for them:

Safe = pleasant, fun and rewarding.  Safe also feeds the belly and is comfortable.

Not Safe = scary, confusing and causes pain.  Not safe is also lingering hunger and discomfort.

Since the domestication of dogs, humans have taken the responsibility of ensuring a Safe environment for them.  So, the next time you throw your arms in the air at your dog’s behaviour, be a human and think and reason for your dog by shaping their behaviour based on what is Safe.

Whilst this may not be as easy as is sounds, there are professionals dedicated to helping you through the process.  Use the services available to you, as you are now by reading this web site.  For further consultation, we encourage you to complete our Trainability questionnaire or contact us direct.  Lastly, our philosophy is that a well trained dog is a happy dog – above all, a Safe dog!

Good luck with your new puppy, and if you have any questions about their health in relation to how you are preparing them for their life, consult with your veterinarian.

The Stages:

Birth to 3 weeks, “The Helpless Stage”:  Your puppy has just been born - it can not see, hear very well and is virtually immobile.  At about 3 weeks you will start to see eyes open, slight reactions to sounds and clumsy attempts to walk.

What Can I Do?  There is little that can be done for a puppy at this stage, except keep them warm, comfortable and close to their mother and litter mates.  Once you notice mild awareness and attempts at activity, you may introduce equally mild amounts of stress. Gently handle the puppies, remove them from their nest for short periods of time so that they associate the experience with immediate return to what is comfortable.  This process enables a dog to cope with stress more easily later in life.

3 – 4 weeks, “The Awareness Stage”:  Your puppy is now using its senses.  Learning begins! 

What Can I Do?  Again, there is not much you can do, except keep their environment stable.  You may handle the puppies, but not for long periods, and not far from their mother and litter mates.  It is now more important than ever to allow your puppy to associate awareness in the familiararity of its nest.

4 – 7 weeks, “The Canine Stage”:  Here’s when you notice the mother’s impatience – she starts to discipline her puppies and they accept her new role.  In addition, relationships are developing within the pack.  Hierarchy is established in play;  in fact, your puppy is learning all about what it means to be a canine such as biting, barking, chasing, playing, fighting and all the other little things that get a reaction.

What Can I Do?  Let your puppy play, play play!  Proper socialisation will become increasingly more important, so do not deprive your puppy of this time.  However, you should make a clear distinction for them between the area where they play and the area where they sleep – puppies  that are unable to relieve themselves outside of their sleeping area are much more difficult to toilet train in later life.  Each puppy should also now have individual contact with humans, and short periods of isolation from their mother and litter mates to prepare them for separation.  

7 – 12 weeks, “The Human Stage”:  Your puppy is now completely weaned from its mother and has an independent little personality.  In addition, life now no longer revolves around the same species – it now revolves around humans.  During this stage, the most rapid leaning occurs.  The greatest impact on future social behaviour will be made by any experience that happen at this time, this includes experiences that frighten your puppy, which will have a more lasting effect than if occurred at any other time.

What Can I Do?  Keep your puppy socialised!  Take into account your puppy’s physical limitations and short attention span and expose them to as many fun, positive and educational experiences as possible.  Avoid any potentially overwhelming  circumstances that you can control, and should your puppy become afraid, stay upbeat and positive whilst removing them from the environment.  If you coddle a nervous puppy, you are affirming their behaviour, it is much better to earn their trust by slowly and respectfully introducing something new.  Provide a structure to your routines, and establish yourself as your puppy’s leader. Now, more than ever, remember that your puppy knows Safe and Not Safe, and it is essential that it associates your leadership with what is Safe.  Don’t worry about periodic bouts of stress – stress followed by a positive experience builds confidence.  Stress is actually a good thing in a controlled environment.

12 – 16 weeks, “The Pre-teenager Stage”:  The next two stages of your puppy’s development may fall together as the time when they challenge your leadership. 

What Can I Do?  As long as you’ve provided the proper socialisation, structure, control and appropriate leadership, you should be fine. If there are some rough edges, now is the time to polish them because your puppy is about to become a “teenager”.    

4 – 8 months, “The Teenager Stage”:  If your puppy hasn’t yet tested your leadership, you might see some bold acts of rebellious courage during this stage.  The world still may revolve around you, but some things just might be more interesting right now.  As you once remember your puppy happily following you wherever you went, they may now start ignoring recall and not showing as much interest in fetch or sticking close to you at the park.  There may also be some discomfort for your puppy because their adult teeth are growing in.

What Can I Do?  Consider a long lead to ensure the safety of your puppy, yet still allowing freedom to expend energy and explore.  Keep appropriate chew or teething toys on hand to direct, or re-direct the need to chew.  Should you discover your puppy chewing on your personal belongings, quickly replace that item with one of their own. This is a good opportunity for you to teach your puppy that your shoe is Not Safe, “NO!”, but this chew bone is, “good puppy!”  Don’t make your puppy guess what is Safe and Not Safe, make the association immediate; if it’s not immediate, they won’t get it.  It is tiring keeping one eye on your puppy for almost the first year of their life, but the rewards are worth it in a 10-fold!

8 – 18 months “The Young Adult Stage”:  The young adult stage corresponds with the adult growth spurts – longer, leaner legs; replacement of puppy coat with a more distinctive adult coat;  sexual maturity and changes in behaviour, such as a sudden shyness around strangers or new environments.

What Can I Do?  Formal training is the best gift you can give yourself and your puppy at this time.  Even if you’ve been diligent about your training efforts in the home, and even if there are no behavioural issues.  If your puppy is well socialised and accepting your leadership in the home, formal training is the icing on the cake.  Dogs do not generalise well and the opportunity to instill that obedience is expected in all sets of circumstances makes all the difference.  Socialisation is still very important, and they get loads of it with most formal training programmes.  Your puppy is still young and still able to be shaped into that perfect, Safe, companion.

18+ months, “The Adult Stage”:  Dogs mature at different rates, and the above stages may be off for your puppy by a week or more.  Nonetheless, even if you have done everything by “the book”, you may still experience bouts of unacceptable behaviour – object guarding, unfavourable reactions to strangers or other animals, etc.  Regardless of innate characteristics of your dog that you may not be able to change, what is more important than anything else is that your dog remain under your control at all times.  If you have created a Safe environment and your dog considers you a Safe leader, you will have control.  If you do not, seek professional help.  A dog’s mind may be simple in terms of predicting what choice they will make based on the nature of the reward, but being a human, learning to think like a dog in order to mold the behaviour may take more outside guidance and practice for some over others. 

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