Raising sociable, balanced puppies — Part 1

By Stephan Mairesse · 2015-12-22

A dog's behavior depends, on average, 20% on heredity and 80% on learning — which shows just how much experience matters relative to genetics. A puppy's first three months of life are decisive and fundamental to its future balance. How the breeder cares for a litter is essential, but that work must also be continued by the dog's new owners.

I. At the breeder

Raising balanced puppies takes real effort, especially during what's known as the socialization and imprinting period. If puppies aren't sufficiently stimulated during this period, they will develop what's called "sensory deprivation syndrome." This syndrome mainly shows up as fear in response to any new stimulus, along with a greater or lesser inability to adapt to it. The later a puppy leaves the breeder, the more disturbed it tends to be. A fearful puppy will grow into a dangerous adult — difficult for an inexperienced owner to predict or control. Difficult to control because he panics at the slightest novelty; dangerous because a fearful dog tends to attack without inhibiting the bite, meaning he no longer controls the pressure of his jaw.

A. Choosing the breeding female

It's important to choose a balanced female. Puppies, behaviorally speaking, aren't born dogs — they learn to be dogs, partly by imitating their mother's behavior, and the way she reacts becomes their own reference behavior. It's therefore important to rule out breeding females that are too fearful or too aggressive. For example, if the mother is fearful and flees from novelty, it will be normal for her puppies to react the same way — by fleeing — when the breeder tries to stimulate them. If a female is particularly fine as a specimen but fearful, she should be kept away from her puppies whenever a situation might frighten her; it's strongly recommended to have a balanced adult stand in during stimulation sessions, so the puppies imitate that dog's reactions instead. Breeding females that tend to attack their own puppies should be excluded from breeding altogether.

B. The prenatal period

In the weeks before giving birth, it's important that the expectant mother lives in a reassuring environment. Stressful situations cause hormonal changes in the dog, and Fogle* has shown that these changes appear to affect the puppies' physiological responses, their reactions to novelty, and their learning abilities. Two to three weeks before giving birth, the mother's belly should be stroked regularly, in the spot where the puppies are nestled — puppies stroked this way in the womb will be more tolerant of handling later on. For health reasons, in the 10 days before the puppies are born, the mother should spend increasing amounts of time at the place where she will give birth, so she can get used to its bacteriological environment.

* The Dog's Mind, Pelham Books edition

C. From birth to three weeks

During the puppies' first three weeks of life, two periods follow one another: the neonatal period and the transitional period. At birth, puppies are deaf and blind, guided only by two reflexes — the rooting reflex and the digging reflex; this is the neonatal, or vegetative, period. From the second week on, we see the transitional period, characterized by the development of the senses. From birth, puppies should be handled daily to get them used to human touch, since human hands feel different from the mother's. Puppies are born in a place that must be kept warm enough, though some temperature variation is desirable, since it helps accelerate the maturation of the nervous system, which is still incomplete at birth.

Stephan MairesseProfessional dog trainer & canine behaviorist, 30 years of experience across 16 countries. Certificat de capacité N°750108. Read his full background →