Man, a Trustworthy Friend

By three months old, the young dog knows one thing for sure: man is his friend. But this does not come by instinct!

Ever since the beginning of domestication, man, as always, has been the one to take the first step. Used to taking the lead, he holds out his hand toward the newborn puppy who has a heightened sense of smell and is already equipped with tactile and sucking abilities. The young canine sniffs the human hand, sizes up the contact and licks the skin to see how it tastes. He seeks out the warmth it emits (he will not acquire his definitive body temperature until he is ten days old). By surrendering himself completely to the palm or nestling into the hollow of the hand, he imagines himself next to the body of one of his brothers or sisters. Until three weeks old, puppies know no fear of humans and trust them completely. The hand is the very first link established between dogs and humans. Each day as he is weighed, he breathes in this peculiar odor while searching around with his nose just like he does with the mother's breast. However, the human hand is not his only discovery. He also discovers the voice of his owner, which he begins to hear at twenty-one days, when socialization begins. A complete sound and light show! He is seventeen days old when he sees the color and shape of this soft, warm hand.

This is precisely the age when his conditioned reflexes trigger communication. He acts with his owner like he does with his mother. Still under the effects of neoteny for quite some time (i.e. he keeps baby ways), he uses his voice. He barks at ten days, but he is not heard yelping until three weeks - to make his owner aware of his minor hurts. He whines and the person feels summoned. This is the first weapon of seduction.

And as for the mouth? Although he licks his mother with the corners of his lips to make her regurgitate food for him, this is also a sign of submission and a sign of appeasement. The human who is licked on the face in this manner takes it to be a declaration of friendship.

As the puppy assimilates the rules of pack life more and more (between four and seven weeks), he applies the same communication codes with humans and follows the same dominant-submissive hierarchy.

At six weeks, however, the bond must be renewed. The battle is not over. Fear of man sets in. This reaction can already be sensed at twenty-five days when the young canine pulls back from an unknown hand. A fight or flight reaction - trust begins to unravel. De-socialization may occur. The game has not been won yet. This is when man must really understand psychology in order to win the dog over to him. Raising your voice is out of the question! Be careful not to make abrupt movements! The hand that made the first contact must now lavish caresses. The fate of the dog is in the hands of the owner. This is when, after distancing himself from humans, he will cease to have doubts about them. The dog is now between ten and twelve weeks old. His friendship with humans becomes unshakable.

Brigitte Bullard-Cordeau

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