Puppy hood is an exciting stage in a young dogs life where everything is new and adventurous. Their are many stages a young dog must experience to develop into adulthood at approximately 24-30 months of age. Here are some of the things you can expect in those 24-30 months, and how to fully develop your puppy's potential.

BIRTH TO 8 WEEKS

A new puppy needs his mother's care and the company of his brothers and sisters. At about 4-5 weeks take them out of the play pen for only small periods of approximately 10-15 minutes, being gently handled by humans. This will help develop his personality and individuality and gets him use to people. The next stage is probably one of the most important lessons your puppy will learn, this will happen at approximately 6 weeks of age. He starts to learn where his place is in the pack pecking order.

His mother teaches him to respect authority in her own loving way. When puppy's play rough with their brothers and sisters this makes him less sensitive to body contact and noise, it also teaches him a valuable lesson on how to behave socially in the canine world.

8 TO 12 WEEKS

At this stage more than anything your puppy needs to feel secure and safe. This is the "fear imprint period" when puppy's can easily be traumatized and may never forget a bad experience for life. Some puppy's are affected worst then others, so it isn't a good idea to take your dog bungee jumping. At this age puppy's love to learn as long as your teaching is gentle and understanding. This age is ideal for them to leave their mother, brothers and sisters and become a member of your family.

Take him with you into a controlled environment for example the backyard and then place him down walk away and let him follow you. This will teach him that you are the leader of the pack and he is a faithful loyal follower, also create situations where you can do this with other family members including the children. Don't let your puppy interact with other dogs until he has been fully vaccinated.

12 TO 16 WEEKS

Your puppy should be fully vaccinated by this age . During this age your puppy will need a heap of attention and social activities both being human / canine. Keep up the basic training with him for example come and sit, but remember to be gentle and give him a lot of positive reinforcement (food treats , praise etc.) to help build his confidence.

16 WEEKS TO 6 MONTHS

The juvenile period begins at 16 weeks. While your dog is 85% developed mentally he has still some physical and emotional growing to do before he can have the attention span of an adult dog. The key to success here is to be consistent in your training and expectation of him so he doesn't get confused. Take him with you to interact with humans and other dogs in the park, have short upbeat training sessions, make them FUN and positive and try to blend his training into everyday activities, for example when you feed him get him to sit and wait while you prepare his dinner.

6 TO 12 MONTHS

Your puppy has now reached puberty or sexual maturity. During this developed stage, young male dogs may exhibit some dominant pushy behavior. If you are going to desex your dog now would be a good time to consider it otherwise stay consistent with your training whether it be obedience or fun tricks.

12 TO 30 MONTHS

This is when your puppy becomes an adult dog. Depending largely on how your dog has developed through the various stages to the point of adulthood will determine of whether you have a stable confident dog who will be a loyal companion for life...