11/22/2025
Acquiring an in-home raised Yorkie can make all the difference in his temperament throughout his life. Freedman, King & Elliott Science: There's a "critical period" for social learning roughly between 3-12 weeks, peaking around 6-8 weeks. Gazzano et al. (2008) —Applied Animal Behavior Science:
They gently handled and played with one group of puppies daily from 3-12 weeks, and compared them to puppies who weren't handled. Puppies raised in rich, positive environments (varied sounds, people, textures, and gentle human touch) had significantly lower rates of fear and aggression as adults. Stolzlechner et al. (2022) — Animals (MDPI)
The 3–12 week period is consistently proven to be critical for developing stable social and emotional behavior.
