Of all the pleasures in life, nothing can top the pleasure and entertainment a new puppy can bring to a household. If you truly love dogs, nothing can compare to a new puppy. Puppies consume time but it is so well spent, and believe it or not, you find yourself lost in the puppy's world. However, when you go to purchase a puppy, you need to be aware of the conditions and care it has received before you take that bundle of joy home. There are some very sensitive periods in a puppy's life, and these periods are not to be scoffed at or ignored.

Stage 1: NEONATAL (1-2 WEEKS OF AGE)
This period is a quiet time, the puppy neither hears nor sees. It is only able to nurse and find its mother to curl up to. The puppy sleeps much of the time and it has to be stimulated by its mother or siblings to perform its duties. Handling at this time is most beneficial to the puppy's behavior, as behavior consultants have proved over the years of research. They have found that puppies handled at this age show a better rate of development.

Stage 2: TRANSITIONAL PERIOD (10-14 DAYS)
This is a short time, when the puppy begins to open eyes, develop a sense of hearing, and bowel and bladder begin to work spontaneously. Walking occurs and interaction with siblings begins.

Stage 3: SOCIALIZATION PERIOD (4-10 WEEKS)
This period has the greatest effect on the puppy's reactions to humans. THIS IS A CRITICAL PERIOD. THIS PERIOD CAN AFFECT A PUPPY FOR ITS ENTIRE LIFE. The time for each puppy may differ. But between these weeks a mold can be made for life. They learn things from their mother and from humans, and these interactions are very important to how they handle situations in later life. This is a time when a litter of puppies can be heard chasing, chewing and yes, fighting with their littermates. Now, don't be alarmed, this is good for their future social behavior. They are learning motor skills, social behavior and how to handle situations that will come up later in life. You ask, "how?" Well, the biting results in being told off, and this teaches the puppies to handle other animals in later life by not doing the same. Likewise with the chasing. They are also learning how to live together in harmony and this helps in a multiple animal home. Otherwise, these puppies in later life respond aggressively to other animals.
The relationship with humans also enables the puppy not to fear humans and what is going to happen to them. The quality of time is the most important during this period. Not the amount of time. Puppies should be held, cuddled and their bodies stroked and they should be made to roll over and have their tummies stroked. If a puppy at this age will not allow you to handle it in this manner, patiently work with it, as this can be critical to adult behavior. Nobody wants to live with an aggressive or overly fearful animal. If you have a cat or two at this time, the puppy will interact with the cat and this will help as an adult dog too. If you have a handicapped person in your family, this is the time for interaction. These lessons are time well spent in the long life of this puppy. Puppies, like children, have to be taught fear and this is the stage where everything is critical. Puppies that are not exposed to humans before 12 weeks of age may always be fearful of human interaction.

Stage 4: THE JUVENILE PERIOD (10-14 WEEKS)
This is usually the period when these precious babies begin to leave home for their new life with their "own families". It is a transition time for puppies, if they have been raised with a schedule about feeding, sleeping, playtime, crating and free runs of the area you want them to call "their space", they become happy members of your family. Planning is a very important ingredient for providing a smooth transition for a new puppy of this age. Puppies need a quiet, safe place when not supervised, and crates can provide this "space". Many people feel that crates are punishment, but they are not. Crates can provide comfort and a resting spot for a dog's life. The "My Own Place" that we all cling to also belongs in a family pet's life.
The bonding at this age is very important. Puppies are very impressionable and are most willing to bond with someone who is calm, patient and consistent. The puppy must feel you are a source of affection, interaction and comfort. Discipline is a way of life for a healthy, happy puppy. It is much easier to teach a puppy what you expect than to try to discipline them to what you don't want them to do for their lifetime. It is much better at this time to make positives instead of negatives in the puppy's life. I have an aversion to people using the word "No" with young dogs or even older ones. They soon realize that the word "No" means something wrong. Then perhaps you exclaim, "Oh No" to yourself about something and your puppy feels you are disciplining him and you will have lost much ground in your training. I prefer to say, "Knock it off or Enough Already". These phrases are not common in everyday speaking. Confusion, and changing your mind about what is right or wrong can affect a puppy for its entire life. You are dealing with juveniles at this stage, remember, and their memory and attention span are still relatively short.

Young puppies need to learn you can touch them, i.e., mouth, paws, nails, ears, etc. If they learn this in early life, you will not have problems with them in later years. The best way to accomplish this is to hold a puppy in your lap or have them on the floor and look at their paws, nails, etc., then praise them for allowing you to do this. A treat always helps in the case of paws and nails in a Cardigan. All family members should participate in this exercise, so that anyone can handle the puppy in later life. I can't stress the next issue enough in puppies. Acclimate the puppy to having his food or possessions touched by humans. Handle his food bowl while he is eating and pet him while he is eating. This will insure that no aggressive behavior will be evident when he is an adult. You can take a toy away from a puppy and teach him that you can and will take things from his mouth from time to time. Puppies play rough when they are all together in a litter box or area. They bite and chew on one another. They learn how hard they are biting by the way their littermate's yelp. When in new homes without littermates, they will chew other things including hands. I suppose if we were to yelp, they would stop; however, everyone in the family must do the same thing to stop puppies from biting hands or pulling on your clothes, etc. (Hint: a yelp will work) Remember that a puppy's attention span is short, and training sessions should be daily for short periods of time. Don't try to train your puppy to be an adult before his time. There is nothing more enjoyable than a puppy, and they like us become old too soon.

Stage 5: BECOMING A GROWN-UP (6-18 MONTHS)
Sexual maturity varies from dog to dog. Females can begin seasons at 6 months of age up to and over 15 months. Males usually begin when you see them attempt to lift their leg to urinate. This is indeed a very funny thing to watch in a young puppy and brings to mind the day I had a young male in the yard-playing ball with him. He stopped and tried to lift his leg, fell over and seemed to think I had pushed him. He promptly forgot about it, but I am still amused when I recall his brief moment of puzzlement. There are some dogs that will ride legs, etc. I have never found this in my males. If I did, I would divert their attention to something else and NOT YELL, "NO". Remember, they will (if you permit it) become stud dogs one day, and shouting a "NO", now will be remembered as a disapproval at breeding times.

I say that Cardigans are puppies till they are on or about 18 months old. I'm firm on this, because of their growth patterns and their attention spans. I do believe that babies should enjoy being babies and that puppies should enjoy being puppies with reasonable lessons and bonding with owners. If you make lessons fun they will enjoy doing them. Most people become far too serious with young dogs and then wonder why they are bored in later life.

The same is true with feeding a puppy. You must have the same sort of routine to follow. Dogs do not become bored with food, owners do. You can feed a dog the same food for life and he will enjoy it. People who are bored with food often tend to make their dogs fussy eaters. They feel the dog needs change in his diet, and tend to give them "people food" as treats or bribes for eating his dog food. Well, if someone were to bribe me with steak while I was eating pasta, I'd soon forget the pasta and eat the steak. The same holds true for puppies and adult dogs. A personal place to eat is very advantageous at any stage in a dog's life. I use a crate for feeding, so that no other dog can challenge the other while eating. You do not want to be disturbed while eating, so why should your dog. As your dog becomes an adult, perhaps you have taught him something you wished you hadn't. It is not so easy to re-train right away. You start as you did with a puppy with short teaching sessions and gradually make them longer. The adult dog will soon learn the new way pleases you and he will conform. Enjoy your puppies and love your adult dogs - they are friends beyond words.