PUPPY DEVELOPMENT STAGES AND GROWTH CHART | ABK Grooming

Bykalpit bhawnani

When puppies mature into adults, they go through a range of phases and milestones. If you’ve rescued a puppy and are wondering when he’ll slow down and stop chewing on anything, or you’re just curious about what puppies go through to become full-fledged dogs, this puppy timeline has the answers you’re searching for. The below are several steps in the growth of a puppy.

  1. 1. WHEN PUPPIES OPEN THEIR EARS AND EYES:

Pups are born deaf and blind, with their eyes and ears closed. Newborn puppies explore the world completely by touch and scent for the first two weeks of their lives. Their eyes and ears open during the third week, giving tiny pups a whole new outlook on life. This is because, unlike most animals with longer gestation cycles, puppies are born with their brains not fully grown.

  1. 2. WHEN THEY LEARN TO BARK:

When puppies are old enough to understand, they tend to imitate their mother’s sounds. Puppies rapidly advance from quiet grunts to full-fledged moaning and barking after their ears open.

  1. 3. WHEN THEY LEARN TO WALK:

Puppies start standing at the same time as their senses are growing. They take their first stumbling move by the third week, giving them a fresh sense of freedom.

  1. 4. WHEN THEY LEARN TO PLAY:

When puppies get walking, it’s just a matter of time before they’re scampering about and playing with their littermates instead of walking. At about three weeks of age, the critical socialization period begins, during which pups discover what it is to be a dog from their mother and siblings.

  1. 5. WHEN THEIR TEETH START GROWING:

The third week is a critical one in the puppy’s growth. Those sharp little puppy teeth begin to erupt in addition to the other puppy growth milestones listed above. By week eight, they should have both of their deciduous teeth (puppy teeth).

  1. 6. WHEN THEY LEARN TO GO FOR POTTY:

Puppies learn to monitor their bladder and bowel movements around week’s three to four, and to abandon their sleeping area before going to the bathroom.

  1. 7. WHEN THEY START EATING SOLID FOODS:

Although puppies may attempt to eat some of their mother’s solid food as soon as their teeth appear, it isn’t until the fourth week that the mother’s milk supply begins to slow and the pups begin the lifelong transition to solid puppy food. Weaning takes four weeks on average, and puppies are completely weaned by week eight.

  1. 8. WHEN THEY START LIKING PEOPLE:

Puppies tend to develop relational relationships and connections with the people around them during the fourth week of their lives. Although it’s always too early to distinguish a puppy from his mother and littermates, now is an excellent time to begin getting to know the puppy you’re considering adopting.

  1. 9. WHEN THEY GETS SOCIALIZE:

While puppies begin learning about the environment and the social order within their litter as early as week three, the weeks four through twelve are critical for socialization and can be the difference between a well-adjusted dog and one with emotional and behavioral issues. The more puppies in this period of growth will start meeting other people, engaging with other dogs (but make sure these pups are already vaccinated and have had their vet tests so your puppy doesn’t get exposed to anything), discovering the environment, and having new and positive interactions, the better.

  1. 10. WHEN SHOULD GIVE VACCINES:

Between the ages of six and eight weeks, puppies should begin getting vaccines. A puppy should be vaccinated against distemper, parvovirus, and parainfluenza by the time he is about to be adopted. Around the ages of ten and twelve weeks, a puppy is primed for his next round of vaccines.

  1. 11. WHEN THEY STARTS TO CHEW:

Around the ages of three and six months, adult teeth emerge, and the inevitable chewing starts. At this time, puppy-proof the house by hiding or putting out of reach anything you don’t want chewed, as well as anything that may cause coughing or damage to the puppy, such as power cords or poisonous plants. Providing chew toys at this period will help deter him from fulfilling his need to chew on your beloved sneakers or the living room couch.

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