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Your guide to raising and caring for your Australian Labradoodle

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Newborn Puppy Facts

I always laugh when someone starts asking about the temperament of the puppies at this stage. Puppies prior to six weeks of age are nearly impossible to evaluate for temperament. They still have so much development to achieve between birth and week six.  Did you know that puppies cannot even pass stools or urinate on their own for the first few weeks of life?  A momma dog must stimulate a puppy’s bowls by licking the puppy. Some see this as keeping a puppy clean or nurturing the babies but in reality the momma is stimulating the puppy’s bowls and helping them pass stools and urine.   Without doing this puppies would build a toxic level of bile acids that could cause them to die.

Puppies are an altricial species they are born before they are fully developed in contrast to precocial species who can stand and walk around within hours of birth?

Apart from not being able to stand puppies are not yet fully developed. Their eyes and ears are sealed shut to protect them while they continue to develop. It will take a puppy months of development to achieve what other mammals can do shortly after birth.
 

There is a huge social aspect to this. Precocial species are able to wander off and get lost moments after birth. It is for their protection that they imprint and bond with their mother and distrust and fear everything else. In contrast, altricial species cannot wander off for weeks or even months after birth so they will always be under the protection of their mother. They have a long and flexible social period. It is because of this that humans and dogs are able to bond so closely.

This biome must be managed perfectly to achieve all of the needs of a puppy to grow and develop past the neonatal state of being an infant.

Where The Right Match Begins

At Noble Vestal Labradoodles, we don’t just raise puppies. We raise your next family member.
Exceptional Australian Labradoodles, thoughtfully raised and carefully matched to their forever families.
Begin your journey today.