The most significant differences in growth rates and patterns though, is between dogs of different sizes. There are not just differences between breeds, there are differences between individuals of each breed, and even between litter-mates.ĭifferent dogs pass through puppy development stages at different rates. We can’t predict exact weights at any of the main puppy development stages. The reason we can’t be more precise, is that dogs vary in their growth rates, as well as in the final size that they are likely to reach. The most important thing, is to give you the tools to recognize when your own individual puppy is growing and thriving, and when things are not right. However, we can and do give you some rough guides in the charts and graphs you’ll find in this article. People often write to me and say “I have a 3 month old (or 4 or 5 months) Cocker Spaniel (or Labrador, or Springer), how much should he weigh?” They often tell me how much food in grams or ounces he is getting, and ask me if this is enough.Īs you have probably guessed, there isn’t an exact answer to a question of this nature. And the point at which all three are complete varies from one dog breed to another. To confuse matters, these processes don’t happen at the same rate. Your puppy needs to reach all three aspects of maturity before he is a “grown up”. There are actually three aspects to puppy development that all need to come together in order for him to be truly an adult dog. The teenage fear period is a time between 6-12 months when young dogs that were fully socialized as puppies may again become fearful and need their socialization programme refreshing once again SECTION 2: PUPPY GROWTH This is the stage where you need to take him everywhere and ensure he meets as much of the world as he possibly can. The window for socialization closes at around three months old and is the time when your puppy will most readily accept and adapt to new experiences. All puppies need some help with this process and if they don’t get the help they need, by about three months old, puppies start to become nervous of unfamiliar people and events. It’s all about learning not to be scared of new experiences, and to welcome human beings as friends. The process that all dogs need to go through in order to help them live comfortably in our human world. Puppy socialization is one of the most important of all puppy development stages. The word “help” is the key though, because “not biting” is something you need to actively teach your puppy not to do. With the right help, most puppies have learned not to bite hard enough to hurt you by about five months, and stopped biting altogether by six months. Puppies bite as part of their normal play, and also because biting helps relieve the discomfort of teething. Recognizable barking is usually established by eight weeks old, and almost all pups will be able to make cute little puppy woofs by ten to twelve weeks. Proper dog sounds begin to appear during the second to third week. Newborn puppies make tiny squeaking noises when they are cold, but for the most part are fairly quiet. And most puppies are standing and taking their first wobbly steps by the end of the third week of life. The third week is all about getting puppies up on their legs. And some puppies will open their eyes a day or so earlier than the others. Sometimes one eye opens faster than the other. Over the course of a day or two the eye will open fully. A tiny gap appears between the eyelids in the corner of the eye and the puppy will peep out through it. Your puppy’s eyes will open during the second week of life. Puppies’ eyes don’t just pop open suddenly.
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