Does Your Dog Speak Dog?
Training Fido And Felix Can Be Tricky
By Margot K. Vahrenwald, DVM, ASVJ
Does your dog know how to speak dog? Just like there are critical developmental stages in children, there are critical developmental moments in time that can lead to a better-behaved puppy.
It is easy to assume that your puppy at six months should know it all, but in reality, they are very much like teenagers and young adults and don’t reach maturity in “decision-making” until around 12 months of age or older. It helps to remember that growing up and training are processes and not instantaneously achieved in one set of lessons.
The No. 1 reason dogs are relinquished is that they no longer fit into their owner’s lifestyle – this is sad and worth an article of its own in the future. But, the No. 2 reason for most dogs and cats to be surrendered to a shelter or rescue group is behavior. And, particularly with dogs, how they are brought up and trained in the first year of their lives could be the best inoculation against relinquishment.
“The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life,” is the starting sentence of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s Position Statement on Puppy Socialization.
This is not a new finding or recommendation. But it is one that is perhaps a bit challenging in our current modern lifestyle. We often don’t have our dogs in their early years if they are adopted from a shelter, or if they are purchased from a pet store or backyard breeder. In those cases there may not have been adequate handling and socialization in the dog’s critical early weeks.
Even reputable breeders can make socialization mistakes and send a puppy off to its new home too early (optimal is older than eight weeks). Some puppies would benefit from socialization from their dam, also known as their mama, until up to 10-12 weeks of age.
Critical time periods for your puppy’s development include time spent with their dam and littermates from birth until at least seven weeks of age. The next critical period is the human socialization from age seven to 12 weeks of age and the subsequent time periods, during which the puppy first learns how to play. This is also the time where puppies get the those first hints that the world can be a scary place, as well as learning about seniority and hierarchy (how to speak and play with other dogs).
Starting around six to seven weeks, there should be introductions to other animals and handling by humans as well as being introduced to new surfaces, sounds and textures. This is also the most opportune time to start to teach bite inhibition – an “ow” and pulling away when nipped by the pup. Puppies begin to understand structure, boundaries and leadership from 10 to 16 weeks – the best time to start puppy classes. After five months of age, socialization becomes behavioral conditioning.
Between four and eight months of age, you’re living with a “tween” as puppies learn their flight instinct – a perfect time to introduce leash and crate training along with fun and friendly vet visits. All training should be positive and rewarding. You tend to see a second period of fear between ages six to 14 months – a time when fear can be solidified and bad patterns established in response to negative experiences. Continued positive structured training and time with other dogs can help to condition a pet into the behaviors you desire.
Just like in humans, true maturity – that point where good choices and decisions are made – isn’t reached until at least 12 months of age and for many breeds it may take up to four years to reach.
For more detailed information on puppy (and kitten) stages of development, visit the following websites:
Puppies:
• mannersunleashed.com/blog/20-stages-of-canine-development
• www.howtoteachadog.com/stages-of-puppyhood
• caninedevelopment.com/myths.htm
Kittens:
• pets.thenest.com/age-maturity-growth-cats-7699.html
• cats.lovetoknow.com/stages-kitten-development
Dr. Margot can be reached at parkhillvet.com.