Puppy Cam

“Sit,” says SSD Martha’s puppy raiser. The little yellow lab in front of her plops to the floor and she clicks and treats the puppy. Over the next 15-18 months, SSD Martha will practice many more cues and behaviors as she learns how to become an assistance dog. Her volunteer puppy raiser makes it all possible!

You can become a puppy raiser, too. Visit our website to learn how you can welcome a puppy into your home and make a difference in people’s lives.

Puppy Milestones

Everything you see on the puppy cam helps give these puppies a solid foundation for their assistance dog training. You’ll see different objects in the whelping box, and you may even see the puppies visiting different parts of their whelping family’s home.

Here are a few milestones to look for:

Week 1:

Puppies twitch and move a lot in their sleep. They use their sense of smell to explore their surroundings.

Week 2:

The puppies’ eyes and ears open, and the pups begin crawling backwards.

Week 3:

The puppies start standing and begin to play.

Week 4:

The puppies should be actively playing with each other and wagging their tails. They’ll also start eating out of a dish.

Week 5:

Puppies start playing with toys.

Week 6:

The puppies are learning how to really use their paws and mouths and control their bodies.

Weeks 7-8:

Puppies are almost fully developed. You should be able to see the pups’ personalities.