What are some ways to tell puppy age?


My relatives tell me this puppy is only 4 weeks old but I'm really thinking that bunk.

her teeth are really well developed and she's holding down moist food really good. She can even crunch some dry kibble.


the main thing I notice, is the pup can hold it's bowels. If I take her poopy at 9-10 pm, she will not mess all night and go first thing in the morning. If I take her poopy at 6 am before work, I can come home at 5 and there not be a mess and she'll go as soon as we get home and I get her in grass. She is aldready figuring out to whine at the doorway around the time to go potty.

I'll get home at 5, she'll go out for pooy immediately with no issue, feed her at 6:30 she won't need to potty until about 9 or 10, (I'll take her out right after food but she just thinks it's play time) and then put her to bed at about 10:30ish, get up at 5:30 feed her again, out for potty, she does it immediately (almost) and then I put her back in the ferret room and there won't be any mess.



Is that a good indication of age? Because i don't know any 4 week old puppy that can hold their bowel movements at all, let alone pretty much be on a good schedule.


Keep in mind, this puppy has been outside it's whole life except when I brought her home Sunday. I've been fully expecting to be doing mess duty, but I'm having what I consider to be the easiest potty training time I've ever had.


I take her to the vet either tomorrow or Friday (depending on what's going on) but I want to know this before I go in. I find it very strange I'm having no potty training trouble.



Also, last night she slept til 4:15 before waking up howling, but I simply went in there, scruffed her, put her back in the bed, waited til she wandered out whining again, repeated the "scruff and stuff" and she fell back asleep with little to no issue (I still had to wake up at 5:30 for work *sigh)


btw, for those who don't know, "scruffing" is when you play like their momma and pick them up by the "scruff"(hat loose saggy skin) of their neck. It's harmless to puppy, but I wouldn't do it to a full grown dog. It's a mother thing and unless you have an agressive dog, it shouldn't warrent a bite of any kind.


Also, I've been mostly just redirecting her chewing to toys instead of toes. She's not trying to bite, she's just teething.

If your puppy is still teething then it likely between the ages of 2-5 months old. However, if she is not teething and merely a chewer (as some dogs are throughout their life) then this won't help you as much.

All puppies get their adult fur before 1 year of age. When their adult fur comes in, they shed that soft puppy fur completely within 2 weeks.

It is quite possible that your puppy is 4-5 months old. All puppies are different as far as housebreaking goes so it can't always be an indicator of age.

If your puppy has all of her adult teeth but has not yet shed her fur then she will be between 6-12 months of age.

Hope this helps.

From what you describe she sounds more like she's 4 months than 4 weeks!

I seriously think that myself.


Here is a picture off of my cousin's website.

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/55980101/ This is my little nickie.

She is actually twice this size because if I hold her like this, there double the dog visible and my cousin and I are the same size heh.


I seriously think this puppy is closer to 4 months.

How long ago was that picture taken? The puppy in that picture isn't even close to 4 months. I'd give it about 6 weeks at most, 4 weeks isn't far off the mark, especially if it is a medium sized breed. Puppies that age actually can start potty training pretty well if supervised according to a magazine article I read a while back. The author bred German Shepherds and took the puppies out at that age regularly to go potty. By the time the puppies were 8 weeks old and ready to go home, they knew what "go potty" meant and would follow the cue pretty reliable.

I don't know and I can't get an aswer.. they keep telling me "some time ago". I do know she is twice the size now than in that picture.

I'm going to move to a harder food now because I honestly think she's closer to 4 months than 4 weeks.


You know that old adage "an exhausted dog is a good dog"? Her's a supplement:

An exhausted owner who neglects to take puppy out for the nightly romp in favor of an early bedtime, is a bad owner who won't get a lick of sleep from a hyper nighttime puppy.



it's a bit longer.. but meh. I was so tired last night i didn't want to fool with the night time romp around and since she was already alseep I figured "let sleeping dogs lie" and tucked her in her bed and went to sleep myself. At 1 am she woke up, started howling and nothing I could do would make her go back to sleep *cry

Noooo more of that. I will NOT neglect in after work play time. no siree not me again. No. not me *snores at desk


I'm either going after work tonight, or after work tomorrow for our vet check.*pray


Something I noticed I wonder if I should be worried about. She seems to be having some issue coordinating back legs and often takes to hopping around like a rabbit. Should that concern me? Or is it just because she's young?

Maybe the vet can tell me... I know I'll be asking him 400 questions.

Yeah, I would give it about 5 or 6 weeks. Yeah, you got a really great point there sugarbird.

Puppies will often have a hard time coordinating their legs at first. However, you should definitely mention the behavior to your vet so he can check for nuerological disorders such as parvo. If she has not had any puppy shots and lived outside all her life before you, there is a possibility of disease. It's most likely puppy behavior, but be sure to mention it.

Doing the bunny hop (moving both back legs together instead of independantly) is a key indicator of hip disease. However, she may be going like this just because she's young. Keep an eye on how she moves, and if the bunny hop continues, have your vet check her for hip displasia. Congrats on the new puppy, and hope she outgrows the bunny hop.

How Much Does It Weigh?
-If it weighs over 12 pounds then its over 12 weeks old probally

Has She Lost All Her Teeth And Grown Adult Ones Yet?
-If she has then she is probaly around 5-6 months I'd say.

-From your details she sounds about four-five months old to me