We are often asked by students: when does puberty start? Or the question: when will my dog ​​be an adult? That is why we will now discuss the life stages of the dog in this blog. How exactly does a dog develop in life?

Neonatal phase

Neonatal means after birth. This is the phase in which the puppy is 0 to 2 weeks old. A newborn puppy doesn’t do much yet, except attach to the nipples and drink milk from the mother. The mother dog helps the puppy to relieve itself and the puppy is still deaf and blind here. Puppies can use their nose and there seems to be a scent imprint with which the puppy recognizes his or her mother.

Transition phase

We call the phase in which the eyes open and the ears start working the transition phase. In this phase the puppies will take their first waddling steps. The puppies here are 2-3 weeks old.

Socialization phase 

This is a crucial phase in the dog’s life and starts from the third week of life until the puppy is about 3 months old. The breeder plays a major role in this, introducing the puppies to all kinds of elements in the environment. Think of toys, sounds, visitors. The puppy is curious and open-minded.

Fear phase

The infamous fear phase starts approximately from three months of age. Here the capacity to recover from stimuli reduces. Where the puppy used to be curious and uninhibited, this may now decrease, and the dog will be more likely to be frightened. This is because certain areas of the brain become more active. As an owner, it is important that you guide your dog and that your dog learns that he or she can rely on you!

Puberty

Puberty starts approximately from 6 months of age. But be careful! This varies per dog breed and individual. Puberty is the stage that everyone finds most difficult to deal with. Why? People have the feeling that the dog is no longer listening and that he or she does this on purpose. Remember that the dogs are now teenagers. They are discovering their role in the world and developing into real individuals. Hormones start to play a real role here. Females come into heat for the first time and female sex hormones increase. Males produce the male sex hormone testosterone. Especially in males you see behavioral changes where he is sure of himself one moment and insecure the next. Dogs in puberty are more likely to react to other dogs, are more likely to run away when off-leash and have a lack of concentration. Having patience for your dog and being consistent is very important!

Adult 

After puberty, your dog is an adult. Maturity occurs after about 18 months, but there are dogs that do not really reach maturity until two years of age. The character of the dog stabilizes, and the dog is mentally mature.

Senior 

And then comes the phase where the dog is a senior. This is really very different for each dog breed when we look at what the definition of a senior dog is, because this is based on the age that a dog can reach. The Jack Russell has a different senior age than, for example, a Great Dane. What you see with the senior dog is that everything becomes a bit more difficult. For example, in terms of exercise, but also mentally. Dogs can also start to forget things or become clingier. Senses such as hearing and vision can deteriorate. You can also train well with senior dogs, but you must adapt the training to what the dog can handle.