The first 18 months are the most critical for your puppy. The lessons learned during this year and a half will help set the temperament, disposition and behavior of your puppy for years to come. Here is the second age-level period and some helpful tips regarding development.
4th Week
Basic Needs: Warmth, food, sleep, mother.
Mental Capacity: All senses functioning, aware of living begins.
Trainability: Very little.
Special Notes: Extremely critical period... do not remove from littermates or mother (permanently or long-term); introduction to human interaction should be limited and with close, controlled supervision.
The 4th week is a major transitional period for the puppies. During this time puppies begin to be self-aware while beginning to sense their siblings and the growing world around them. Having found their legs, they become very playful and very busy. And momma teaches them how to behave; it's like learning the rules of the playground. The puppies long to experience the outside world and are eager for new experiences. They begin to wrestle with each other, jump on their momma, and try to get out of whatever pen they are in. When tired, and because momma is not around them all the time now, the puppies find each other and sleep together in piles (see pic above) - which is the cutest thing in the world!
There is a high fear threshold for these puppies at this point, so it is important to gradually introduce them to new experiences with caution. We will start including a puppy in our quieter family activities (note board game pic above), allowing each pup to experience family life in a more direct way. We bring them to the backyard with us and allow them to explore the patio. Concrete, outdoor carpet, grass - getting a sense of different ground textures can be intimidating, but also fun. Sometimes we might even carry a pup with us while performing light house chores, etc.
For home-based breeders, this is the best age, because they are so playful and cute, yet momma dog continues to clean up after them. The puppies can follow a momma dog as well as a leading adult. We start working with the puppies to respond to our 'calls' as they learn to follow us. We also introduce soft solid food, even though momma dog continues to feed them. Soon momma dog won't clean up after her puppies quite as much, so we start our non-stop laundry rotation of pee pads, blankets, and towels. Haha.
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