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This is the 1st among puppy stages. This is one of the key puppy milestones, they are relatively helpless, relying entirely on their mother compared to other puppy growth stages.

At this stage, the puppy spends the majority of its time either sleeping or eating. Puppies’ eyes and ears are closed when they’re born but they are sensitive to touch and smell. Their eyes open at around 10-14 days old but puppies do not respond to light and moving stimuli until the transitional period (two to three weeks of age).

Neonatal puppies have limited movement and are only capable of a slow crawl. They’re not yet able to stand and support the weight of their body.

During this period a puppy will actively seek its mother. If separated from its mother, a puppy will start to vocalize and crawl, swinging its head from side to side in an attempt to find her. At this stage puppies have a reduced ability to regulate their body temperature and so rely on their mother and littermates for body heat.

In the neonatal period puppies are only able to feed by suckling from their mother. Urinating and defecating is stimulated by the mother licking the anogenital region, and she keeps the nest area clean by eating any waste products.

Handling puppies for short periods during the first two weeks of age has been shown to be beneficial to their behaviour later in life.

Your puppy can crawl forwards but his eyes and ears are closed.

Up to 24 hours

It is essential that puppies consume colostrum in the mother’s milk within the first 24 hours after birth, as this provides contains antibodies and other immune substances that help protect newborn puppies from disease.

Your puppy’s eyes and ears start to open, although vision and hearing can be poor at first.

Your puppy is very prone to worms so they need to have their first worming treatment now.

This is the second phase in the puppy growth stages, you will see a rapid change and you will notice your puppy beginning to show some of their adult characteristics such as showing their first social signals by practicing growling and wagging their tail, they will respond to light and movement as their eyes begin to open and they start to respond to noise as their ear canals open. They will also start play fighting with their siblings.

The puppy starts to show an interest in semi-solid food (but continues to nurse from their mother too). They can now lap water from a dish.

Anogenital licking of the puppy by the mother is conducted from birth as puppies need stimulating to pass urine and faeces regularly. This is no longer needed now as puppies at this age now begin to relieve themselves naturally, away from the nest.

This is probably the most influential period of your puppy’s life and much of what is learned during this period may last throughout their life. During this time they develop social skills and learn about their environment. It’s essential during the later part of this period that they encounter as many of the people, objects and situations they might encounter in later life, including being left alone for short periods, visiting the vet and travelling in the car.

At 3 weeks the puppy begins showing a startle response to loud noises, they will try standing and walking and may make their first attempt at barking!

Dogs have two sets of teeth, just as humans do, their first set are ‘deciduous teeth’ often referred to as ‘milk teeth’ and they start to erupt at this age.

6 weeks is the time for your puppy’s first vaccination. (The second one is between two and four weeks later.)

At 6-8 weeks, your puppy will now be fully weaned and enjoying four or five small meals a day.

At 6-9 weeks, puppies usually leave their mother and littermates to go to their new homes. Speak to the breeder about what vaccinations and worming treatments they’ve had. It’s also a good idea to talk to a vet about vaccinations, puppy parties and neutering before you collect the puppy. This is a key time as your puppy is most responsive to socialisation so it’s a good idea to experience a wide variety of situations, people, noises and environments so that they develop all- important social skills for later life. You can take them out before their vaccinations are complete, as long as you carry them and don’t allow them onto the ground or in areas where other dogs may have been.