German Shepherd Puppies — The First Few Weeks
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Newborns. German Shepherd puppies are not born looking like the breed standard. They have large heads, tiny legs and their coat types and colors are virtually impossible to predict. They are born deaf and blind and are totally dependent on their dam. At birth, breeders label each puppy with a unique collar color and their weights are documented. Puppies are weighed daily to ensure they are growing properly. Even the loss of an ounce can indicate a serious problem in newborns, so monitoring is crucial. Dams and puppies should also be examined by a veterinarian on day two or three to check for complications, defects and overall health. Newborns are born with pink noses that turn black within during the first week of life.
8-10 Days. The puppies’ eyes begin to open and they should do so in a clean manner without discharge at the corners or around the lids. Even though the ears are not fully developed and hearing does not come for several more days, breeders talk to the puppies every time they see them to get them accustomed to hearing human voices.
The puppies should be very mobile and vocal at this age. It’s quite an experience to see puppies open their eyes for the first time.
3 Weeks. Your puppies should be 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 will 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.
Additionally 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 Shiloh 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 of your 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. Your puppies should be given their first series of puppy vaccinations and be ready for their new homes. If you have waited until this stage to start finding homes for your puppies, you could have a rough road ahead.
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.
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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
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