At 3 weeks old social behaviors begin to emerge.
Photo courtesy of Tom Schaefges and Harriet Weatherford
During the transition period social behaviors begin to merge including play fighting, potty postures, and more vocalizations than just distress calling. Gently exposing the pups to all types of stimuli for short periods each day during this period is likely to enhance development. A simple type of exercise involves allowing the pups to crawl or walk on surfaces with differing textures and temperatures or exposing them to objects of varying shapes or low noise stimuli.