We absolutely LOVE raising puppies, so everything we do is purposeful in order to give them the best start to life as possible. It is our goal that each family have the most loving, calm and confident puppy possible. We know that the start we give them, will create a lifetime of memories for their new family that is why we follow puppy protocols from Puppy Culture and Avidog
The first two weeks of life the puppies room is kept quiet, cozy and comfortable for both Mom and the puppies. During this time special attention is paid to Mom so that she can care for her puppies they way they need. She is fed a high quality diet of Life’s Abundance as well as organic meats to make sure she has the energy to care for her new babies. From day 3-16, we do Early Neurological Stimulation and Early Scent introduction. We hold the babies close to our face daily so they can begin to know that humans are safe, loving and secure. Puppies go through a lot of changes during this time and we are fortunate to have a front row seat.
Between 2 and 4 weeks we see so many changes in the sweet pups. Their eyes and ears start to open and they start toddling around in the cutest of ways. They will start trying to play with each other and even toys! It is fascinating to watch them as they explore their world! We introduce many different toys during this time so they gain early exposure to new things and learn that the world isn’t too scary. We also place a potty box in their area and it is amazing how quickly they figure out where they should potty in order to keep their sleeping and play area clean. We have found that introducing potty boxes at such a young age makes their transition to potty training so much easier on the families. The puppies are handled daily and we start to introduce them to grooming necessities, which prepare them for their lifetime of grooming.
Between 4 and 8 weeks the real work begins to prepare them for their future families! Around 4-5 weeks we move them from the safety of their whelping box to their playpen! This is the time that we really see the puppies start to play with each other and have a strong desire to interact with people. We introduce puppies to age appropriate challenges/barriers so we can see how puppies may handle challenges in adulthood. We bring in a variety of “puppy helpers” so the puppies can learn that people are fun. We introduce our sound protocols by playing various sounds at low volume so the puppies become accustomed to noises such as fireworks, construction sounds, vacuum cleaners, etc…We also introduce puppies to their crates for the first time. We usually see that puppies love their crates and families rave about how well they sleep when going home. We continue our grooming techniques, but slowing introduce other grooming experiences like blow drying and water sprayers. Our goal is by the time puppies go home they will have exposures to a variety of things so they feel these things are normal part of their life.