8–10 Weeks: Understanding Your Puppy's Development

At 8–10 weeks, your puppy begins one of the most important stages of puppy development. Having recently left their breeder or rescue, they're learning to adapt to a completely new home, build strong attachments with their new family and understand the world around them. This lesson explains why your puppy follows you everywhere, why puppy biting, chewing, mouthing and exploring are completely normal, and how understanding canine development makes puppy training easier and far less stressful. You'll discover why successful puppy toilet training, toilet training, crate training, socialisation and recall training all depend on working with your puppy's developing brain rather than expecting adult behaviour too soon. This science-based puppy course explains why young puppies have limited bladder control, poor impulse control and an overwhelming curiosity that naturally leads to puppy biting, chewing and exploring everything with their mouths. Rather than viewing these behaviours as problems, you'll learn how to use structured routines, environmental management and positive puppy training to build lifelong habits. Understanding normal puppy development helps prevent frustration, reduces common behaviour problems and creates the foundations for successful puppy toilet training, reliable recall, confident socialisation, loose lead walking and a calm, well-adjusted companion. As part of the How Not To F*ck Your Puppy Up puppy course from the Institute of Applied Canine Science, this lesson provides the scientific knowledge every puppy owner needs to raise a confident, happy and well-behaved dog through every stage of early puppy development.

Why is my puppy biting and chewing everything at 8 weeks old?
Learn why puppy biting, chewing and mouthing are normal parts of puppy development, and discover the science-based solutions inside the How Not To F*ck Your Puppy Up puppy course.

How do I stop my puppy having toilet accidents in the house?
Master puppy toilet training and toilet training with step-by-step guidance from the Institute of Applied Canine Science puppy course, designed around your puppy's natural development.

When should I start recall training and socialisation with my puppy?
Find out the best time to begin recall training, socialisation and every stage of puppy training with the complete How Not To F*ck Your Puppy Up course, using proven, science-based methods.