WHICH THE PHASES OF THE EMOTIONAL AGE OF A DOG?

Neo-native period: of the birth up to 12 days of life

It is the phase in that the puppy depends exclusively on his/her mother. With this age he doesn't get to control alone the temperature of his/her body, needs physical stimulation to do pee and pooh, and he/she doesn't see or he/she hears, but it already seats the mother's smell.

Transition period: from 13 to 20 days of life

In this phase the nestling goes by several physical changes. The eyes open, he begins" to crawl", he can already hear, and, about the 20o day he/she already appears the first tooth.

Period of Recognition: from 21 to 28 days of life

Only now he begins to use their audition senses and vision. He can recognize movements, and objects. He needs a lot his/her mother and brothers to feel safe and, because these sensorial perceptions happen in way exceptionally abrupt, it is very important that the atmosphere in that he lives is calm and stable.

Period of Canine Socialization: from 21 to 49 days of life

It is when the filhotinho learns the specific behaviors that you/they do a dog of him. Therefore it is so important not to remove the nestling of the brood before 7 weeks of life. It is during this period that he learns hygiene notions, respect to the hierarchy, and to be disciplined. With the brothers he learns the dominant game" dominated" x

Period of Socialization with Humans: from 7 to 12 weeks of life

This is the best period for the nestling to join to his/her new family. This is also the best time to introduce him/it to the things that will be part of his/her life. For instance, automobiles, others encourage, children, senior, sounds, etc. Everything learned in this phase is permanent.

First Period of the Fear: from 8 to 11 weeks of life

In this period any experience traumatic, painful or frightening will have a more durable impact than in any other phase of the life of the animal.

The" causeless rebel's" period: from 13 to 16 weeks of life

It is when the small scoundrel decides to test the whole patience of their owners. He will try to bite, even if seems of game, to dominate, and to test to see who will be the leader of the pack. This is the best period to begin the training of Basic Obedience for Nestlings.

Period of the" Escapes": from 4 to 8 months of life

If you still didn't teach to his/her nestling to come when call, this is the moment. In this age he develops a" selective deafness" that can last from few days to several weeks. It is very important that the owners know as reacting in this phase to avoid that his/her dog becomes an eternal fujão.

Second Period of the Fear: from 6 to 14 months

It is when the dog begins to be reluctant in approximating of things or new people or even already known. The most important is that the owners don't force the dog in these situations, and nor try console them, leaving that he solves alone that there is no reason to have fear. The obedience training in this time helps to build the solemnity-trust of the dog.

Maturity: from 1 to 4 years of life (it varies among the races)

For most of the races the maturity (besides the sexual) it happens between 1,5 and 3 years of age, and small races tend to ripen earlier than the gigantic dogs.

This period is usually marked with an increase in the aggressiveness and a new test of the leader's authority. The increase of the aggressiveness is not necessarily a negative thing. Many dogs that were excessively friendly with strangers start to be great watchdogs. Without a doubt any, this is a great opportunity to reinforce the owners' leadership through a recycling in the training of Basic Obedience (now for Adult Dogs)

Is it true that every year of life of a dog is same to the humans' 7 years?

No, actually the relationship between our hairy friends' age and their owners is not lineal. For instance: a puppy of a year of age can already have nestlings, but a 7 year-old child is not still ready to be mom.

Small variations exist in the tables that define the correlation of ages between the dogs and humans, but, basically, you can consider that:

Written by Claudia Pizzolato
Trainer and specialist in canine behavior
Lord Cão. Training of Dogs
www.lordcao.com