Curriculums that we use
We use two different curriculums in our puppy program!
We use both Puppy Culture and The Badass Breeder Guide.
They complement each other very well and have a number of similarities that help us to shape each of the puppies who enter our home. They allow us to give our puppies the very best head start that they can get before leaving us to go to their forever homes.
Our Puppies receive intentional interactions and training from birth starting on day 3 of their lives!
Our goal is to raise healthy, happy, family dogs who become loved family pets. Our puppies are also bred for quality that allows them to be well rounded and ready for whatever tasks life may bring them
We use both Puppy Culture and The Badass Breeder Guide.
They complement each other very well and have a number of similarities that help us to shape each of the puppies who enter our home. They allow us to give our puppies the very best head start that they can get before leaving us to go to their forever homes.
Our Puppies receive intentional interactions and training from birth starting on day 3 of their lives!
Our goal is to raise healthy, happy, family dogs who become loved family pets. Our puppies are also bred for quality that allows them to be well rounded and ready for whatever tasks life may bring them
Puppy Culture
Badass Breeder
Our Program At work!
First Few Weeks
This is a video of me completing Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI) with one of our puppies!
There are so many benefits to each of these exercises that we complete from Days 3-16.
ENS was created by Dr. Carmen Battaglia and has been used by the US Military to improve the performance of their future working dogs.
After research it has been noted that puppies who are exposed to these stimulation activities have:
1. Improved Cardio Vascular Performance (Heart Rate)
2. Stronger Heart Rates
3. Stronger Adrenal Glands
4. More Tolerance to Stress
5. Greater Resistance to Disease
ESI was developed by Dr. Gayle Watkins. Introducing a new scent everyday at this young age helps to kick start their nose awareness and build confidence. It also helps to develop their ability to react to scents sooner.
This is a video of me completing Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI) with one of our puppies!
There are so many benefits to each of these exercises that we complete from Days 3-16.
ENS was created by Dr. Carmen Battaglia and has been used by the US Military to improve the performance of their future working dogs.
After research it has been noted that puppies who are exposed to these stimulation activities have:
1. Improved Cardio Vascular Performance (Heart Rate)
2. Stronger Heart Rates
3. Stronger Adrenal Glands
4. More Tolerance to Stress
5. Greater Resistance to Disease
ESI was developed by Dr. Gayle Watkins. Introducing a new scent everyday at this young age helps to kick start their nose awareness and build confidence. It also helps to develop their ability to react to scents sooner.
Whelping Box Exposures
Exposing our puppies to new novelty items is so important in their socialization. We start exposure to new items that have different textures, movements and smells in their whelping box because it is their safe place. We start off with stationary and gentle items and gradually increase intensity as they get older. We also start our very first exposure to grooming tools right in the whelping box as well!
Our puppies normally stay in the whelping box for 3-4 weeks.
During their last few days/week in their whelping box they will be exposed to loud noises, puppy mush and grooming tools.
Exposing our puppies to new novelty items is so important in their socialization. We start exposure to new items that have different textures, movements and smells in their whelping box because it is their safe place. We start off with stationary and gentle items and gradually increase intensity as they get older. We also start our very first exposure to grooming tools right in the whelping box as well!
Our puppies normally stay in the whelping box for 3-4 weeks.
During their last few days/week in their whelping box they will be exposed to loud noises, puppy mush and grooming tools.
Weaning Pen Activities
Once our puppies are up on their feet and ready to explore outside of their whelping box we move them into our living room where they are introduced to a lot more sights and sounds! Here we will continue to introduce different sounds that can sometimes be scary for dogs such as power tools, vacuums, storms, traffic and banging.
They start off with a small area that is increased as they do better and better with their litter box training and keeping their area clean.
Our weaning process is slow, we start off with puppy mush (ground kibble soaked with warm water and added probiotics and pumpkin firm up powder) once a day for a few days and gradually increase from there. We allow our mamas to take the lead on this and offer the puppies more and more food as she weans the puppies from her milk. Some of our mamas will still want to feed their puppies up until they leave and then others will want to stop at 6 weeks old.
