Puppy Stages

“Mom teaches dog manners.” 

During the Toddler period, the doodle puppies emerge on their own from the litter. They venture into the surrounding environment. These lessons learned in the toddler stage are CRITICAL. Puppies removed too early from their litter tend to be nervous, bark inappropriately, and tend to bite simply because these lessons that are taught by the mother and litter mates were missed. Training problems and long-term behavior problems can often be attributed to a puppy removed from the litter much too soon. 

Beginning At 3 Weeks of Age: 

-The first lessons learned are dog specific behavioral patterns. 

-They will learn the meanings of various postures and the effect it has on their mother and litter mates.

-They will learn how to bite and what it is like to be bitten. 

-They will learn what barking and other vocalizations mean and their different uses. 

-They will learn how to establish social relationships with other dogs. 

Beginning At 5 Weeks of Age: 

-Vocalization and tempered activities (dog manners) usually are learned at approximately five weeks of age.

-They will learn how to be submissive to the leader of the pack.

-They will learn and refine additional postures, vocalizations, and acceptable dog interaction behaviors. 

Actions That The Mother Will Take: 

The mother will growl, snarl, and snap to communicate. With a few very clear signals and repetitions, the young puppy will learn quickly. Soon, a mother’s glare or low growl is all that is needed to keep a young pup in line. Litter mates also learn clear signals of communication to each other. 

“Lasting impact, rapid learning!”

Dogs that are denied socialization during the critical Socialization period often become unpredictable because they are fearful and aggressive. It is during this time that your dog needs to have positive experiences. They need to be introduced to new things and begin the groundwork to a happy, well-adjusted dog. 

Beginning At 7 Weeks of Age: 

-Short attention spans 

-Things learned are permanent and will be more challenging to change. 

-Puppy will be eager to learn.

-What he does and learns now, he will do as an adult. 

-Puppy’s temperament and personality will become more apparent. 

-Puppy will be transitioning his education from his mother to his human environment. 

Beginning At 8 Weeks and Ending At Approximately 11 Weeks of Age: 

-Any traumatic, painful, or frightening experiences can have a lasting impact if not dealt with right away. 

What You Can Do: 

-Gradually introduce your puppy to new things, environments, and people. 

-Make experiences positive (provide encouragement, treats, or toys). 

-Don’t push your puppy into fearful situations – take things slowly and allow him to adjust and get used to the situation. 

-Do not let others push your puppy or be forceful with them. 

-Provide a secure and comforting demeanor. 

-Teach the puppy you are there to protect and lead. 

“You are not the boss of me!”

The puppy has been in the home now for a few weeks. They have been watching you and the family very closely. They are picking up on human behaviors and reactions. They are learning the pecking order of the pack. As they observe and learn, they will then attempt to figure out where exactly they stand in the pack order, and to also see if moving up in the pack will work. After all, they know who the “weak links” are and will start at the bottom and try to move right up the pack. How could such a cute little pup be such a pistol? 

What Is Happening: 

-Puppy will begin to question authority. 

-Puppy will attempt to move themselves up in the pack order.

-Puppy will try to dominate. 

-Puppy will grab leashes. 

-Puppy will try to determine what activities are going to be done and when. 

-Puppy may growl. 

-Puppy may put their mouth on you. 

-Puppy can often become overly excited. 

“Fly like an eagle into the wind.”

Your cute little puppy has been following you around for weeks now. They have become aware of where you are and would stay pretty close. During this period, that same cute little puppy will decide that they are ready to go solo and take off running quicker than lightning. During this time, teaching the puppy that they must stay close by or come when called is critical. The failure to do this will result in a dog that will not be reliable to come or to stay close by as an adult and very well could lead the dog into a life or death situation. 

What Is Happening: 

-The puppy will become more independent. 

-A puppy that previously would never go very far, will venture off. 

-The puppy will ignore commands to stay close or come. 

-How you handle the refusal to come or stay will affect future reliability off leash. 

-Puppy will be clever in attempts to run around loose. 

What You Can Do: 

-Leash on 100% of the time when not in a confined area. 

-Never allow the dog loose in an unconfined area.

