a Great Pyrenees pup

A puppy is a juvenile dog, generally less than one year of age that has not reached the equivalent of dog puberty yet. The term is sometimes abbreviated to pup, a term which is also used for the offspring of wolves. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 396 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1431 × 2166 pixel, file size: 250 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) chiot de 2mois, de race montagne des pyrenees ou patou auteur: Agnes CARTIER MILLON date: 15 mai 2005 license: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 396 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1431 × 2166 pixel, file size: 250 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) chiot de 2mois, de race montagne des pyrenees ou patou auteur: Agnes CARTIER MILLON date: 15 mai 2005 license: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the... Pyrenean Mountain Dog Categories: Stub | Dog breeds ... Juvenile (left) and adult (right) leaves of Stone Pine A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... Wolves may refer to: Gray Wolf Other uses of Wolf: see Wolf (disambiguation) Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Category: ...

Puppies are very playful and active. A lethargic or listless puppy is uncommon, and oftentimes a precursor to illness.^{[citation needed]}.

Types

Some breeds traditionally have their tails docked or ears cropped, or both. Many countries now ban cropping and docking for cosmetic purposes, but other countries have no such prohibitions. Some breeders prefer to remove a dog's dewclaws to prevent future injuries. These procedures are usually performed within the first few days after birth, by a veterinarian, or by an experienced breeder. Docking is used as a term for the intentional removal of part of an animals tail or ears. ... The dogs front dewclaw grows on the side of the foot, above the other four toes but below the rear heelpad. ... Look up veterinarian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Size varies among breeds, some puppies are 1-3 lbs, while others are 15-20 lbs. Coats can change color as the puppy grows older, as commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier. The Yorkshire Terrier, (diminutive / nickname: Yorkie), is a breed of small dog in the toy category. ...

Training

newborn Golden Retriever puppies

Training puppies is not always easy: it requires a lot of work, as they do not know right from wrong and must rely on the owner for guidance. Often, aggressive or skittish dogs can be blamed on the owner's lack of discipline and training.^{[citation needed]} It is critical for their socialization that they interact often with humans and be exposed to a variety of objects and situations. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 149 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 149 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Golden Retriever is a popular breed of dog, originally developed to retrieve downed fowl during hunting. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Training of basic obedience can begin at the same time, although recommendations for how intense and how soon vary. Training for young puppies is generally recommended to be light, gentle, and fun; more like a game than an exercise. Most formal puppy classes accept puppies starting at three months of age, although some provide socialization classes for younger pups. Local dog trainers may also offer some in home training for younger puppies. Most dog owners start out with these classes.^{[citation needed]}

Housebreaking can begin by the time the puppy is two to three months old, although they usually do not have enough control of their bladder to be completely housebroken until they are six months to a year old.^{[citation needed]} Many find that using training pads is an effective method of housebreaking.^{[citation needed]} Others prefer to use a crate training method. Housebreaking is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house to eliminate (urinate and defecate) outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than inside the house. ...

Sources

This article is missing citations and/or footnotes. This article contains insufficiently sourced phrases. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. You may improve the article or discuss this issue on its talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since June 2007. Image File history File links Information. ...

• Cunliffe, Juliette (2004). The Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds. Parragon Publishing. ISBN 0-7525-8276-3. 
• Fogle, Bruce (2000). The New Encyclopedia of the Dog. Doring Kindersley (DK). ISBN 0-7894-6130-7. 
• Mehus-Roe, Kristin (2005). in (editor): Dog Bible. BowTie. ISBN 1-931993-34-3. 

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Puppies

• Dog reproduction