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Whatever the breed, all puppies develop in the same way; they pass through the same stages from infancy to maturity. Not only is it interesting for you to know about these stages, it is also important that you should be aware of what your puppy is capable of at any particular time of his life.
Although puppies follow the same pattern of development, speeds can vary depending on the breed. Generally speaking, smaller breeds develop faster and attain maturity before theyre a year old; larger-breed dogs can take as long as eighteen months to develop fully.
During these early few days, just like a new-born baby, your puppy will just sleep and suckle. But hell be able to crawl. If hes cold he will seek the warmth of his brothers and sisters or his mother. Between 10 and 14 days, his eyes will open but his sight is weak for the first few weeks.
Your puppys teeth will begin to come through, and hell learn to walk and drink. By the end of the third week, his sense of smell will develop. The breeder of your puppy should subject him to mild stress, but this isnt anything to be alarmed about. Simply picking him up and holding him in different positions is defined as mild stress. This will get your puppy used to human handling, and help him to cope later on in life.
Your puppy’s food is a phenomenal resource and one of the best tools you can use to train your puppy! In those early puppyhood months, having your puppy work for their food is a super-easy way to get and hold their attention on you, rewards them for doing so, and creates a positive association with looking to you for direction!
Generally, every week and month should progress with socialization: meeting new people, other puppies, experiences, noises, etc. You should continue progressing their potty schedule and eventually as your puppy grows and can hold it longer, start increasing the time between potty breaks. The first whole year of your puppy’s life will involve basic obedience training, reinforcing good manners in the home and training, and maintaining structure. Doing this consistently, you can ensure that your puppy will retain their training and good behaviors throughout the rest of their life. Even if your puppy started at an older age, you can work on catching your puppy up so they are on track to being well-behaved by the time they reach their 1-year mark!
Now that we covered those three key topics, its time to develop your puppy’s training schedule. Below we outlined a basic puppy training schedule that starts from two months of age (8 weeks) that you can use as your puppy grows. If your puppy is older and hasn’t learned everything outlined here yet, go back to fill in some of those missing areas if need be. Its important to keep in mind that each pup learns at a different speed, so some may need longer at certain stages, and some will be able to move on to more advanced training quicker. Go at your pups speed, and dont rush them if theyre just not ready yet to move onto the next!
Its the vision that we as puppy owners all dreamt about. A puppy that’s leisurely strolling beside you, or sitting calmly at your feet at an outdoor cafe. But there are some steps to do to make sure your pup is on the right track with their training in order to get there!
At The Puppy Academy, we have our students bring their lunch to school with them, and we use that meal for their training sessions. It’s also part of the foundation for our Online Training School. In both programs, you’ll often hear us recommending our pup parents keep a treat pouch on or near them at all times in the beginning weeks with their new pup at home. (Don’t worry, you can and will wean off as they get older!) Having access to your pup’s food comes in so handy for redirecting them away from something they’re doing that you don’t want them to do, getting them to come to you, having them focus on you to build that guidance-based relationship, and reward them for their good behaviors to encourage them to do that again!
What is luring and how do I use it?
Lure training is the use of a treat or something else the puppy will predictably follow to show the puppy what to do. Luring is useful for teaching new behaviors the first few times they are introduced. The lure is usually faded away quickly once the puppy starts to show understanding.
The lure should be like a magnet, where the puppy’s nose is attracted and attached. Moving the lure will move the puppy’s nose into the right position, and where the nose goes, the body will follow. Treats are the easiest lure. Use tiny treats the size of a pencil eraser that are high in value.
Example: My puppy is sniffing the ground nearby. I call his name and, without delay, I place a delicious treat right under his nose. When his nose is magnetized to the treat, I draw a slow steady line with the treat toward my body, and back up a few steps, giving the puppy tiny licks or bites of the treat throughout.
For a puppy to sit, the lure should be slowly raised up and back. When a puppy’s nose goes up and back, his rump will usually go down into a sit.
For a puppy to walk to his bed or into a kennel, the lure should be at nose level where the puppy can easily follow it, and they should receive a lick or bite every few steps until they reach the goal location where another treat is delivered.