HighRoller
05-11-2005, 04:00 PM
The first weeks
Puppies cannot hear, see, regulate their own body temperature, or defecate on their own when they are born. They need to be kept warm and clean and to be handled daily to get accustomed to human scent and attention. Heat lamps are often necessary for adequate warmth. Mom will stimulate them to defecate and urinate by licking their bellies, and, in the manner of wolves, she will clean up the mess. As a result, she may have diarrhea for several days following whelping.
Pups are little more than squirmy, blind, deaf parasites for two weeks. They may squeak and whimper as they sleep or crawl about, but they cry only if they are cold, hungry, or in pain. They need daily handling if only to move them from one spot in the whelping box to another while clean papers are put down. Eyes open at about two weeks and ears at about three weeks. Pups can generally stand at 15-16 days but cannot do more than stumble about. Ability to control waste elimination develops at about three weeks and regulation of body temperature follows.
By four weeks, a miracle has occurred: pups may be eating gruel at this point and moving around with increasing coordination. They pay attention to toys, attempt to play, and have increasing periods of activity.
By five weeks, they may be weaned or almost so and be ready for rudimentary housetraining and socialization. In good weather, housetraining is made easy by putting the puppies in an exercise pen outside after meals and keeping the whelping area clean. Puppies should be handled purposefully every day, with attention to ears, toes, coat, and teeth. They can be brushed with a soft brush or rubbed with a soft cloth to stimulate skin and prepare for a lifetime of grooming and handling.
By six weeks, puppies are climbing out of the whelping box, playing vigorously with littermates, enjoying toys, and seeking human attention. This is the time to introduce new surfaces to walk on and new areas to explore, and to put tunnels, boxes, and lots of different toys in the exercise area.
Six weeks is also time for the first visit to the veterinarian for worming (roundworms can be passed from Mom to puppies) and initial vaccination.
Although puppies can leave Mom by six weeks, it is best that they stay together for another 10-14 days to learn how to get along with other dogs and to translate that awareness to a developing relationship with humans. Puppies removed from the litter too early often develop a range of behavior problems from extreme shyness to aggression, depending on the underlying genetic code.
By seven weeks, a breeder knows which puppies are most dominant and submissive, which are most attentive to people, which are most curious or adventurous, and which have the best potential as future breeding stock, etc. and can match them with a family. For example, the responsible breeder of a guardian breed would choose a mild-mannered puppy for the first-time owner of the breed, an attentive puppy for a future in the obedience ring, or a dominant puppy for an experienced owner who can handle a challenge.
Puppies enter a fear period at eight weeks of age, and most experts suggest that they go to new home between the seventh and eighth weeks or wait until 12 weeks when the fear period has passed.
Puppies cannot hear, see, regulate their own body temperature, or defecate on their own when they are born. They need to be kept warm and clean and to be handled daily to get accustomed to human scent and attention. Heat lamps are often necessary for adequate warmth. Mom will stimulate them to defecate and urinate by licking their bellies, and, in the manner of wolves, she will clean up the mess. As a result, she may have diarrhea for several days following whelping.
Pups are little more than squirmy, blind, deaf parasites for two weeks. They may squeak and whimper as they sleep or crawl about, but they cry only if they are cold, hungry, or in pain. They need daily handling if only to move them from one spot in the whelping box to another while clean papers are put down. Eyes open at about two weeks and ears at about three weeks. Pups can generally stand at 15-16 days but cannot do more than stumble about. Ability to control waste elimination develops at about three weeks and regulation of body temperature follows.
By four weeks, a miracle has occurred: pups may be eating gruel at this point and moving around with increasing coordination. They pay attention to toys, attempt to play, and have increasing periods of activity.
By five weeks, they may be weaned or almost so and be ready for rudimentary housetraining and socialization. In good weather, housetraining is made easy by putting the puppies in an exercise pen outside after meals and keeping the whelping area clean. Puppies should be handled purposefully every day, with attention to ears, toes, coat, and teeth. They can be brushed with a soft brush or rubbed with a soft cloth to stimulate skin and prepare for a lifetime of grooming and handling.
By six weeks, puppies are climbing out of the whelping box, playing vigorously with littermates, enjoying toys, and seeking human attention. This is the time to introduce new surfaces to walk on and new areas to explore, and to put tunnels, boxes, and lots of different toys in the exercise area.
Six weeks is also time for the first visit to the veterinarian for worming (roundworms can be passed from Mom to puppies) and initial vaccination.
Although puppies can leave Mom by six weeks, it is best that they stay together for another 10-14 days to learn how to get along with other dogs and to translate that awareness to a developing relationship with humans. Puppies removed from the litter too early often develop a range of behavior problems from extreme shyness to aggression, depending on the underlying genetic code.
By seven weeks, a breeder knows which puppies are most dominant and submissive, which are most attentive to people, which are most curious or adventurous, and which have the best potential as future breeding stock, etc. and can match them with a family. For example, the responsible breeder of a guardian breed would choose a mild-mannered puppy for the first-time owner of the breed, an attentive puppy for a future in the obedience ring, or a dominant puppy for an experienced owner who can handle a challenge.
Puppies enter a fear period at eight weeks of age, and most experts suggest that they go to new home between the seventh and eighth weeks or wait until 12 weeks when the fear period has passed.