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Genetics plays a big role in temperament, but nothing is more important for your puppy's development than the way in which it is handled and socialized during the first 12 weeks of age. This is why buying puppy from a breeder that is not in a rush to get the dog off to the new home, but instead wants the puppy a little longer to make sure it is properly trained and socialized. When breeder wants to get rid of a puppy before 9 weeks of age, I would be very leary and look for another breeder. Our puppies do not leave before 10 weeks of age and often even later, especially if the family is new to owning a Great Dane (Giant Breeds).

Period	Days	Basic Needs	Mental Capacity	Trainability	Special Notes
1	0-20 days 1-3 wks	warmth food sleep mother	nearly zero	none	little or no handling by humans
2	4th	warmth food sleep mother	all senses function Awareness of living beings	slight	extreme critical period. do not remove from litter or mother human contact should be carefully controlled
3	5-7 wks	Canines Socialization within litter _________ Socialization with humans	Capable of responding to voices Ability to recognize people	developing	awareness of difference between human and canine
4	8-12 wks	Remove from litter and mother influence Supervised human socialization Love / Security Supervised play with children Requires new mother image/leader for security	Brain waves can be recorded Ability to establish permanent (wo)man/dog relationship Ability to establish confidence Capable of accepting gentle discipline	Ability to learn respect Capable of learning simple responses: Come, Sit, No, Stay Begin Housebreaking Begins fetch games Learning by association	children and other animals should not be allowed to scare or hurt puppy Intro to other humans is impoirtant but must be controlled to minimize adverse conditioning Exposure to loud noises needs to be introduced gradually: autos, vacuum, washing maching, etc
5	13-16 wks	Love Attention Discipline Socialization Security	Fully Developed only needs experience Will attempt to establish self as dominant being Mind still being influenced	Capable of undergoing formal obedience training Capable of adopting a positive or negative attitude toward training	Obedience trainers should be selected with great care, the puppy's mind is still under the influence. No heavy handedness. Praise for correct behavior, oral response is most effective training tool. Meaningful praise is highly important to shape positive attitude.

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