Genetic Influences
- Parents pass on genetic info to puppies
- Colour – difficult to predict – labs 2 black parents can produce yellow, black & chocolate
- Inherited health issues – certain breeds can be more prone to certain health issues
- Parents should be health tested before breeding
- Pedigrees more at risk from health issues – restricted gene pool, increased inbreeding, conformation to breed standards
- Designer dogs, although crossbreeds can also suffer from genetic issues
- Cross breeds live 1.2 years longer avg
- Not much difference in pedigrees and cross breeds for common disorders
- Tame foxes experiment – took the tamest to people foxes and bred; curly tails, floppy ears, longer socialisation period (linked to tameness)
- Aggressive foxes experiment – bred the aggressive foxes; aggressive passed down
- Genetic component to some behaviours; social/aggression, flank sucking in Dobermans
- English cookers studied for aggression, couldn’t find single gene responsible
- Epigenetics – how events in parents life are passed through genes to pup (at least two generations – need to look at grandparents as well as parents
Environmental Factors
- Maternal care
- Bad breeders
- Pregnant for 9 weeks
- Maternal diet – puppies preferred what mother ate during pregnancy, effected body condition and condition and conformation
- Puppies born to stressed pregnant bitches are more likely to have chronic stress, ADHD, impaired learning, heightened stress responses
- Puppies learn from mother at young age
- Is mother allowed to be with the pups?
- Is mother worried about you being there?
- Same for father
Weeks 0-3
- Helpless
- Can find their way to a warm place (can’t regulate their own temp)
- Kept close to mother so that they can feed
- Crawl -2-3 days
- Whine
- Feel touch
- Mother licks them to stimulate toileting
- Sense of smell (don’t over stimulate)
- 10-14 days eyes open – poor vision
- Gentle handing
- Mother and pups need to feel safe
- 14-21 days teeth
- Liquids
- Toileting on own
- 3 weeks start of sensitive period
Weeks 3-12
- Socialisation period – John Fisher – days 14-49
- Weeks 3-5 sight, hearing, smell improving
- Can leave the nest to toilet
- Don’t flood with sensory information
- Weeks 5-8
- better motor skills, more coordinated, better facial expression, full use of all senses
- Learn to interact with other dogs
- Lots of play and biting
- Learning bite inhibition
- Pick things up in their mouthes
- Solid food
- Wean off mum/mum stop them feeding
- Mum disciplines
- Important they are kept with mum and siblings
- More handling
- Human contact
- Separate each pup from litter and mum for 5 minutes a day
- Access to things to stimulate senses
- Weeks 7-12
- Human socialisation period (should be from day 1 anyway)
- Explore further
- Need primary attachment figure
- Developing personalities
- Social contact important
- 8 weeks (illegal before 8 weeks) new home
- After 12-14 pup enters fear period – all contact must be positive
Weeks 12-24
- 3-6 months – juvenile stage
- Want to please, want to stay close to their care giver
- Easy to train
- Fed 3 times a day
- 4-6 months
- 4-8 months
- Flight instinct – dog wants to explore further – manage so that recall doesn’t suffer
- Looking less puppy like – people less tolerant, dogs less tolerant
6 Months Onward
- Adolescence – still young and still learning
- Adolescence not the same as physical maturity
- Small breed 8m, giant breed 24m
- Sexual maturity, hormones – female 6-9 months, male – 6 months
- Growth plates should be closed before neutering
- Reduced self control, reduced impulse control, reduced frustration tolerance
- Second fear period
- Secondary training period
- Socially mature – fully developed – up to 18 m – 3 years