Developmental milestones, more so than weight or height, are crucial to puppy development. Learning to identify them can help you know know whether your puppy (or puppies) are developing normally. 

Birth to 3 Weeks

No German Shepherd puppies are born looking like the breed standard. They have large heads, tiny legs and their coat types and colors can be difficult to predict. The are born deaf and blind and are completely dependent on their mothers for food and warmth. They spend 90 percent of their time sleeping. They also need stimulation (licking from their mom) for urination and defecation.

Milestones to watch for:

Week 1 – Actively crawling
Day 10-12 – eyes and ears begin to open
Week 2 – eyes and ears should be fully open, milk teeth should begin to erupt and they should start eliminating on their own without stimulus
Talk to your puppies often. They need to become accustomed to hearing human voices even though the ears are not fully developed. Attempts at walking begins.

3-12 Weeks

Now that puppies can interact with the world and creatures around them, they begin to do so. It’s vital to begin socializing puppies at this point to become accustomed to humans.

Puppies should remain with their mother during this entire period even if they’re already weaned. There are dog social skills that the mother teaches her puppies during this stage. If they are taken from their mother too early, they may have trouble interacting with other dogs later in life.

Milestones:

• Walking well (3 weeks)
• Initiating play with littermates and humans (week 4)
• Have most if not all of their teeth (week 4)
• Demonstrate adult behaviors including mounting and greeting by sniffing tails (week 6)
• Fear response (a period that occurs from 6-8 weeks of age)
• Can begin housebreaking (week 7)
• Ears begin to stand upright (week 12)

8-10 Days. The eyes begin to open and should do so in a clean manner without discharge at the corners or around the lids. 

3 Weeks. Puppies begin getting on their feet. Make sure they are kept on a surface that provides good traction. Slick surfaces, like newspaper, can be difficult to stand on. Some believe poor footing surfaces can contribute to hip and leg issues later in life, so always provide good walking surfaces during this critical stage of development. The pups should also be able to see and hear well by this time and ready to start their critical socialization processes. Three to nine weeks of age is when puppies develop almost all of their social skills and developmental characteristics. What does and does not happen to them during this time can dictate the type of adult dogs they will become. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of frequent handling and socialization at this stage in their lives.

At three weeks of age, and sometimes sooner, you can start intro­ducing other food sources to your puppies, especially if the litter is large. It is at this time that puppies are most demanding on mom and you never want your German Shepherd to start ‘feeding the puppies off her back’ to where she becomes thin and begins losing her coat.

4-5 weeks. The pups should be eating strongly on their own and not requiring much from the bitch. Four meals daily is usually required. The puppies should be active for longer periods of time and will have begun playing with each other and with their dam.

6 weeks. All puppies should be walking firmly and eating solid foods. You can see the characters of the puppies emerging—the bold ones, the cuddly ones, the escape artists and the clowns.

8 weeks. Puppies should be given their first series of puppy vaccina­tions and be ready for their new homes.

10+ weeks. Because German Shepherds are large dogs, there will be limited homes available for them in your area and most airlines will not ship live animals in temperatures above 90˚ or below 40˚. If your litter is large, your area could soon become saturated with available puppy buyers and the frightening state can arise when the last three or four puppies are growing large and lanky, eating a great deal and needing individual training—yet no one seems interested in buying them. The attractive age at which puppies are saleable is quite short. Many buyers are reluctant to take puppies after 12-16 weeks, feeling that they have missed out on the endearing baby stage. After four months, the value of your puppies as companions can drop dramatically unless you have spent a lot of time training and socializing them yourself. This is why we cannot emphasize enough the importance of having puppy homes lined up before your litter is born.

Juvenile Period: 3-6 Months

At this point, puppy development begins to slow down as they have done most of the developing they need and will now primarily just grow larger. Near the end of this stage is when you’ll want to start puppy classes and start training your puppy.

Milestones:

• Have all puppy teeth (month 3)
• Improved motor skills (month 3)
• Begin getting adult teeth (month 4)

Sexual Maturity Period: 6-16 Months

As you already guessed, this is the point at which your German Shepherd will reach sexual maturity. By the end of this stage, they will mostly look like an adult dog, though they’ll still have some growing to do.

The most important thing you should do for your dog at this point is spay or neuter them. If you are planning on breeding your dog, then you’ll need to make sure they have good hips and overall formation to improve the breed.

Milestones:

• Have all adult teeth (6 months)
• Intact females begin having heat cycles (6 months)
• Ears are standing upright on their own (6 months)
• Intact males reach sexual maturity (7 months)
• Strong pack bonds are formed (16 months)

Transition to Adult Period: 16-36 Months

At this point, there are no more major milestones for your German Shepherd to reach. They will, however, continue to grow during this time.

Female German Shepherds aren’t considered to be fully-grown until they are at least 24 months whereas some males aren’t seen as adults until 36 months.

Throughout this period, you should continue to feed them a high-quality food for German Shepherds to ensure that they grow at the proper rate, allowing their hips to develop normally. By the end of this period, they should reach their adult weight.

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