Puppy Developmental Stages: What You Need to Know

Puppy Developmental Stages: What You Need to Know

Is your new furry friend always underfoot? Do you find yourself tripping over toys in the middle of the night? Puppy development is a very important step to remember, and we are here to help. Puppies go through changes in behavior as they age and grow. These changes are important to remember so you can provide the proper support in the best manner. Let’s take a look at the developmental stages of puppies.

Neonatal Stage

It begins at birth and lasts approximately two weeks. During the first few days, puppies are completely dependent on their mother for nutrition, warmth, and cleaning. Their senses, such as sight, smell, and hearing, are underdeveloped. Their physical activity is limited as well. At this stage, they should remain with their mother and littermates. They should begin to feed, socialize, and develop physically and mentally.

For the most part, they should not be handled by humans during the neonatal stage. This is because they can be susceptible to environmental stress and disease. Owners should ensure the mother is healthy and well-fed to avoid dietary deficiencies.

Transitional

This stage lasts until around 8 weeks of age. Puppies will likely explore and interact more with their environment and humans. They also start to show more independence. They also display signs of fear and aggression. This is also the time when your pup may start to learn social skills from their interactions with others. It’s important to continue giving them lots of love and affection.

Supervise them at all times to make sure they aren’t in any unsafe environments. Special attention should be paid to reward-based positive reinforcement training. It can result in learning positive behaviors for the future. During this stage, you may also want to introduce basic commands such as sit, stay, and come to encourage their impulse control.

Socialization

New puppies, aged 4 to 12 weeks, should have contact with humans, other animals, and novel situations. It’s to ensure they’re properly socialized. From 4 to 10 weeks of age, puppies are learning to accept everything they encounter as normal.

You must provide various experiences that can help them learn to enjoy life. This includes playing with children, being touched, receiving love, and being handled by different people. From 8–10 weeks, puppies should be introduced to more varied environmental stimuli.

It should include introducing them to places, people, pets, surfaces, textures, and sounds in a positive and safe way. This can help them become comfortable and confident in their new environments.

Juvenile Stage

This stage occurs 6–11 weeks after birth, with the pup learning new skills and behaviors relevant to his environment. This is an essential growth period as it allows the pup to learn and understand the boundaries and expectations of living within a family. Physical changes such as size, activity, and social behavior can start to be seen.

In their growth, puppies will learn new life skills, such as safety around potential hazards, and build confidence to live and interact with their owners. This is also the stage when you will know if they will stop or continue to grow. You can visit the link provided if you want to read an article about dogs stop growing.

Milestones During Puppy Developmental Stages

Puppies’ developmental milestones are incredibly fun and full of excitement, but only with the right understanding of puppy developmental stages. By understanding it, we can ensure that our pup is growing properly. Taking the time to learn the key stages in their development will ensure a lifetime of companionship. If you found this helpful and want to read more great content, check out our latest blog posts now!