--- title: A puppy at home: the first weeks — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «A puppy at home: the first weeks», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A puppy's first weeks in a new home are like a baby's first weeks at nursery: everything is new, a bit scary and very exciting. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / A puppy at home: the first weeks # A puppy at home: the first weeks Lesson 326 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 17 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/0/) — A puppy's first weeks in a new home are like a baby's first weeks at nursery: everything is new, a bit scary and very exciting. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/1/) — It has left its mother, brothers and sisters and the warm pile where it slept. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/2/) — Picture the first night: the puppy cries in the dark kitchen because it misses that warm pile. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/3/) — A cosy bed nearby and a calm voice help it settle over a few nights. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/4/) — A puppy chews, nips and wees on the carpet not to be naughty but because it is a baby: its teeth are growing, it explores with its mouth and its bladder is tiny. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/6/) — The first months are when a puppy learns what is safe, so it meets buses, bikes, children and calm dogs, carried in arms until its vaccinations are done. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/7/) — A new puppy often cries at night because it misses its mother and littermates, and puppies sleep about 18 hours a day while they grow. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/8/) — Puppies chew while their teeth grow and to explore; a puppy has 28 baby teeth and a grown dog has 42. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/9/) — A puppy has a tiny bladder, so taking it outside after waking, eating and playing, and praising it there, teaches it quickly; telling it off for accidents makes it hide to wee. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/10/) — Puppies need their vaccinations before walking where other dogs go, because serious illnesses spread through dog poo and spit; until then a puppy can be carried outside. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/11/) — The first few months are when a puppy learns what is safe, and this learning window starts closing at around three months old; puppies that meet many calm new things grow into calmer dogs. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/12/) — Puppies learn how hard to bite by playing with their littermates; if a person says «ouch» and stops the game, the puppy learns gentle mouths keep the fun going. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/13/) — A puppy's needle-sharp baby teeth fall out at about four to six months. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/14/) — Puppies are born deaf and blind, their eyes open at about two weeks, and in Britain it is against the law to sell a puppy younger than eight weeks. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/15/) — Saying the puppy's name and rewarding a look with a tiny treat teaches the name, and short games of a few minutes work better than long lessons. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/17/) — Most dogs have 18 toes: four on each paw plus a thumb-like dewclaw high on each front leg that does not touch the ground. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/326-a-puppy-at-home-the-first-weeks/18/) — Some breeds, like the Norwegian puffin dog, have six toes on each foot for climbing cliffs. - ← previous: [Choosing a pet: the questions to ask first](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/325-choosing-a-pet-the-questions-to-ask-first/) - next →: [A kitten at home: litter trays, scratching posts and play](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/327-a-kitten-at-home-litter-trays-scratching-posts-and-play/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)