Puppyhood

5 critical development stages in puppies is something everyone getting a new puppy should know.

Puppies are cute, fun and usually wild and undisciplined when you get them. When taken from the litter they are looking for leadership also known as their new pack leader.  Good leadership comforts a puppy and will help him grow up with a balanced life. Dogs are happiest when balanced. No leadership and only affection may cause a puppy to become unbalanced which can lead to unwanted behavior, unstable temperaments and your dog being the leader of the pack.

Start your puppy off with confidence by providing leadership.  Teach your puppy good manners, with rules, boundaries and limitation, teach him simple commands and fun tricks. Give him plenty of exercise and affection. This is the best way to show your puppy you love him. Many people make the mistake of showering a puppy with too much affection and not providing leadership and discipline. Discipline is love, exercise is love and petting, hugging and kissing is affection. Be sure your puppy is being raised in a balanced environment.

Your puppy is capable of learning and more importantly you are setting the stage for his development from 7 weeks of age. Puppies are paying attention and learning things from the minute you get them. If you are not teaching him good behavior then he is learning bad behavior. Leadership/discipline training can be fun and build a lifelong bond of love and companionship.

Puppy training should be fun, teach them tricks, commands, play the dominant role in fun puppy games most importantly set rules and boundaries.

Starting from birth the puppy stages begin.

First Period from 0-21 day’s during the first 3 weeks of the puppies life the mental capacity is very small. The puppy reacts on the need of warmth, food, sleep and its mother.

Second period 21-28 days. Abruptly on the 21^st day the puppy’s senses start to function. This second phase is when the pup absolutely needs his mom. During this week the dog’s senses function, the brain and nervous system start to develop and the big new world around him can be pretty frightening. The emotional and social stress of life will have the greatest impact on him during this week. Removal from the mother at this age could be detrimental. The breeder should also be knowledgeable in the dos and don’ts while handling puppies at this age.

Third period 28-49 days. Slowing the puppy reacts to his surroundings. He ventures away from mom to explore the world around him. This period the dog’s nervous system and brain will have developed to the capacity of an adult but of course without the experince. He’ll be ready to recognize people and respond to the voice. It’s during this third period that social order or pecking order of the litter starts to form. This means that puppies that learn to get in and fight for their food will tend to become dominant and the pups that are cowed by the more aggressive pups will become shy and develop wallflower personality. It’s desirable for the pup to live in the litter long enough for him to get a little competitive spirit from his family life but too much is harmful. The breeder should be knowledgeable in the dos and don’ts while raising puppies at this age.  The puppy is now ready to learn and learn he will. So it is best for the human to get into the picture at this point. Proper involvement will mold the type of personality that you want the dog to have. When the puppy is exactly 49 days old although he will be physically immature, his brain will have attained its full adult form.

Fourth period 7- 12 weeks the trainer and the dogs should start to get to know each other. Research has shown that this, the 49^th day is the best time in the puppies life to establish human relationships.  Between 8-12 weeks of age is the best bonding period for a new puppy to be with his new owners. To develop a bond that will have a permanent effect on the puppy. Simple commands can be taught at this time. Teaching is at this point is in the form of games. Except in the case of house breaking or excessive barking, there should be little discipline. By the time the puppy is 12 weeks old he should know commands like sit, stay, come, possibly heel and some simple tricks.

Getting settled in the new home is a very important part of his education. A secure puppy will be a balanced happy dog and will take to learning and discipline.

Puppies that have had little human contact before 16 weeks of age have little chance of becoming what we want in a companion.

Fifth period 12- 16 weeks is when the puppy starts to school. The play teaching games stop and the formal lessons start. The puppy is ready to learn discipline behavior. This is the time a young dog will declare his independence.  We prepare the dog for learning in the 7-12 week period.  Fundamental training then begins at 12 weeks and by the end of 16 weeks the puppy will know his basic commands and respond well to them.

Teaching puppy things at a young age sets his developmental ability to learn. The ancient adage you can’t each an old dog new tricks isn’t necessarily true if your dog has developed learning skills as a puppy.  

