07/10/2025
When you bring home a puppy, it’s tempting to think your new pup is a blank slate. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Your puppy’s brain has already been shaped by genetics, their mother’s experiences, pregnancy conditions, and the care they received in their earliest weeks. These early influences wire the brain for learning, calmness, and resilience or, in some cases, for reactivity and anxiety.
At birth, puppies have lots of neurons but messy connections. As they grow, unused links are trimmed away while important ones are strengthened and insulated, making signals travel faster.
The more flexible the brain, the better a dog can adapt, recover from stress, and make safe choices.
That means a mum who was stressed, poorly nourished, or unwell can pass those effects on to her litter. Stress during pregnancy can prime puppies to be more noise-sensitive, anxious, or reactive before you ever meet them.
First Puppy Milestones:
0–2 weeks: new-born reflexes only.
2–3 weeks: eyes and ears open; startle reflex begins.
3–8 weeks: play, mobility, first interactions with people and dogs.
“Socialisation” isn’t about meeting every dog or every person. It means:
🐾The right experience, at the right intensity, at the right time.
🐾Staying below the puppy’s fear threshold.
🐾Including everyday life surfaces, sounds, grooming, car rides, alone-time.
Too little exposure leads to fear. Too much, too soon creates panic. Just right builds curiosity and confidence.
Puppies raised in high-stress, crowded environments (such as large commercial breeders) often show house-soiling, noise sensitivity, and even aggression later. Puppy raised in isolation such as a shed or a barn are just as likely to develop behavioural problems.
Good breeders:
Keep mum healthy, low-stress, and well-fed (omega-3s).
Provide regular gentle handling.
Plan gradual, positive exposures to everything between weeks 3–14.
The breeder role is everything: they are in charge of setting the foundation for resilience.
