Puppy Development Part One
Periods of Development Neonatal from birth to two weeks - the puppy is totally dependant on its mother Transitional from two to three weeks- the beginning stages of independence Socialisation from three to ten weeks - ALL basic social skills are learned at this time. Juvenile from ten weeks to seven months - investigation and exploration of environment and relationships Adolescence from seven months to eighteen months - the effect of hormones on behaviour added to early learning experiences.
Imprinting Unlike similar animals such as the wolf, the domestic dog has been selectively bred to have a greater length of time to which it may imprint usually up to around 12 weeks compared with the wolf that within 3 weeks of age has completed all the associations it may need.
Dr. Michael Fox in in 1971 imprinted puppies to other species (rabbits and cats) and found the puppies did not recognise their own species when presented with a mirror as well as exhibiting signs of stress when removed from the other species. However if we look back through history to the livestock guarding breeds such as the Anatolian Shepherd dog we find shepherds have been using the theory of imprinting for thousands of years.
Dogs are not born to live in a human world but have the means to adapt. This form of imprinting allows the domestic dog to habituate to almost any species or environment in the early part of it s life. These windows of opportunities are referred to as Critical Periods or Sensitive Periods.
Several studies on the critical periods of the Canis Lupus Familiaris has created varying opinions on the lengths of time and how a dog habituates to human life, this is more likely due to the broad spectrum of domesticated breeds in existence. It is generally accepted that the critical socialisation period is 3 to 12 weeks of age
Once the Critical Periods have lapsed the dog s ability to imprint will stop and all associations after this time will no longer be accepted with such ease, this is known as Competitive Exclusion. (Bradshaw, 2011) Unwanted stress, inefficient nutrition and activity levels in the mother can all affect the unborn puppy, even how many puppies are produced and the number of a particular sex can be detrimental to a puppy s natural development.
Neonatal describes the period from birth to two weeks of age. The puppy s main objectives at this time are to feed, sleep and with the help of the mother and the other littermates keep a resting state metabolism or energy balance at its required level. Short-term handling and exposure to the environment can also assist the puppy s effectiveness to control its own body temperature, increase its resistance to disease, even the ability to problem solve.
The puppies mother has four main areas of responsibility with her litter: 1) To feed them 2) To regulate their body temperature 3) To keep them clean 4) To protect them from predators
The Development of Play Behaviour Regardless of breed, play always develops in this sequence: 1) Pawing starts at around 18 days 2) Biting starts around 21 days 3) Wrestling starts around 28 days 4) Chasing starts at around 5 weeks
The Transitional Period (2-4 weeks) sees a big change in the puppy s everyday life from sleeping 90% of the time to motor patterns developing, stimulation to both sight and sound, the ability to growl and bark develop as well as been capable of regulating its own body temperature. The puppy stimulates regurgitation in the mother at around two weeks of age and starts to choose when to be fed.
Primary socialisation appears between three to five weeks The ability to play with littermates as well as inanimate objects occurs around this time practicing innate behaviours such as stalking, pouncing and shaking. Emotional temperament is believed to develop during this period, the mother should exhibit enough control over the puppies without using too much which can result in the puppies been insecure or too little control can result in some puppies been over confident.
Enforced Separation This coincides with the mother leaving the whelping area more often to encourage social behaviour between the littermates as well as controlling the access to the mother which if not allowed can result in under developed puppies.
Socialisation to People Secondary Socialisation period or more commonly known as the Critical/Sensitive period (Bradshaw, 2011), this relates to human interaction (Inter- specific communication) and environmental habituation, which usually takes place from six to twelve weeks.
Puppy Development Stages Sound Completely deaf at birth Ears open and capable of hearing sound at around ten days Startle to noises begins at around three weeks Can be conditioned (trained) to respond to commands at two and a half weeks.
Vision Eyes open at around ten to twelve days Eyes respond to light and movement at around two to three weeks Able to follow and mark a moving object at around five weeks
Vocalisations Whimpers, grunts from birth Attention seeking yelps begin at around four days Play barking starts at three to five weeks Growling starts at four weeks Full range of barks developed by six weeks (attention seeking, play, stress, fear etc)
Motor Skills Movement Rooting reflex to feed from birth Crawling forward from three days Crawling backwards and attempts to walk from 2 weeks Standing from 3 weeks Raised paw and early play behaviour from 3 weeks Complex running and wrestling play behaviours begin at around 4 weeks The beginning of active avoidance behaviours begins at around 8 weeks (usually freeze behaviours are exhibited prior to this time)
Feeding Behaviour Feeding Suckling from birth Teeth erupt at three weeks which coincides with the beginning of the weaning process (and socialisation) Solid food able to be eaten at three weeks Weaning should be complete by nine weeks of age Puppies fed the same type of taste and texture of food, particularly if regurgitated by mother, will now show a preference for this type of food and may even become intolerant of other foods when offered.