-Being off leash outside of a confined area is reserved for dogs that have been well-trained. 

-Enroll in training class that utilizes positive training techniques. 

-Reinforce and continue to train your puppy to come

-Make coming a very positive experience for them.

“Welcome to the teenage years – enjoy the ride!”

This is one of the most difficult times for pet owners. They are so surprised when their puppy turns into “devil dog” or “Cujo”. This often is the time when many families start to worry that maybe they made a bad decision in getting a dog. Remember, you get what you put into it. If you take the time right now to teach good habits, you will have the dog you always dreamed of for many years. This work will pay off. 

What Is Happening: 

-The puppy will become a free and independent thinker. 

-The puppy will continue to review the pack order. 

-The puppy will be very energetic, exuberant, and enthusiastic.

-They will delight in learning new and fun things. 

What You Can Do: 

-Appreciate the humor of it all 

-Have you read the book The Dog Listener or watched The Dog Whisperer series yet? It will help. 

-Understand that despite the behaviors, it is your time to continue to train and reinforce the things you do want them to do. 

-Reaffirm the family pack order. 

“Yikes! What’s up with that?!”

You have a puppy that runs around like a clown in search of their next show, but then BAM, they refuse to walk down some stairs, they are shaking in the car, or they jump at the sound of the neighbor’s music. Surprise! This is normal, but you must help your dog figure out how to deal with their fears or concerns. The skills of learning how to “shake it off and keep going” will be valuable to them for the rest of their life. It will also reduce the changes that the things they fear will not be permanently imprinted for life. 

What Is Happening: 

-The puppy that was so confident will suddenly become reluctant to new things. 

-This period can be subtle.

-This period can come and go several times over this entire period. 

-It may appear to be unprovoked or unrelated to any specific occurrence. 

-Puppy can become frustrating to owners. 

What You Can Do: 

-Avoid extremes in your responses (no anger/forcefulness or over-comforting). 

-Be calm and assertive. 

-Be patient and understanding. 

-Be well aware of surroundings and potential triggers

-Work on desensitizing them by gradually introducing rewards.

-Avoid reassurance and coddling (which can be seen as rewarding negative behavior) 

-Don’t overreact or correct the fearfulness, just make light of it and encourage them to deal/work through their fear. 

-Praise with grand rewards for their attempts. 

-Your dog will take their clues from you. If you act frightened or concerned, they will too. 

“I shall protect thy kingdom!”

So the puppy is no longer an itty bitty baby. They are pretty much full grown in height. They will begin to fill out a bit and develop more muscle tone. But mentally, the dog is still working out some details of their life and what it means to them. They are a member of the pack and now begin to find that their turf is worthy of monitoring and protecting. Sort of sounds nice to have your dog be protective, but don’t fall for it. You do not want your dog to take over these responsibilities because in no time, you too will be under the rule of the King/Queen Dog. This can lead to aggressive behaviors, protective to the point of creating fear or actually harming someone or another animal as they attempt to protect. This is bad news, and often the reason a dog becomes destructive or is taken out of the home. So don’t allow your dog to be the King or Queen of the Castle and instead assign them the role of court jester – they will be happier and so will your family. 

What Is Happening: 

-The dog may become more turf protective. 

-Strangers may be greeted with barking. 

-Barking at noises, birds, cars, butterflies,and pretty much everything they believe is worthy of attention

-Playing with other dogs may escalate to fighting. 

-Same sex confrontations of other dogs can occur. 

-Once again, they are checking the pack order to see if they can move up. 

What You Can Do: 

-Reinforce how to greet strangers into your home. 

-Teach your dog to ignore dogs they cannot be nice to. 

-Practice or reinforce dog manners (utilizing no threatening dogs). 

-Learn to read your dog and other dogs (circling, walking on toes, stiff tail wags, tense facial expressions are the signs of aggressive behaviors). 

-Rally your family to review that the pack order is clear and ensure that everyone is consistent with training and corrections. 

-Reward your dog for good behaviors. 

-Give the dog another job i.e. therapy work, obedience classes, agility course. 

Information provided by International Doodle Owners Group – IDOG.Biz – copyright 2006