Your 12 week old puppy
Your puppy will be growing rapidly and getting to grips to the world around them.
Things to do this week:
Puppy training
It’s time for school! If your puppy has had all their vaccinations, they’re ready to start school.
Teething relief
Your puppy will be losing their baby teeth to make room for their adult teeth. Make sure they have plenty of teething chews to prevent your puppy from gnawing away on your favourite shoes! Keep any precious items out of reach of your puppy.
Meeting other dogs
Once your puppy has been fully vaccinated, they will be ready to leave the safety of the garden and meet other dogs. It’s a good idea to find someone who has a well-behaved dog and arrange a play date to help your puppy to get used to being around another dog, before you introduce them to the park. A good puppy training class will also provide opportunities for their ‘students’ to interact with each other off the lead.
Common questions you may ask this week
Can a 12 week old puppy sleep through the night?
Some puppies will be sleeping through the night by now – but others may still wake in the night to pee. The sleepless nights may feel as though they will never end but they will. Stick to a good toilet training routine and your efforts will soon pay off.
- Read more about why puppies cry at night.
How long can you leave a 12 week old puppy?
At 12 weeks, your puppy will feel anxious if they are left alone for long. As part of your puppy’s training, you will need to teach them to be left alone. Gradually build up the time you spend away from them so they get used to the idea that you will come back. Start by leaving them alone in another room of the house for short amounts of time. Give them a tasty filled Kong or another interactive feeding toy to focus on and enjoy while you are out of the room.
Puppies are social animals and prefer company rather than being on their own, so if you will need to regularly leave your dog during the day, for example, while you are at work, then your dog is likely to be much happier going to doggy day care, a dog sitter or dog walker.
My 12 week old puppy keeps biting
Puppies can often bite as part of the teething phase but it may also be their way of exploring the world – puppies use their mouths rather than their hands to find their way about and is normal puppy behaviour. You can help your puppy to learn to be gentle and not nip or bite. Make sure you have lots of good quality teething toys and chews to divert them away from biting you.
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Testimonials
What Clients say
about Puppy School
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“Catherine went out of her way to make sure we all understood how dogs should treated in their early life, she always tried to include every puppy in every exercise and made sure we all fun. ”— Serena
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“We loved the training sessions ! Boyce loved seeing his puppy friends and the training really helped give us a bit of confidence with lots of support offered. ”— Terry
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“It was just a great course, it helped so much with our confidence in training Lucky correctly, and watching his confidence grow from being super nervous when he started, to the outgoing bundle he is now. Puppy School has been amazing!”— Erica
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“The training was invaluable in helping me to ensure Toby developed new skills as he grew into the confident, well behaved pup that he is. The training taught me how to be a successful puppy parent, and we are both looking forward to starting puppy college. ”— Mary
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“Claire, is so knowledgeable, patient and very helpful. Amber and I thoroughly enjoyed the six week course. It has certainly helped Amber to understand simple commands. Even though I have owned dogs before, Claire has taught me a lot too. A big thank you Claire. ”— Thomas