Birth to collection (8 weeks)

Did you know ?

 

Pregnancy in dogs normally last 63 days (9 weeks).  Puppies are normally born between days 60-63.  They weigh IRO 350g-450g when born, when they leave The GVP HQ (8 weeks) they range between 4-5kg.  That's generally 10 times their body weight from birth.

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Puppies are born with eyes and ears closed.  Eyes start to open around 2 weeks old although sight isn't fully developed until around 6 weeks.  Their ears start to open around 3.5- 4 weeks, but not fully open until around 6 weeks old.

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The first two weeks of puppies life they sleep, toilet, and feed.  They heavily rely on mother in these early days and its a lovely time at GVP HQ as we see them grow daily.

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Week 3 their personalities start to develop and this is when puppy viewing takes place.

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Week 4-8 is a rigid socialisation programme to ensure we are building positive associations with many noises,textures, people and objects as possible.  This socialisation programme needs to be carried on in 'real life' when you collect a puppy as the 8 weeks preceding collection are critical to building their confidence and positive associations.  

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