http://www.kcentv.com/story/23411805/does-ypur-dog-eat-better-than-you
You will find that several of the
following stages in the puppy’s growth will overlap, which reflects the
different ways that individual dogs mature. The information is a roughly
chronological look at the stages that puppies go through and the issues they experience
as they grow.
CANINE SOCIALIZATION (FOURTEEN TO
FORTY-NINE DAYS) (TWO TO SEVEN WEEKS)
Learns how to regulate strength of
bite, how to socialize with other dogs and establish a pecking order—and has a
positive experience with human contact.
Teeth cannot yet be used for
tearing meat, chewing bones or any adult activity—but they are needle-sharp and
can get her in trouble with other dogs.
Play, play-fighting and biting
teach a pup how hard to bite to cause pain. Hearing a littermate’s yelp of pain
when she bites his ear teaches her she has bitten too hard. Getting bitten in
return teaches a puppy what that pain feels like. A puppy’s jaw muscles are
weak and underdeveloped at this stage, and this period is when she learns how
to regulate her strength of bite.
Puppies need to stay with
littermates during this period to become well-balanced dogs. By the fifth week,
they move together as a group. This is the beginning of pack behavior as adults.
Between Four and Seven Weeks the
Puppy’s Brain Is Growing.
At an incredible rate. By seven
weeks the brain is transmitting adult brain waves and a puppy is capable of
learning by example, and will often mimic its mother and littermates.
♦ Weaning Starts in
the Sixth Week.
By the sixth week weaning begins:
the mother refuses to let the puppies near her breasts and threatens them when
they try to nurse. To back the puppies off, the mother usually gives a low
warning growl. If a puppy does not respond to her warning, she snarls at him
and makes piercing eye contact. She may stand over the puppy, who by now is
usually lying on his back, squealing. The next time she growls, he’ll respond
immediately. This is how a puppy learns the meaning of discipline. Especially
with a puppy of dominant character, the mother needs to discipline him properly
at this point or he’ll grow up to be a nightmare for his future owners. By the
seventh week, the puppy is weaned. It is at this critical point that humans
need to enter the picture and “socialize” the puppies.
♦
Puppies Taken Away Early from Their Mothers
“Puppy mill breeders” are guilty of
removing pups from their litters sometimes as early as four and five weeks of
age in order to send them to the brokers who handle their dispersal to pet
shops all over the country. These little creatures are subjected to stressful
transportation conditions and at least two changes of environment when they are
shipped first to dog dealers and then to a pet shop. The unsuspecting buyer
does not stop to realize that in order for them to find that puppy in a pet
store at eight weeks of age the little pup had to be taken away from his mother
and litter at a much-too-young age. And what the buyer does not know is that
these dogs have never learned how to be dogs—that by leaving the litter so young
they’ve missed out on the essential canine socialization period. This means
they often can’t get along with other dogs; they can also be hard to train
because they didn’t receive their mother’s discipline in the critical early
weeks.
♦ Sick Puppies Up to
Sixteen Weeks Old Also Suffer.
If a puppy gets ill between birth
and the fourth month he can wind up with some of the negative behavioral
changes associated with restricted early socialization. Puppies that are sick
in their early development, especially during the normal socialization period
of ten to twelve weeks, show more aggression, fear of strangers and children
and separation-related barking than dogs who remain healthy.
♦ Some Breeders Sell
Puppies at Six Weeks—a Big Mistake!
The puppy at six weeks still needs
time with her mother to learn how to respect authority, and time with
littermates to learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs. It is
disturbing to informed dog enthusiasts to learn of supposedly responsible
breeders letting puppies go immediately after weaning. The assumption is that
they must be doing this for economic reasons (they want the money sooner) or
for their own convenience (to have two fewer weeks of feeding, cleaning up and
dealing with inoculations and other medical issues). In any case, information
about the developmental growth of puppies has been around long enough that a
professional breeder should know better than to send puppies out of the nest at
six weeks—and they should know that they are doing the puppy and its new owners
a disservice.
Copyright © Tracie Hotchner – Originally appeared in The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know by Tracie Hotchner
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