Developmental Periods Of Your Puppy

We hope that this will give you some helpful information on what your puppy has been doing since birth. As you can see the breeder has a lot of responsibility to ensure that each puppy has the best chance to mature into a happy little fellow. We feel that being a breeder (not just a producer of puppies) is a very important responsibility. We have committed our time and effort into producing physically and emotionally healthy puppies. We will provide a copy of our chart on your puppies development and reaction to mild stress.

Neonatal 1-14 days (0-2 wks)

Can't regulate body temperature
90% of time sleeping
Seeks warmth of mother and litter mates
Crawls
Nurses
Can right it’s self if turned over

Transitional 15-21 days (2-3 wks)

Eyes open
Teeth begin to come in
Gets up on all four legs
Takes a few steps
Begins to lap liquids

Socialization 22-84 days (3-12 wks)

3-4 weeks

hearing, eyesight, sense of smell is becoming more complex
begins to eat food
begins to bark, wag tail and bite other pups

4-5 weeks

uses legs but tires easily
paws
growls
bares teeth
chases
plays play kill games

5-7 weeks

weaning begins
curious
little sense of fear
participates in group activities and sexual games
dominance order is beginning
develops distance perception

7 weeks

has total hearing and visual capacity
will investigate

8 weeks

fearful of sudden and loud noises and movements
cautious of anything new in the environment
brain is physically mature, can start to learn in small steps
* fear period
if pup has a bad fright now the pup may carry that fear all his life. Frights include but not limit to; load rough person, spanking, sharp noises, shipping puppy. This is why we feel that a pup is best left with the familiar environment of the litter through the 8th week.

9-12 weeks

develops strong dominant and subordinate behavior among litter mates
begins to learn his/her name
begins to learn correct behavior for right time
continues to improve motor skills
short attention span
Exposure to different environments and situations is very important for you to continue for an emotionally well adjusted adult.