German Shepherd
Popularity: №4
Origin: Germany
full info about breed >>
6 Weeks Old
So, your puppy is already 6 weeks old. At that point, it is still under its mother’s cover, but already can perform many tasks pretty well, such as confidently walking. Though it is still getting used to the world it lives in, it is socializing and making new friends, getting to know its owner (You) better.
Thus, this age is one of the most important points in the puppy’s life. You’ve got to help your pet advance and learn, and, in the end, you will get a very good dog. Also, 6 weeks is the age at which you should eliminate bad habits, and teach a German Shepherd bite inhibition.
Size and Weight
The puppy’s size and weight are still pretty small, compared to an adult dog. Though it is gained at a very high rate, as a trade-off, the dog needs a lot of food to keep up that energy.
On average, a 1.5 month old puppy’s maximum height may be around 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm). And the weight will be around 3.5 lbs (7 kg) for males and 3 lbs (6 kg) for females. This is around 10% of the full adult’s growth and weight.
Also, at the age of 6 weeks, your German Shepherd will grow at the fastest rate in his early life.
Bite Inhibition
As well as everything above, during this young age, the puppy has to understand some things about biting. In particular, the biting inhibition. Without proper training, the pup may (and probably will) bite uncontrollably, for any possible reason, in the future. And you surely understand what that means.
But how do you train it:
- Firstly, at that young age, any dog will get distracted and probably will stop any action (including biting) if it hears a loud noise. As such, you may as well emit this voice any time a dog comes to bite you or somebody else.
- What you might also do is signal the said dog to stop by touching it on it’s nose or a chin, perhaps giving it a toy before it starts biting.
- Don’t stop the biting completely, or it may not defend you by biting when needed. Alternatively, insist on stopping the bite only when it exceeds some set “strength limit”. Otherwise, you can let the dog play with you and train its teeth.
- Perhaps you can teach your puppy a couple of commands, like “stop” and such. They would be very helpful in the future as well, if you plan on continuing the training.
Care
When the puppy is still under a strong defense of it’s mother, that defense is starting to get lighter to prepare the puppy for his future life. Hence you will also need to care for the said puppy with more effort.
For example, sometimes the babies may get ill due to their immunity wearing down because of growth and age. And that means that sometimes the puppy will need medical attention. Take it to a medical clinic etc. But still, don’t separate one from it’s mother.
The German Shepherd is still too young for that. Also, never leave the dog inside a closed house for too long. Let them breathe with fresh outside air from time to time. Probably the mother will walk and guide her puppies on such walks.
Conclusion
In the end, caring for the puppy in the age of 6 weeks is about the same, as if the dog was 5 weeks old. Though there are some differences, including the bite inhibition training, increased amount of care, as well as the effort to help your puppy develop into a strong and representative adult German Shepherd.
So good luck with making them the best as well. And thank you for reading.
