Puppies don't grow linearly; they grow in lurches, and each lurch comes with its own surprise (teeth in the sofa, sudden fear of umbrellas, an adult bark nobody ordered). Knowing the sequence turns most "is this normal?!" panics into "ah, right on schedule."
Months 2–3: arrival and imprinting
Most puppies come home at 8–10 weeks, mid-way through their critical socialisation window (roughly 3–14 weeks). Whatever they meet now, surfaces, sounds, hats, children, vacuum cleaners, gets filed as "normal" for life. You can't take an under-vaccinated puppy everywhere yet (see the shot schedule), but you can carry them: let them watch traffic from your arms, hear the café, meet calm vaccinated dogs at home. Expect: needle teeth, no bladder to speak of, sleep in heaps of 18+ hours a day.
Month 4: the teething apocalypse
Baby teeth start falling out around 14–16 weeks; adult teeth push through until about month 6–7. Everything within reach becomes a chew toy, including you. Frozen carrots and rubber chews save furniture. You'll occasionally find a tiny tooth on the floor, that's a milestone, not an emergency. Take the photo.
Months 4–5: first fear period
A perfectly confident puppy suddenly decides the recycling bin is a predator. Fear periods are normal neurological phases where novel things get flagged as threats. Don't force contact and don't coddle dramatically, just be boring and let them recover at their own pace. It passes in a week or two.
Months 6–9: adolescence begins
- Selective hearing: the recall you were so proud of temporarily evaporates. Hormones and brain remodelling, not defiance. Go back to the long line and treats; it returns.
- Adult coat: puppy fluff sheds out and the real coat grows in, often a different shade. Fluffy breeds go through a memorable awkward phase.
- Spay/neuter conversations happen around here; for large breeds many vets now suggest waiting past growth-plate closure. Ask yours, not the internet.
- The adult bark arrives one day, surprising everyone including the puppy.
Months 9–12: almost a dog
Growth slows (small breeds are essentially done; large breeds keep filling out to 18–24 months). A second, milder fear period can drift through between 6 and 14 months. Energy peaks, this is when proper walk structure starts paying dividends, because an adolescent dog with a job is a good dog, and one without is a home renovator.
The first birthday
One year of survival on both ends of the leash. Cake optional (peanut butter, no xylitol, check the label), hat mandatory for at least one photo.
The moments worth recording
Ask anyone with a five-year-old dog what they regret and the answer is a variant of "not taking more pictures of the small stuff." The photogenic milestones, gotcha day, first birthday, get captured. The ones that vanish: the first time the ears stood up, the lost-tooth week, the awkward coat, first beach, first snow, the specific way a 4kg puppy slept in a shoe. A dog journal exists for exactly this: Pawport turns each of these into a stamped passport page, and its on-device photo scanning even flags dog photos you forgot to stamp. The first year fills a passport faster than any other.