We offer our puppies a variety of toys in this area and outdoors when the weather cooperates. They also have exposure to a variety of textures, heights and tunnels in addition to the toys that they are offered.
During this time we also introduce our puppies to a crate, adding one to their area every now and then to allow them to explore with the door left open.
During their time with us we try to expose our puppies to a number of different things, here is a small example of just some of the things that we do!
-Car Rides, traffic (trucks, buses, tractors), bikes, other dogs and cats
- Different people of different ages (hats, masks, beards)
- Grooming, nail trims starting at 4 days old, full baths and blow drying weekly starting at 4 weeks
- Crating for afternoon naps, sitting to say please, and start outdoor house training
- A 10 step daily handling exercise so our puppies are tolerant of touch
- All of our puppies are dewormed 3 times, microchipped, have a full veterinarian wellness exam and have their first set of vaccinations.
Once our puppies are up on their feet and ready to explore outside of their whelping box we move them into our living room where they are introduced to a lot more sights and sounds! Here we will continue to introduce different sounds that can sometimes be scary for dogs such as power tools, vacuums, storms, traffic and banging.
They start off with a small area that is increased as they do better and better with their litter box training and keeping their area clean.
Our weaning process is slow, we start off with puppy mush (ground kibble soaked with warm water and added probiotics and pumpkin firm up powder) once a day for a few days and gradually increase from there. We allow our mamas to take the lead on this and offer the puppies more and more food as she weans the puppies from her milk. Some of our mamas will still want to feed their puppies up until they leave and then others will want to stop at 6 weeks old.
We offer our puppies a variety of toys in this area and outdoors when the weather cooperates. They also have exposure to a variety of textures, heights and tunnels in addition to the toys that they are offered.
During this time we also introduce our puppies to a crate, adding one to their area every now and then to allow them to explore with the door left open.
During their time with us we try to expose our puppies to a number of different things, here is a small example of just some of the things that we do!
-Car Rides, traffic (trucks, buses, tractors), bikes, other dogs and cats
- Different people of different ages (hats, masks, beards)
- Grooming, nail trims starting at 4 days old, full baths and blow drying weekly starting at 4 weeks
- Crating for afternoon naps, sitting to say please, and start outdoor house training
- A 10 step daily handling exercise so our puppies are tolerant of touch
- All of our puppies are dewormed 3 times, microchipped, have a full veterinarian wellness exam and have their first set of vaccinations.
Temperament Evaluations
All of our puppies undergo a temperament evaluation at 7 weeks of age.
This is a series of activities that we complete with each puppy individually. These are done in a room they have never been in before with items that they have never interacted with before.
These evaluations are recorded and sent to the families on our waiting list along with a written summary for each puppy. The outlines and breakdown of the evaluation process are sent to our families in advance so they can see what we are testing for and how we will be testing for different traits.
After these evaluations are completed we can describe our puppies in better detail as to the adjustable and stable traits that they are showing us and how those will fit into different jobs and households.
Some puppies will act much differently when they are in the comfort of their littermates and mom so taking the time to do this as an individual as well as taking notes on their everyday behaviour and interactions is so helpful in the selection process. I have also been told many times that having this information to make an informed decision on their puppy has been so worth the wait!
All of our puppies undergo a temperament evaluation at 7 weeks of age.
This is a series of activities that we complete with each puppy individually. These are done in a room they have never been in before with items that they have never interacted with before.
These evaluations are recorded and sent to the families on our waiting list along with a written summary for each puppy. The outlines and breakdown of the evaluation process are sent to our families in advance so they can see what we are testing for and how we will be testing for different traits.
After these evaluations are completed we can describe our puppies in better detail as to the adjustable and stable traits that they are showing us and how those will fit into different jobs and households.
Some puppies will act much differently when they are in the comfort of their littermates and mom so taking the time to do this as an individual as well as taking notes on their everyday behaviour and interactions is so helpful in the selection process. I have also been told many times that having this information to make an informed decision on their puppy has been so worth the wait!