Dogs Developmental Periods

From Maddening To Maturity - Suzanne Clothier

We cannot change the puppy’s genetics or inherited traits, but we can influence their early life experiences which will have a lifelong effect on the dog’s behavior. As dogs grow and mature behavior changes will occur. Dogs develop very quickly and we only have a short time to positively affect a dog’s temperament, and character for life.

Transition Period (14-21 days or 2-3 weeks)

It is during this time that puppies eyes and ears open providing the puppy a considerable increase in its ability to perceive the world. Puppies begin to stand and walk and social behaviors begin to appear with body postures, vocalization, and undeveloped play fighting. At 3-4 weeks of age the puppies exploratory behaviors increase and they will investigate new things and places without signs of fear. It is during this time that exposing them to normal, sights, sounds, and smells along with daily gentle handling can be beneficial if we don’t overwhelm them with the experience.

Sensitive Socialization Period

Weeks 3-12 (14-16) is referred to as the sensitive period of learning (sensitive socialization period), the critical socialization period, or the primary socialization period. It’s during this time that a puppy’s reactivity or fear responses will increase or decrease depending on the environment. From 3-12 weeks a puppy’s mind is like a sponge and this is the most impressionable time in the puppy’s life. This is the period of time when exposure, or lack of exposure to people, places, things, and events can have long lasting effects on the puppy’s development and behavior, both positive and negative.

“By a critical period, we mean a special time in life when a small amount of experience will produce a great effect on later behavior.”

— Scott & Fuller. Genetics and the Social Behaviour of the Dog

The most critical time for socialization is from 3-12 weeks when the puppy is very malleable, and to a lesser extent out to 16 weeks. At about 12-weeks this window of opportunity is starting to close and new learning and experiences are ingrained less easily. [4] A dog’s personality is mostly shaped in the first four-months of the puppy’s life and this will have a pronounced impact on the puppy that will last a lifetime. After the first 16-weeks it not realistic to think we will change the dog’s temperament (pre-disposition). [5] Although temperament is consistent and changes very little during the dog’s life if any, behavior can be modified to varying degrees and this is what a trainer helps accomplish.

This is a short window of time when puppies learn to trust and form social relationships with people and other animals. I refer to weeks 3-8 as the “early socialization” period (early & critical) since breeders are responsible for the puppy’s early socialization.

Fear Imprint Period (4-10 weeks)

Starting about 4 weeks of age puppies become cautious about new things, people, experiences, and situations. This fear period peaks about 9 weeks and lasts until about 10-weeks. Precautions must be taken to not overwhelm puppies with things or events during this time. Since puppies will react with uncertainty to new or novel make sure things, experiences, and situations they may encounter in life are neither new nor unknown by the time the puppy reaches 8-weeks of age. [8] We want our dogs to be confident and knowledgeable about differing things, people, and experiences so they don’t view these things as strange or people as aliens later in life.

When we bring our new puppy home at 8-weeks it’s critical to continue socialization since there is no time to waste before we start to socialize our puppy and teach them about the world they will inhabit. They can become accustom to sights, sounds, smells, and body handling if they experience these without being overwhelmed. This is important to understand because behavior problems often take root in the first four-months of the puppy’s life, but may not show up with great intensity for months. [3] Every dog is an individual and depending on the puppy’s genetic makeup it will need more or less experiences than another dog. The first 12 weeks will either help prepare a puppy for the life ahead, or set us up to repair them for the life ahead.

Socialization Goals

Preventing Unreasonable Fears
Building Confidence
Developing a Well-Adjusted & Well-Mannered Dog

Early Socialization (3-8 weeks)

Puppies will reach adult levels of learning about 4-5 weeks of age. [1] “The puppies’ rate of mental development will now depend on the complexity of their environment.” [7] [8]

By 8-weeks a lot of the puppy’s personality has already started to form. [5] Since puppies benefit greatly from the social interaction with the mother and litter mates and develop important social behaviors, they should stay with their litter mates and mother until they are 8-weeks. This means the breeder has a responsibility to begin the socialization process by exposing and familiarizing the puppies with a variety of positive experiences with people and things they are likely to encounter during their life. The breeder or the humans who are responsible for the puppies should have a planned and structured socialization program that begins from the very first week starting with gentle daily handing. Before 8-weeks of age puppies should learn to accept body handling that includes touch, restraint, and manipulation. For more on early socialization click or tap here

During early socialization puppies should have been raised on two surfaces so the puppies learned to discriminate surfaces for housetraining; they should understand to eliminate on a surface that is different from the resting, playing, and eating surfaces. If not housetraining will be more difficult.

