PRENATAL CARE
Taking care of the mother in a stress-free environment is HUGE. The puppies can pick up on that stress hormone from the mother. Also, ensure the mother receives proper exercise, nutrition, and attention. We want to ensure they get all the nutrients they and the babies need. By ensuring that all of this is taken care of, we will help the mother produce the best puppies she can.
NEUROLOGICAL STIMULATION
Do you know what ENS stands for?
ENS, or Early Neurological Stimulation, is when we introduce the puppies to mild stresses in a controlled environment. We do this because the stresses cause the neurological system to be stimulated and overall improve the growth and development of the puppy. The puppies are gently handled using a series of exercises to produce brain wave activity that would not naturally occur otherwise. It is over two weeks and takes about 3-5 seconds per puppy daily. Once again, ENS can and will have significant and last effects on the puppies. We do this because we have seen the benefits of our puppies.
Early Scent Introduction
Early Scent Introduction is a concept developed by Dr. Gayle Watkins, a Golden Retriever breeder, scientist, researcher, and competitor in a range of dog sports. We introduce the puppies to new smells each day from day 3 to day 16. This procedure creates a more aware and alert dog, which in return makes an even better companion, service, and therapy dog. Studies have shown that stimulating puppies' scent ability early on has been proven to increase their scent ability later in life dramatically. We also introduce our puppies to new scents and smells. Puppies' eyes and ears are not open when they are born, but their nose is. This helps the puppy use its nose. We do not use appealing smells, such as smells like a treat or dog food; we use chives and herbs. The sole purpose is to help the dog learn to use its nose, not to appease its taste buds.
OVERALL CARE OF THE PUPPY
We begin human interaction and development exercises when the puppies are born and continue throughout their stay at our breeding facility. We provide gentle daily handling from the day the puppies are born, which has been shown to improve their ability to thrive by many studies. To help the puppy develop into a calm and confident dog, we provide the puppy with many different situations, stimuli, and exercises.
We provide our puppies with an environment enriched with different things. We do this comfortably to introduce the puppy to something new and foreign but not to cause fear. We also work with our puppies with crate training. We want our puppies to know that the crate is safe no matter where they are.
We touch all parts of the puppy from the time they're born to desensitize them to touch. Because many animals dislike or fear grooming, we begin by making it a positive experience. By the time our puppies leave, they are comfortable with bathing, brushing, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, nail clipping, and more.
While it is essential to work with the litter as a whole, we also work with each puppy individually. We believe that to assess each puppy as a whole properly, we do it individually, with the litter mates and other approved dogs.
SOCIALIZING
Week three to week twelve of a puppy's life is critical. This development period is associated with the development of many social behavior patterns and a great deal of learning about the environment. Much of what is learned during this early period is permanent and provides a foundation for behavior patterns throughout their lives. To decrease the possibility of fearful responses as a puppy develops, it is essential to expose them to many people, places, and things during the socialization period. We also introduce friendly, rock-solid adult dogs for the puppies to interact with so they learn appropriate "doggie language" from others in addition to their mom and other dogs in our home.
