What are the phases of a puppy’s development?

When do their eyes open? When can you start training? When do they come home? You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers!

Week 1

What they’re up to
First week puppies are adorable little eating machines! Their eyes and ears are closed, their teeth aren’t in and when they’re not sleeping they’re looking for food. They sleep a lot though! They make squeaky little grunting sounds as they search for a spot on mom.
What we’re up to
We keep a very close eye on them at this stage because they are so delicate. Some mommy dogs are a little clumsy and can accidentally hurt their babies, so we have someone in the room with the litter 24/7 at this stage. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it! The first few weeks are critical to the health and well-being of a future adult dog. We’re vigilant about their temperature and their weight, which we carefully track. We’re also very aware of the health of the mom! Breastfeeding isn’t always easy, some moms develop mastitis, and some puppies have a hard time latching on. So the first week is critical. We feed our nursing moms fancy home-made food, and give them goat’s milk or baby formula to make sure they get all the nutrients they need.

Week 2

At week two, the puppies will open their eyes! Their vision is poor though and will continue to develop over the next few weeks. Their ears open as well around this time.

They still can’t walk and spend most of their time asleep, and when they are awake they are eating. They like to pile up with each other for warmth and comfort. They are more robust but still very vulnerable.

While it is too early to train them at this time, we do start to introduce environmental stimuli and begin to hold and pet them a bit. This will help later on, plus they’re so adorable how could we not? Always under the watchful eye of mom though.

Week 3

Week three is the final week of what we call “the hamster phase.” Their vision continues to improve, but they still spend all their time sleeping and eating, but this is when they start to play! We can handle them a bit more, and we continue to expose them to the sights sounds of a busy household, which will help their temperament later on. They can’t really walk though, so they kind of scoot around.

Week 4

The big change comes around week four, when they start to walk! This is when socialization really begins, as they really discover the joys of playing with their siblings.

Puppies this age have no fear! They wrestle and play without any concerns, but this will change in a couple of weeks when new things might scare them.

Week 6

“Parti” means part white and part some other Poodle color, such as black, red, blue or brown. They often appear to have large spots.

Week 8

Poodles are smart, wonderful dogs but the main reason we breed with them is because of their unique coats. They don't have a double coat like most dogs, instead, they have one single layer that barely sheds if at all. This quality is what furnished refers to. A furnished dog has a Poodle’s single, non-shedding, curly coat.

Six months