In order to understand your puppy's behavior, it is critical to understand each stage of development, a puppy goes through as it matures. Let’s take a look at the different stages.
Keep in mind that these stages are generalizations – each dog will progress at its own pace.
Developmental Stages
Stage 1: The Transitional Stage | 2-3 Weeks
The Transitional stage generally lasts from age two to three weeks, and it’s during this time that your puppy’s eyes will open, and he’ll slowly start to respond to light and movement and sounds around him. He’ll become a little more mobile during this period, trying to get his feet underneath him and crawling around in the box (or wherever home is.) He’ll start to recognize mom and his littermates, and any objects you might place in the box.
Stage 2: The Almost Ready to Meet the World Stage | 3-4 Weeks
Almost ready to meet the world stage lasts from 3 to about 4 weeks, and your puppy undergoes rapid sensory development during this time. Fully alert to his environment, he’ll begin to recognize you and other family members. It’s best to avoid loud noises or sudden changes during this period – negative events can have a serious impact on his personality and development right now. Puppies learn how to be a dog during this time, so it’s essential that they stay with mom and littermates.
Stage 3: The Overlap Stage | 4-7 Weeks
From 3-4 weeks, your puppy begins the most critical social development period of his life – he learns social interaction with his littermates, learns how to play, and learns bite inhibition. He’ll also learn discipline at this point – Mom will begin weaning the pups around this time, and will start teaching them basic manners, including accepting her as the leader of the pack. You can begin to introduce food to the pups starting around the fourth week – transition gradually as Mom weans them. Continue handling the pups daily, but don’t separate them from either Mom or litter mates for more than about 10 minutes per day.
Puppies that are removed from the nest too early frequently are nervous, more prone to barking and biting, and have a more difficult time with socialization and training. Puppies need to be left with Mom and siblings until at least 7 weeks of age - and preferably a little longer (8 weeks is ideal for optimum social development. Experts say that the best time in a puppy’s life to learn social skills is between 3 and 16weeks of age – that’s the window of opportunity you have to make sure your puppy grows up to be a well-adjusted dog. It’s extremely important to leave your puppy with Mom and his littermates during as much of this period as possible. Don’t discipline for play fighting, housebreaking mistakes, or mouthing – that’s all normal behavior for a puppy at this stage.