Age Features Of Puppies

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Age Features Of Puppies
Age Features Of Puppies

Video: Age Features Of Puppies

Video: Age Features Of Puppies
Video: Dog Years: The 7 Stages of Puppy Growth and Development - Dogs 101 2024, March
Anonim

The growth and development of puppies and their characteristics largely depend on their age. In order to properly organize the raising and education of a puppy, you need to know and take into account these features.

"Growth is understood as the process of increasing the size of an organism, its mass, which occurs due to the accumulation of active, mainly proteinaceous substances in it." The growth of a dog is accompanied by an increase in its body weight and a change in its proportions.

“The development of an animal is understood as the process of complication of the organism, the specialization and differentiation of its organs and tissues. In other words, development is a qualitative process that each organism goes through from a fertilized egg to an adult capable of reproduction and is similar in basic features to the parent organism."

Chihuahua puppy, dog photo photo
Chihuahua puppy, dog photo photo

Chihuahua puppy

The growth and development of puppies depends not only on their age, but also on the hereditary inclinations received from the parents, as well as on their sex, conditions of keeping and growing, the number of puppies in litters. Males are generally taller and heavier in body weight. Small litters (two to five puppies) usually have larger puppies than large litters (eight to ten puppies or more).

Since ancient times, in the practice of service dog breeding, five main stages of growth and development of dogs have been distinguished: intrauterine (embryonic) with a duration of 58-66 days; sucking - from birth to 30-45 days of age; puppies - from 1-1.5 to 6 months; young animals - from 6 to 8-10 months; young dogs from 8-10 months to 2-2.5 years.

Scientists from the Institute of Physiology named after I. P. Pavlov of the USSR Academy of Sciences (N. M. Vavilova, V. G. Kassil, and others) made a great contribution to the study of age-related characteristics of growth and development of puppies. They identified four periods in the individual life of dogs from birth to puberty and described in detail the changes that the puppies' body undergoes, their behavior in each of these periods. In addition, they made important practical scientific recommendations for the upbringing and initial training of puppies.

The first period: from 1 to 18-21 days of a puppy's life - a period of predominantly unconditional reflex adaptation

Puppies are born blind and deaf, not adapted for independent life, in need of constant maternal care. However, from the first day of life, they are able to crawl a little, find nipples and suck breast milk. From the sense organs they function olfactory, gustatory, skin-temperature and vestibular. There is a large daily increase in body weight, including the brain. Puppies sleep most of the day. By the 15-18th day of life, they already see and hear, are able to perceive and differentiate (distinguish) objects of the environment, develop conditioned reflexes, and form numerous conditioned reflex connections. By the 18th-21st day of life, puppies are able to stand, walk, and then run, show a clear orientational response to external stimuli and develop defensive conditioned reflexes. From this time on, they acquire life experience, learn to adapt to life in a constantly changing external environment.

The second period: from 18-21 to 30-35 days - the period of primary conditioned reflex adaptation. As in the first period, there is an intense daily increase in body weight, including the brain. Puppies become able to develop conditioned reflexes not only to food stimuli (delicacy), but also to defensive reinforcement (hand pressure, etc.). However, the rate of formation of conditioned reflexes is still low, multiple repetitions of exercises are required.

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