Exercise Guidelines (5 weeks) [15]

Daily Walk without dam; FOLLOW ME [15]
Starting at 5 1/2 weeks; Adventure Walks, ideally off-leash or on a loose longline, 5-15 min at puppy’s pace with small terrain changes. [16]

Training Outline

Between 4-8 weeks exceptional breeders prepare the puppy for the world ahead, and teach self-control: e.g. four on the floor, sit/down/stand, and sit for food/petting/release. [6] By 8-weeks puppies should except (without struggle) all forms of appropriate touch to include full body handling, restraint, and manipulation. e.g. ear check, paw handling, nail trimming, teeth & mouth check, and extended grooming session.

Critical Socialization Period (8-12 weeks (16))

“Assuming your puppy came to you without any big issues, this stage may be the honeymoon period.”… “Generally speaking, pups at this age are charming, sweet — and they still sleep a fair amount!” [2]

After weaning, growing puppies require approximately twice the calories per day than an adult dog of the same weight. [9] [10] “With the exception of the giant breeds, most puppies achieve 40% of their adult weight between 3 and 4 months of age” [9] For information on pet food nutrition click or tap here. Puppies should maintain an ideal body condition score and not be plump. (See Fig. 10)

Puppies with a good start in life have “a strong desire to please and have social contact.” [7] Puppy’s are dependent on you at this age and generally speaking you are at the center of the universe for your puppy. First impressions can make a lifelong impact, so don’t overwhelm. Much like a vaccination, just a little and take small steps to build up immunity first so they can handle what life brings them later.

Puppies should be following a proper socialization program. Socialization or socializing a puppy does not mean giving opportunities to play with other puppies or dogs, and meeting numerous people. This is not a socialization program for your puppy. If these interactions are not appropriately taught you may be doing more harm than good. For more on socialization tap or click here.

“Dogs at this age still have their “puppy license.” Older dogs will often let them get away with some very rude behavior, such as climbing over them, bumping into them, biting their face, ears or other body parts.” [2]

Chewing on things is normal and dogs will chew throughout their lives to learn about their environment, boredom, and for fun. Dogs will start to chew to relieve the discomfort of teething between the ages of 3-6 months. People find chewing a problem if they don’t provide the dog with plenty of safe chew toys to satisfy the need to chew. Like any other behavior you don’t want to see develop, don’t let your dog learn to chew the wrong things in the first place.

Chew Toys Toys to Entertain Estimated Calories

“Recall training is best started at a few weeks old, as soon as your puppy has settled into your environment and you have built up a good relationship with it. It is a big mistake to wait until the puppy is a few months old as by then he will want to explore further afield, which makes training him to come to you much more difficult.”… “training a young dog to come when called does not have to be approached as an obedience exercise trained on a specific command. It is more about the relationship that you have with your dog!” [17] The Dog Vinci Code

Puppy Training - New Puppy Quick Start Guide

Training Outline

Everything from early socialization above (3-8 weeks) to now include the following self-control training. This training should continue through social maturity.

https://homeskooling-4-dogs.thinkific.com/courses/on-the-right-track

Juvenile Period (4-6 months)

“The juvenile period extends from the end of the socialization period to sexual maturity. Learning ability is fully developed”. [19]

Adult teeth begin to appear and dogs will continue to chew things to relieve the discomfort of the adult teeth pushing the puppy teeth out. By 18-weeks 1/2 of the new canine tooth will be showing. That is the end of puppyhood. **

“Dogs at this age are already beginning to undergo hormonal changes.” “This is where the shift occurs from puppy to adolescent” [2] At this age they are generally more coordinated, run faster, leap higher, and ponce with more power. “So dogs at this age can also begin to find it downright amusing to bully other dogs.” [2]

This starts the second socialization period and will last until the dog is 18 months or older. It’s during this time that social behaviors continue to develop and change. “The puppy is still dependent on his owner. In the early stages of this period, puppies are usually eager to please and will do whatever they believe their owners want them to do.” (3-4 months) “Their willingness to please at this age should be used to the full, as training will be more difficult later when the puppy becomes more independent.” [7]

Many owners believe that once their puppy completes their last vaccinations (18-20 weeks) socialization or socializing a dog is simply giving a puppy the opportunity to play with other puppies or dogs. This is not a socialization program for your dog. Owners of a juvenile dog often have the misguided belief that letting their dog run free at a dog park, placing them in doggie daycare, play dates, or taking them on leash to a big chain pet store where the dog ends up straining at the end of the leash to either get to other dogs, or to avoid other dogs, is a way to socialize the dog. These unstructured experiences are not a socialization program; they may do more harm than good. For more on socialization tap or click here.