Early development training should include:

1.     House breaking.

2.     Learning to communicate. Dogs are talking to us constantly though body language and behavior. Make an effort to learn his and he will learn verbal language from us. Teach him words in a simple manner as if you were learning a foreign language.

3.     Who the pack leader is.

4.     What the rules, boundaries and limitations are.

5.     General good manners no jumping, biting, barking, digging etc. To be calm when being handled for grooming and nail trimming, and riding in a car.

6.     When and how to be calm and submissive.

7.     Basic commands like sit, down, stay, come, and to properly walk on a leash.

8.     He should be socialized with other pets. Spending time with other dogs will keeping him used to communicating with animals of his own species.

9.     Be exposed to many sites and sounds. Here is a tip, dogs don’t understand consoling they understand affirmation. If you give affection to a puppy in a fearful state of mind you affirm that his reaction of fear to noises or actions was the correct reaction.  If you take a different approach by saying in a happy uplifted voice “that was fun want to do that again”. This will send a clear message that the scary noise or situation was no big deal in fact make it a game by engaging him with a happy response. Making it a game will snap the dog’s brain out of fear to acceptance. In some situation it is better to simply ignore his fear and walk away. Leaving him to figure out on his own that it was not big deal. We do not want to perpetuate fearful reactions in dogs towards lightning and thunder, fireworks, children’s activities, cars going by, etc. Don’t pet, pickup, show affection or pity to a fearful dog. Simply redirect his attention and make light of the situation.

I hope I have provided you with enough information for you to make a wise choice in choosing a puppy that has been started out right from birth and how to properly raise your puppy once you get him home.

Cathy Adamson
www.lilpoodles.com
502-348-7787

Female puppies vs male puppies.

Female puppy vs male puppy.

Many people assume that female dogs make better pets. In the past most calls for puppies were people wanting a sweet little girl. Lately people have become more educated and prefer male puppies over females and here is why…

Males tend to be more affectionate, playful, easier to house break and train, attentive and more demanding of attention. They adore their people and want to please.

Most importantly if you have more than one person in your family, male dogs love everyone equally and share their affection with everyone. Female dogs tend to be a one person dog.

I liken it to my female dog’s are like having a best friend and my male dogs are like having a child. If you want the closeness, affection and relationship with your dog likened to having a child then a male is the answer. Little girls are wonderful, cute, smart and affectionate but nothing like a boy.  My boys want to be on my lap when I sit down and follow me from room to room. My female dogs will lie on the couch or bed with me but usually on the other end where as my boys want to be touching me. Female dogs by nature are more independent, territorial and self minded than males.

So many people are worried that little boys are going to lift their leg and mark their territory in the house. If you house break a little boy properly he will only go potty outside or inside where he is trained to go like on an indoor dog potty or piddle pad.

I take my little boy with me everywhere and he would never think of lifting his leg in the bank, in a store or at my friend’s house. When I take him to the bank he runs around and greets everyone making everyone smile and feel special. If my little girl comes in with me, she is usually only interested in who is going to give her a cookie.

Most people don’t know females display alpha behavior like marking, humping, fighting, especially if they are not spayed. People tend to believe that females are more docile and attentive. This could not be further from the truth.

If you have multiple dogs in your household it is more likely that two females will not get a long then two males. A male and a female will get along wonderfully, two males will get a long but sometimes two girls will fight.

Dogs are pack animals. In the “pack mentality”, females are normally the rulers. The females determine the pecking order and who competes to maintain and /or alter that order. The females are substantially more independent, stubborn and territorial than are their male counterparts. The females are far more apt to participate in alpha behaviors and exercise dominance over the other dogs, and sometimes even humans being a little more resistant to training.

How many times have I had a wife tell me their female dog only loves her husband and she wants a new puppy that will love and be hers.

Or a family with kids who’s female dog doesn’t want to play with the kids because she tends to be a momma’s girl. 

Most breeders, if given the choice of only having one dog would choose a boy. Breeders have seen it all the years. They know that there is a reason that girls are called bitches. Now, if you have never had a boy, you would not know the difference. Coming from people that have had both, a male is the best choice.

Author,

Cathy Adamson

Lil Poodles.com

 502-348-7787