Development phases of the puppy
Although puppies are born relatively helpless, they quickly grow into independent individuals who all develop a unique personality. During their overwhelming journey, dogs go through many different phases that cannot always be clearly defined or dated. The individual stages of development enable us to understand and comprehend the dog, its behavior and its character and thus to deal with it appropriately.
The prenatal phase
The prenatal phase covers the period in which the puppy is still in its mother's uterus. It lasts for around 58-68 days. Although a pregnant dog should live the same life during pregnancy as before, she should spend the last few weeks of her pregnancy with more caution and less activity. In addition, she should not be exposed to unnecessary stress, as recent research shows that the mother already influences her puppies in the embryonic stage. The level of sex and stress hormones secreted by the bitch and passed on to her young via her placenta is probably the decisive factor here. It is not uncommon for prenatal stress to lead to both the organs and the brain of the puppy being conditioned at birth to react in a certain way in stressful situations. This can weaken learning ability and curiosity on the one hand and develop aggression on the other. In addition, prenatal stress can also affect the sexual behavior of growing puppies.
As the bitch does not just look after herself during pregnancy, she needs nutrient-rich food. There are good complete feeds for this, which are not only suitable for the mother during pregnancy, but also during the suckling period. Complete feed can also be used for growing puppies and young dogs.
The neonatal phase - 0 to 2 weeks
During the neonatal phase, also known as the vegetative phase, the puppies sleep almost all the time and are only around 2 to 15 % active during the day, as they are heavily dependent on the bitch. In the first two weeks of their lives, suckling is the puppies' main activity. To stimulate the flow of milk, the puppies kick the mother's teats with their paws. Since both the sucking behavior and the kicking of milk are innate behaviors of the puppies, the search for food is also a completely natural part of their individual development, which is why the bitch and her young can suckle without any outside help. Nevertheless, a little help can be useful under certain circumstances, for example if the bitch is still inexperienced or the puppies cannot find their way around on their own.
Past EEG studies have shown that puppies have relatively low brain activity at birth. As their eyes are still closed and their optic nerves are undeveloped, puppies cannot see anything at the beginning. In addition, their auditory canals are also closed, which is why they not only cannot see anything, but also cannot hear anything. Nevertheless, puppies react to loud noises and bright light and can already whimper and cry, expressing various emotions. Furthermore, both the intestines and the urinary bladder of puppies are already functioning from birth, but they are not yet able to empty them on their own in the first two weeks of their lives. For this reason, the bitch licks them as a simulation so that the puppies can urinate and defecate. In addition, puppies are not yet able to regulate their own body temperature independently in their first few days and are therefore dependent on the warmth of their mother and siblings. They should also always be kept in a warm place.
The transition phase - 2 to 4 weeks
The transition phase is also a short, but nevertheless very eventful time in which drastic changes are imminent for the puppy. Puppies open their eyes for the first time after 12 to 13 days. A few days later, the pupils also contract in strong light conditions, which is why the puppies now try their hand at tracking moving objects. At the beginning, puppies probably only see shadows and light and no details at all. However, the more their eye muscles, pupil reflex, optic nerves and visual center in the brain develop, the more their vision improves. As soon as the puppies are 28 days old, they can usually see like adult dogs.
In addition, their hearing begins to function at the end of the transition phase, so that the puppies can react to loud noises for the first time. As they opened their eyes a few days ago, they are now able to fix their gaze. For this reason, the puppies can now also avoid sounds or visual impressions and the first signs of anxiety appear. Hearing tests carried out in the past also suggest that puppies that are 3 to 4 weeks old can orientate themselves to sounds and can hear just as well as adult dogs. In addition to the eyes and hearing, the neural pathways of the front legs also develop after two weeks so that the puppies can sit for the first time. After three weeks, the motor skills of the rear part of the body also improve, enabling the puppies not only to sit but also to stand. Now is also the time when the puppies start to play with each other. After around two to four weeks, the pups' sense of pain has also fully developed.
As soon as the puppies are 3 to 5 weeks old, they increasingly behave like full-grown dogs, growling, barking and wagging their tails. They play with their mother and their siblings, become more curious and at the same time more sociable, which is why they venture out of the whelping box for the first time. Furthermore, the canines in the upper jaw begin to grow, enabling the puppies to learn to chew. They are now also old and independent enough to do their business on their own and are therefore no longer dependent on their mother's help. They learn associatively, which enables them to link certain stimuli with a certain reaction. Having learned over the past few days that there is food when the food bowls rattle, they start to salivate when they hear this sound, for example.
The bitch takes the initiative to suckle up to the age of 4 weeks. After that, the little balls of fur begin to drink on their own and beg from their mother. This results in a classic mother-child conflict, which is typical of dogs, as it is in the puppies' interest to be suckled for as long as possible. On the other hand, the bitch tries to stop her puppies from suckling as quickly as possible, as suckling is very exhausting for the mother.
The socialization phase - 4 to 12 weeks
4 weeks
As soon as the puppies are 4 weeks old, they are fully developed little dogs who are now entering what is probably their most important phase of life. During the socialization phase, puppies are particularly receptive to social stimuli. Due to their great curiosity, they can memorize everything that is shown to them. They also find it easy to establish and form new bonds with different individuals. The socialization phase is the right time to start environmental training. Research suggests that the experiences puppies gain during this phase will have a strong influence on their further development. For example, it has been shown that puppies that are only used to little contact with people are often less sociable and may have difficulties in everyday life. During the socialization phase, the breeder has a responsible role to play. The puppies must learn to become a fully-fledged part of family life without the help and support of their siblings. The breeder should familiarize the puppies with everyday experiences, people and noises before they have fully developed their fear responses. As soon as the puppies are 5 to 6 weeks old, their contact with people should be increasingly increased. They should be played with, cuddled and taken on short outings together.
5-7 weeks
At 5 to 7 weeks, the puppies then go on little exploratory trips. On average, they spend half of their waking hours playing intensively with each other and with other members of the pack. They also learn what is known as bite inhibition - i.e. how hard you can bite your own siblings until they howl painfully and then stop playing. Basically, puppies howl partly because they are in pain and partly because every young dog is a bit dramatic at this age. At the same time, however, they are also learning social cues and developing a sense of how to interact with each other. If there are other adult dogs in the household, they will also be involved in learning and developing the puppies' social cues. This is why it is so important for the puppies to have contact with other dogs. During the socialization phase, the puppies become particularly stressful for the bitch. This is why she leaves her puppies alone for a longer period of time and begins the so-called weaning process. This is when she weans her puppies from their mother's milk. Normally, this process is relatively relaxed. However, if the bitch finds the puppies too energetic, she becomes easily irritated and often takes a hard line. Once the puppies are 5 to 6 weeks old, they also eat almost like a full-grown dog, although they still have some difficulty chewing food that is too hard. They also begin to defend food and other objects. They protect their territory by growling, shaking toys and putting their paws over things. In addition, the hierarchy of puppies develops for the first time, although this changes constantly as they grow up.
8-9 weeks
At the age of 8 to 9 weeks, the majority of puppies leave the breeder and their littermates and their mother move into a new home. The age of 8 to 9 weeks is a good time for the first move, as the puppy has so far only been influenced by its mother, its siblings and possibly other dogs in the pack. Now is the time for the puppy to be trained by its new owner. If a puppy is separated from the...