Even though you may have had a perfect puppy that hung on to your every word this can start to change. “Environmental awareness is increasing now. Puppies begin to explore further afield, but always stay within range of the security of their owner or familiar territory.” [7] At this age they are faster and more coordinated and start to exercise some independence and a confident puppy will be much more likely to wonder off on an adventure by themselves. Training Collars Leash & Longlines

The zoomies can take on a whole new level of intensity at this age as they run around at top speed in circles, jumping over things and regularly crashing into obstacles. Of course someone created a technical name for these sudden bursts of energy. Frenetic Random Activity Periods or FRAPs. These entertaining bursts of energy are normal and generally only last a couple minutes and it’s your dog’s way of releasing built-up energy.

Those with a superstar puppy may now begin to see their dog “respond more slowly or maybe not at all.” [2] People will often excuse the poor behavior “by rationalizing it with comments like “he was so excited…” or “I don’t think he really heard me” or “he’s usually so good…” “Pups also can become quite rude to people at this point, though often it is excused with the comment, “Oh, he’s just a puppy - he’ll grow out of it!” The reality is, not only will the pup fail to “grow out of it” but chances are high that the behavior he is showing now will become habit as he moves into adulthood.” [2]

It’s about this time your puppy will lose their “puppy license” as veterinarian and behaviorist Ian Dunbar refers to it. This is the time when older dogs may no longer tolerant a young dog’s unruly behavior which is now viewed as rude and inappropriate. “The pushier the puppy, the more that the experienced adult dogs may “pick on” him. The reality is that they are not picking on him, they are setting clear limits and boundaries and are teaching him how to be a polite canine society member.” [2]

“Take a hint from the dogs: Begin to insist on greater responsibility & awareness from the pup, and be careful to guide and help him in all situations. He has a lot more enthusiasm for life now, but he’s still lacking the skills to wisely handle the world.” [2]

“For handlers who have invested time and effort into training their puppy, this age can be the golden age where handlers can enjoy a well trained, well behaved puppy who surprises many people with how much they know.” “the danger lies in believing that the well trained young pup will never become a rude or annoying adolescent.” [2]

Fig. 11 Canine Daily Calorie Estimator — **Fig. 11** **Canine Daily Calorie Estimator**

The total calories needs of a dog at 4 months of age is often similar to the calorie intake of a young adult (1-2 years old). [18] (See Fig. 11)

Exercise Guidelines (17 weeks – 6 months) [14]

Off-leash walks 45-60 min puppy’s pace with larger terrain changes
- Hills, ditches, streams and logs
Jump training up to wrist height
Wading and swimming 5-10 minutes at a time

Young Adolescence (6-9 months)

“The juvenile period ends when adult sexual behaviour appears. The female estrous cycle begins and males show leg-lifting, urine-marking, ground-scratching, aggression, roaming, and mounting. Other adult behaviours, such as territorial and protective aggression, coincide with sexual maturity.” [20]

This is the age of large developmental shifts as dogs enter puberty. In general most dogs will reach 80% of their adult weight by 8 months. [9] Independence increases as the dog moves into young adolescence and toward sexual maturity. This starts the most challenging phase for dog owners now that their dog is well into adolescence. Even a well-trained dog may start to turn “a deaf ear or - worse! more shocking! - looking you “right in the eye and saying, “Nope!” “At this age, tightening up the expectations and giving the pup more responsibility is helpful and usually has great results, though it will not eliminate the need to keep working with the adolescent right through till maturity.” [2]

“Adult dogs can find dogs of this age particularly annoying, and will set even stronger expectations for the behavior of this exuberant age group.” [2]

At this age dogs are full of energy, active and need lots of attention, social interaction, exercise, mental stimulation, and training to manage their behavior. Young dogs have a lot of energy and owners that are not meeting all their dog’s needs often complain about their dog’s chewing and destruction.

By 7 months the teething phase is complete and all permanent teeth are in. “Just as the teething phase begins to pass, another more ferocious urge to chew occurs. This stage starts at about seven to ten months of age and can last for about six months.” [7]

“This is the age where many working breeds begin to discover that a woof or bark or growl has an effect on people or other dogs.” “The best time to nip this in the bud is NOW.” [2] Behavior that is practiced becomes stronger and creates habits and expectations on how to act or respond to others.