Sequence of Separation Three weeks - coincides with eruption of teeth - Mother will start actively to reject her puppies while in their presence by growling or even snapping when they bother her. Four weeks - she will now start to physically remove herself from the puppies but remain within sight often by climbing on to something out of their reach. Five weeks - she will now start to visually remove herself from them as part of her enforced separation programme.
If this critical period is not managed correctly by the breeder and the new owners then the puppy may grow to become fearful, aggressive and difficult to train especially if no socialisation with people has taken place. Elliot, et al (1961) found that by fourteen weeks if a domestic dog had not socialised with human s future socialisation would be unlikely due to the withdrawal responses of the dog.
Juvenile and the onset of puberty differs dependant on breed but is generally thought to be between five to fourteen months. Male dogs will start to lift their leg (one of the first signs of puberty) and start to mount other dogs but will not have the strength or skills needed till seven months. Female s introduction to puberty can often be overnight with the onset of its first season
Adolescence coincides with the Second Fear Response Stage and dependent on breed can occur between five to six months or for the larger breeds eleven to fourteen months. Hormone changes are still developing and the dog has adult desires and behaviours but lacks the skills and experience, as a result a fear of familiar things or fear of something new may occur.
By one to four years old the dog has reached Sexual Maturity/Adulthood (second seniority period), females of larger breeds will tend to mature sooner than males and a domestic dog motor patterns and strength will be at its peak. Any training that may have been missed by now will appear in the form of resource guarding, territorial aggression, etc.
Canine Communication Communication is paramount in not only a Canis Lupus Familiaris development but also its survival, there are three ways in which a domestic dog communicates the first being vocally. A bark may present itself in play (as does a growl, whine or moan) but for a domestic dog it is more often used for attention or to warn of someone or something approaching the dogs perceived territory. Rogerson (2008) shows how domestic dogs produce different sequences and pitches of a bark to mean different things; in affect creating a language that not only is recognisable to other dogs but also to humans.
Visual Signalling The second way in which a domestic dog communicates is visually, Darwin (1872) observed aggressive/agonistic and affilliative interactions of dogs in a social environment and was one of the first to describe and catalogue social displays by dogs.
Some breeds have been selectively bred to disguise their natural body language for example the German Shepherd who s back legs are bent creating a permanent sloping back.
Some Spitz type breeds have been selectively bred with the inability to move their tails between their legs.
Inhumane changes to breeds for appearance sake include the docking of tails and in the case of the Doberman the cropping of ears. These mutilations only serve to reduce the effectiveness of the dog s ability to communicate.
Olfactory Communication The final way in, which a dog communicates, is the use of the olfactory system. Carmichael and Dunbar (1981) found dogs could discriminate between familiar urine and strange urine that the dog has no past encounters with They concluded that dogs can scent specific pheromones in the urine and identify differences.
Puppy Development Part Two
Practical Application of the Theory Breeders should gain more knowledge of dog behaviour before bringing litters of puppies into the world.
Breeders should ensure that: Puppies are fed out of multiple food bowls to decrease the possibility of food aggression.
Plenty of toys should be provided for the puppies to play with.
Breeders should ensure that puppies have TWO surfaces available from 3 weeks of age onwards to aid housetraining. Mother should be allowed to separate herself from the puppies whenever she needs to. She should be fed a varied diet. The puppies should be exposed to as many visitors as possible. The breeder should groom, examine and handle the puppies on a daily basis to get them used to being touched by human hands.
Veterinarians Role To encourage responsible dog ownership. To recommend dog training classes
To run puppy parties at their clinics To advise on prevention strategies to avoid the onset of behaviour problems
To explain that poor socialisation with people is the number one reason worldwide that dogs are abandoned or euthanized.
USA veterinarian and dog behaviourist Dr Ian Dunbar (2004) is insistent that a puppy needs to meet over 100 different people before the critical period is over to increase the chances of the puppy not only to be familiar with how different people look but also how they smell, touch and feel. Professor R.K Anderson insists that Immunisation programmes need to go hand in hand with socialisation programmes
Dog Trainers Role Puppy socialisation classes Breed based training programmes Setting up a national standard of companion dog training (good citizen test?) Setting a national standard for dog training instructors (KCAI programme?)
How to Choose a Puppy Find a breeder who has knowledge of their breed Always see the puppies with their mother Breeder should be seen handling and grooming the puppies Watch the puppies being fed and touched Look at floor surface Lots of toys available
Mother should be present the whole time and she should appear friendly Puppies should be mainly raised in a home environment, not in a kennel Take along the whole family to view the puppies Look for friendly, playful behaviour *Do NOT take any money with you!
The Role of Animal Charities 1) Education 2) Education 3) Education