Puppy Development
Development of Dogs
Dogs have different needs throughout their life stages. Just like people, each stage of development requires different care and handling.
The knowledge of a dog's physical and emotional development throughout each stage can help with behavior maintenance and proper care that will help keep them happy and healthy.
For this article, we are concentrating on the puppy stage, but of course, information on juvenile through senior years is available on FetchFind.
Neonatal - Birth to 2 weeks (14 days)
This is the nursing period and is crucial that the puppy is with her mom.
Some traits include:
- Blindness
- No tail wagging
- Need help with elimination
- Suckling
Transition - 2 - 3 weeks (14 - 21 days)
Rapid development begins
Some traits include:
- Agnostic behavior
- Eyes open
- Ears open
- Baby teeth emerge
- Chewing
- Walking on feet
- Tail wagging
Socialization - 3 - 12 weeks (21- 84 days)
Rapid development in social patterns.
Some traits include:
- Eyes fully develop
- Sense of smell develops
- Clumsy walking and running
- Preference for elimination location
- Agnostic behavior increases
- Weaning begins
- Lapping and chewing
This socialization stage of puppyhood can be summed up as:
Dog-to-dog socialization 3-7 weeks old
Dog-to-human socialization 7-12 weeks old
First fear impact period 8-11 weeks old
If a young puppy is in your care, any traumatic, painful, or frightening experience will have more impact on the puppy's life than any other period during the fear period.
Go to:
For a dog development cheat sheet.
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