Breed specific behaviors can start to appear:

Genetics gives “the dog the possibility, the environment gives opportunities for the instinct to develop, and training puts the instinct under the influence of the trainer.” [12] The question is, has training been designed to put those instincts under our control? Or has the training been designed to make sure those instincts are completely out of our control? [11]

This is the time frame when dogs lacking a good socialization foundation may start to display an increased reactivity with regard to food guarding, possessiveness, and separation anxiety. These issues can be successfully worked through but it’s always easier to identify these issues during the critical socialization period and eliminate these issues before they develop into a problem.

Dogs that have shown fearful behavior prior to this age can display more intense fear and become more reactive. Often people will say he only likes certain people, or is just protecting the family, or property. People will often say their dog “just snapped” and went after someone or just became reactive. In reality dogs nor people “just snap” or have sudden behavior changes unless there is a medical reason or impactful experience. It’s important to understand a dog was not totally fine and then just snapped either figuratively or literally. A common reason this happens is often due to repeated encounters over time. In almost every case the fearful dog will react because their non-verbal signs showing their discomfort have been missed or ignored. Dogs will often increase the intensity of their actions to get people to listen and respect their need for time and distance. When a passive “reaction” will not accomplish time and distance, “action” almost always will. It’s important to understand that all reactive/aggressive behavior is caused by the need to establish control. It’s common for people to mistakenly believe that a young dog will “grow out of it”.

We can help dogs by providing them the time and distance they need and helping them learn coping skills and better ways to navigate the world. How we work with dogs that have fear/trust issues depends completely on the individual dog’s level of fear and the context. If we continue to place them in situations where they feel the need to react we may be creating the problem we were hoping to prevent.

We cannot “correct” fearful behavior. It is not appropriate to correct or punish a fearful dog for reacting e.g. growling, etc… Trying to “correct” (punish) fear based behavior is like saying “the beating will continue until you learn to trust” and stop reacting. Punishing fear does not remove the fear; it will likely make the dog more anxious.

Exercise Guidelines (6 months - to Growth Plate Closure) [14]

Off-leash walks 45-60 min puppy’s pace with larger terrain changes
- Hills, ditches, streams and logs
Jump training up to elbow height
Wading and swimming 10-15 minutes at a time

Late Adolescence (9-12 (18) months)

“True teenagers, these dogs are strong, smart and pushy.” [2]

At this age dogs are full of energy, active and still need lots of attention, social interaction, exercise, mental stimulation, and training to manage their behavior. This is an age at which dogs are surrendered to animal shelters for behavior problems and almost half of these dogs will never live to see their second birthday. [13]

Exercise Guidelines (Until Growth Plate Closure) [14]

Off-leash walks 45-60 min puppy’s pace with larger terrain changes
- Hills, ditches, streams and logs
Jump training up to elbow height
Wading and swimming 10-15 minutes at a time

Young Adult (12mo - 2-3 yrs)

Dogs reach physical maturity during this phase but they are not socially mature and need continued guidance learning appropriate behavior. Small breeds will reach physical maturity about 12 months while large breeds will take between 2-3 years. Dogs are continuing to learn from new experiences and training.

They are sleeping less, full of energy, active and still need lots of attention, social interaction, exercise, mental stimulation, and training to manage their behavior. This is a common age at which dogs are surrendered to animal shelters for behavior problems and almost half of these dogs will never live to see their second birthday. [13]

“Issues that were present in earlier stages can become more pronounced now.”… “It is at this age that the first bites often occur. The more confident dogs or less stable dogs may be quicker to bite, others require more confidence (which comes with age) before biting. Either way, reactivity increases during the period, and any previous issues will become pronounced.” [2]

“a lack of consistency on the handler’s part can and will be reflected in the dog’s behavior. Additionally, the history between dog and people can inform the dog’s behavior, expectations and responses.” [2]

Exercise Guidelines (After Growth Plate Closure 14-22 mo) [14]

Begin endurance training – start slowly

Trotting continuously for at least 20min no more than every other day
Off-leash walks for an hour or more – all safe terrain
Hikes for several hours depending upon weather
Jump training above elbow height
Wading and swimming for 10-15 minutes at a time.

