At 3 weeks old Prue's puppies are starting to solicit and extend invitations to play and they have an emotional response to new experiences and situations.
Prue has begun to interact with the puppies more socially and is beginning to bond with them in a different way. The quality of the bitches interactions with the puppies has an impact on the puppies for the rest of their lives.
Allowing Prue the space to move away from the puppies when she wants to is so important at this stage. Allowing Prue the space to move away when she wants allows her to spend time with her puppies but on her terms.
At 3 weeks old the puppies are leaning to communicate with each other. Puppies need to learn how to communicate with other dogs if they need to cope as stable adult dogs in the future. It is quite fascinating to watch then barking, howling and growling at each other.
I am also cutting the puppies nails regularly as they grow so fast. This makes feeding more comfortable for Prue and also desensitises the puppies to having their feet and nails handled in the future. This is a must for all puppies as nail cutting should be a comfortable experience for an adult dog - not something that they are frightened of.
At three weeks old Prue's puppies are being introduced to a new toy or new visual object every day. Its exciting getting new toy deliveries in the post!
Studies have shown that puppies raised in a stimulus rich environment with exercises and challenges, grow up to have larger brains with more neural connections than animals raised in stimulus poor environments. Puppies raised in a stimulus rich environment can actually have brains that are 5% bigger. (Puppy Culture)
What does this mean?
At 3-4 weeks old we have also begun to teach 'Emotional Resilience'.
A dogs ability to recover from fear is so important. Dogs that don't recover from fear quickly can lead restricted and fearful lives. Fear can affect where a dog can go and what they can cope with, dogs who show fearful behaviours can also develop aggressive behaviours. Through my behavioural work I know the impact aggression can have on people's lives and understand the importance of teaching puppies this emotional resilience.
To teach emotional resilience involves triggering the startle recovery process at 3-4 weeks old. The more times a puppy is startled and recovers during this time, the more resilient they will grow up to be as adults. At 3 weeks old the puppies have virtually no fear response.
At three weeks old Prue's puppies are being taken away from the other puppies individually for short amounts of time. This can help to prevent separation anxiety later in life. If being separated on a regular basis becomes normal the puppies see this as an ordinary occurrence and become habituated to that situation. Separation anxiety experienced by an adult dog can have a huge impact on a dogs quality of life and that of their owner.
Prue has begun to interact with the puppies more socially and is beginning to bond with them in a different way. The quality of the bitches interactions with the puppies has an impact on the puppies for the rest of their lives.
Allowing Prue the space to move away from the puppies when she wants to is so important at this stage. Allowing Prue the space to move away when she wants allows her to spend time with her puppies but on her terms.
At 3 weeks old the puppies are leaning to communicate with each other. Puppies need to learn how to communicate with other dogs if they need to cope as stable adult dogs in the future. It is quite fascinating to watch then barking, howling and growling at each other.
I am also cutting the puppies nails regularly as they grow so fast. This makes feeding more comfortable for Prue and also desensitises the puppies to having their feet and nails handled in the future. This is a must for all puppies as nail cutting should be a comfortable experience for an adult dog - not something that they are frightened of.
At three weeks old Prue's puppies are being introduced to a new toy or new visual object every day. Its exciting getting new toy deliveries in the post!
Studies have shown that puppies raised in a stimulus rich environment with exercises and challenges, grow up to have larger brains with more neural connections than animals raised in stimulus poor environments. Puppies raised in a stimulus rich environment can actually have brains that are 5% bigger. (Puppy Culture)
What does this mean?
- Better learning
- Better memory
- More stable emotional responses.
At 3-4 weeks old we have also begun to teach 'Emotional Resilience'.
A dogs ability to recover from fear is so important. Dogs that don't recover from fear quickly can lead restricted and fearful lives. Fear can affect where a dog can go and what they can cope with, dogs who show fearful behaviours can also develop aggressive behaviours. Through my behavioural work I know the impact aggression can have on people's lives and understand the importance of teaching puppies this emotional resilience.
To teach emotional resilience involves triggering the startle recovery process at 3-4 weeks old. The more times a puppy is startled and recovers during this time, the more resilient they will grow up to be as adults. At 3 weeks old the puppies have virtually no fear response.
At three weeks old Prue's puppies are being taken away from the other puppies individually for short amounts of time. This can help to prevent separation anxiety later in life. If being separated on a regular basis becomes normal the puppies see this as an ordinary occurrence and become habituated to that situation. Separation anxiety experienced by an adult dog can have a huge impact on a dogs quality of life and that of their owner.
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