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| 3 sisters - Danika (purple collar) Bryce (pink collar) and Shannon (blue merle) |
I thought it might be fun to discuss puppy development, as our puppies have transitioned from one stage to the next. They were in the “neonatal stage,” but are now in the “transitional stage.”
0-2 Weeks: Neonatal Stage (Dependence)
- Completely reliant on mother for warmth, cleaning, and food (colostrum is vital).
- Senses of touch and taste are present; sight and hearing are undeveloped.
2-4 Weeks: Transitional Stage (senses awaken)
- Sensory Growth: Eyes open (around 2 weeks) for blurry vision, ears start working, and smell becomes more refined.
- Physical Milestones: They gain leg strength, begin to stand, and by week 4, can usually walk, run, and play.
- Socialization: They start interacting with siblings, learning bite inhibition from play, and get used to being handled gently.
- Teeth: Baby teeth (deciduous teeth) begin to emerge.
- Early Weaning: Around 3 weeks, start introducing a gruel of milk replacer mixed with softened puppy food.
They can see and hear now, and they have started to communicate with us and each other. I love this stage, as their personalities really start to develop and they begin exploring and learning. They’ve begun climbing, barking and even play growling.
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| This was the green collar smooth boy, now called Sam |
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| This was the red collar rough boy, now called Dean |
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| Sweet Danika, she was the first puppy born, the rough who with the purple collar |
This transitional period is crucial for building foundational social skills and sensory processing, setting the stage for future learning and confidence.
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| Pretty Bryce, the rough girl with the pink collar |
As we always try to follow helpful guidelines created by Puppy Culture, these are their recommendations for 2 - 4 week old puppies:
Puppy Culture for 2-4 week old puppies focuses on stimulating their developing senses (touch, smell, sound) and introducing novel experiences like different textures, sounds (classical music, mild noises), and early handling (Early Neurological Stimulation - ENS/ESI) to build stress tolerance, alongside littermate socialization, litter training, and beginning "manding" (sitting for rewards) as they start to walk and eat gruel/soft food, preparing them for the world and building confidence.
Key Activities (Weeks 2-4):
- Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) & Scent (ESI): Gentle exercises like holding puppies in different orientations (head up, head down, supine) and introducing scents (orange, rosemary, banana) helps wire stronger nervous systems.
- Sensory Exposure: Introducing new objects, sounds (classical music, thunder/fireworks recordings), and different surfaces (mats, toys) to build "bomb-proofing" and curiosity, not fear.
- Physical Development: Pups start walking, pawing, and mock-fighting; they begin to move away from the mother for short periods.
- Early Weaning: Introducing softened gruel or meat, often served on different textured surfaces (dishes, frisbees) to get them used to varied feeding environments.
- Manding: Teaching them to sit politely to ask for something, starting with taking treats from hands, building self-control.
- Litter Training: Introducing a litter box within the whelping area.
- Handler Interactions: Daily individual cuddles and positive touch, introducing new people.
Goals for this Stage:
- Build a stronger, more resilient nervous system (via ENS/ESI).
- Develop problem-solving skills by encountering new things.
- Condition them to novel sights, sounds, and textures.
- Foster independence from the mother and littermates.
- Teach basic manners (manding).
This period is crucial for neurological development, teaching puppies to explore and process the world in a controlled, positive way.
We are so thankful our puppies are all doing well, and can’t wait to share more of their growth and development with you in the upcoming weeks!