The larger the breed the later the growth plates close.” “dogs that are spayed or neutered prior to puberty experience delayed closure.” “The growth plates of intact dogs of all sizes and breeds close by about 14 months of age. The growth plates of spayed or neutered dogs do not close until 18 to 22 months of age, depending on how early the dog was spayed or neutered and on the dog’s adult size. [14]

Adult - Social Maturity (2-3 years)

“Your dog will now be both physically and socially mature.” [7] Dogs at this age still have an enthusiasm for life and can be very active.

“Dogs of this age may become less tolerant of little puppies. Take care with young adult dogs and young puppies, particularly if the older dog does not have much experience with younger pups.” [2]

If your dog has been socialized properly, with continued training and taught self-control you should have a well-mannered family member with good skills to navigate the world.

Behavior, Personality, Temperament, & Character

Personality is the combination of temperament and character.

Temperament = pre-disposition (heritable propensities)
Character = disposition, (learned style of coping or navigating the world)
- Character develops through the interaction of temperament and environment
- Character emerges as one matures and has more life experience
- Patterns form habits

Temperament refers to the aspects of the dog’s character or personality that change little over a lifetime due to inherited traits and early life experiences which shapes behavior resulting in strong predispositions.

Character traits develop as a dog matures and are influenced by life experiences, preferences, routines, and practices.

A dog’s personality or temperament is consistent and changes little over a lifetime, although behavior can and does change, personality is generally consistent.

Behavior is influenced by five things. Genetics, inherited traits, early life experiences, the current environment, and the humans they live with.

Genetics determine physical traits such as; size, color, structure, coat type, energy level, and the inherited characteristics of a breed.
Traits such as nervousness, reactivity, body sensitivity, sound sensitivity, may be attributed to genetic factors, or they may be acquired and developed with early life experiences of the puppy in the first 12-weeks when these life experiences can both positively or negatively affect a dog’s confidence, emotional stability, timidity, fear, and phobias. [1]
Early life experiences – see socialization

We cannot change a dog’s temperament (pre-disposition), but we can affect their character (disposition). Character emerges as dogs mature and have more life experiences. We can affect character and our dog’s behavior by helping them learn coping skills and better ways to navigate the world. To what degree and intensity will be influenced to some extent by past experiences and the approach we take moving forward.

Dog will exhibit all types of normal dog behavior and it’s important to understand we can’t fix normal. Genetics give the ability and environment provides the opportunity for these traits to develop to their full potential. But through early learning, training, meeting our dog’s needs and forming the right relationship we can put those instincts under our control. To control those instincts requires ongoing training to keep those skills sharp and under our control. It takes work, time, and consistency to see change. As with many things it will require management, training and lots of patience.

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** Dr. Ian Dunbar

[1] The Dog Its Behavior, Nutrition, and Health Second Edition Linda P. Case

[2] Form Maddening To Maturity - Suzanne Clothier

[3] Reactivity, food guarding, possessiveness, separation anxiety, fear of people, or unfamiliar things, places, etc.

[4] Faculty of The Cummings School Of Veterinary Medicine At Tufts University; edited by Nicholas Dodman with Lawrence Lindner: Puppy’s First Steps The Whole Dog Approach to Raising a Happy Healthy Well-behaved Puppy; Houghton Miffin Company; New York, NY (2007)

[5] A dog’s Personality is a combination of Temperament, Character and inherited traits.

Temperament = pre-disposition (heritable propensities)
Character = disposition, (learned style of coping or navigating the world)
- Character develops through the interaction of temperament and environment
- Character emerges as one matures and has more life experience
- Patterns form habits

[6] https://suzanneclothier.com/hawks-hunt-german-shepherds/

[7] Bailey, Gwen. Perfect Puppy: Take Britain's Number One Puppy Care Book With You! Octopus Books.

[8] Mindful Socialization: Because life is not a checklist

[9] Case, Linda P.; Daristotle, Leighann; Hayek, Michael G.; Raasch, Melody Foess. Canine and Feline Nutrition: A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals. Elsevier Health.

[10] CANINE DAILY CALORIE ESTIMATOR

[11] JohnRogerson.com

[12] Rogerson, John. The Dog Vinci Code: Unlock the Secrets to Training Your Dog. John Blake.

[13] Puppy’s First Steps The Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy Edited by Nicholas Dodman, BVMS

[14] https://www.avidogzink.com/wp-content/uploads/puppy_exercise_guidelines_poster.pdf

[15] The Enriched Puppy Protocol (EPP) Suzanne Clothier

[16] Fit For Life Puppy Exercise Guidelines

[17] Rogerson, John. The Dog Vinci Code: Unlock the Secrets to Training Your Dog. John Blake.