Puppy Culture for Three Week Old Pups

Our puppies have entered the Puppy Culture Socialization Period. They can now see, hear, and walk. They can accept and offer requests to play with one another. As they begin to growl and bark at each other, the puppies are learning to reslove conflicts peacefully.

The relationship between the mom and her puppies has started to change. For the first couple of weeks, the mama did not want to leave their side. She was watching over them, feeding them, or cleaning them up. She was very protective and didn't want our other dogs near them. Now, she is wanting time away from them. She has also started demonstrating affection for them by licking their faces. 

According to the Puppy Culture Program, which is based on research, it is important for puppies to have a stimulus rich environment. We provide them exercise, plenty of toys, and new experiences. We introduce a new toy, object, or activity each day. Puppies that are stimulated have larger brains, have more neurological connections, and learn more quickly. 

Puppies of this age need to be exposed to may different sounds and noises. The puppies startle and recover quickly at this age. They don’t have the fear response yet making this the perfect time to get them used to different things. This helps them be less fearful and barky when they are older. We start by playing soft music for pups, we also expose them to a wide variety of sounds such as vacuums, door bells, blow dryers, dogs barking, knocking, fire works, etc.

We begin picking the puppies up and giving them some one-on-one time away from their litter mates. This helps alleviate some separation anxiety later. It exposes them to positive human contact. Puppies raised using the Puppy Culture program are easier to train, respond better to stress, and are more social.

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