Post by Zesha on Sept 30, 2021 17:40:36 GMT -5
Aging
One real-life day = one in character day, so on the first of each month, an announcement will be made for members to update their characters to be another month/moon older. However, there are possibly a few things you might want to know aside from that, so here’s how aging will look:
Puppy: 0-6 Moons
The most important stage of a canine’s life is during this time. They go from being a newborn, blind and deaf, to learning how to be a canine so that they can then learn the intricacies of being part of a pack. Here’s roughly how they age:
1-2 weeks: Pups are completely dependent on mom. Senses of touch and taste are present at birth. They can only crawl for now.
2-4 weeks: Their eyes open by two weeks old. Hearing and smell are developing, and their baby teeth are emerging. They even begin to walk, bark, and wag their tails. Weaning also begins at around 3 weeks.[/ul]
5 weeks: Sight is fully developed.
6 weeks: From 4 weeks old to now, they learn to play and gain valuable social skills from their mother and littermates.
8 weeks: Pups start experiencing fear, and even something like a butterfly might startle them. It’s ok though, they’ll learn. By now they are also fully weaned.[/ul]
16 weeks: The pups start coming out of the nursery more and more often and learning the structure of the pack. They won’t be able to leave camp still until they’re six moons old, but it’s better than being in the nursery.[/ul]
Adolescence: 6-12 Moons
This is when the pups are finally old enough to be named Whelps and start becoming a part of the pack. They are now definitely big enough to start learning to hunt and defend themselves from attackers. By this point, they still have a lot of energy but are able to better focus it towards learning than they did when they were still puppies, though they’ll still chase a ball of moss or a butterfly for sure.
Adulthood: 12-84 Months
By the time they reach a year old, most canines are ready to be full-fledged members of the pack. They have learned as much as they can about hunting, fighting, and keeping intruders at bay. Their bodies are physically fit and they are ready to be true pack members.
Old Age: 84-120 Months
At this point, their joints are starting to ache and they can’t run as fast as they once did. Their eyesight is growing dim and their hearing isn’t like it used to be. They are honored by the rest of the pack by being taken care of for the rest of their lives.
Death
Though sad, it is inevitable. To keep this forum from having 20+ year old dogs that simply hobble around unable to do anything, we have set a cap at the age of 10. We know that many house pets can live longer than this, but these (or most of them) are wild canines that honestly likely wouldn’t have lived past 5 in real life.
