Puppies are born completely deaf — their ears are sealed shut, and for two whole weeks, the world is perfectly silent to them.

When a puppy tumbles into the world, it cannot hear a single sound. Its ear canals are closed, sealed tight. The puppy knows its mother by warmth and smell and touch — not by a bark, not by a voice, not by any sound at all.

Then, around two weeks old, the ears open. Imagine that — two weeks of quiet, and then suddenly: rustling, voices, the world in sound. Puppies hear a broader range of frequencies than we do, so that first rush of sound must be extraordinary.

We forget that all babies — puppies, kittens, humans — arrive into the world before they are quite finished. Each sense comes online gently. There is wisdom in that slowness. The world is introduced one sense at a time, like pages of a book turning softly.

Sit quietly with your baby for one minute. No talking, no music. Listen to what you can both hear — a bird, the wind, distant traffic. Babies hear everything, and they are always listening.