FHow We Raise Our Puppies 

 

 

From 3 to 16 days every day we follow the Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) program. ENS is a process that introduces mild stresses to very young puppies in a safe and controlled manner. These stresses help stimulate the neurological system which improves the growth and development of the pup's immune system, cardiovascular system, and stress tolerance.

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During and after the neonatal period we continue to handle the puppies spending time sitting in the whelping box showing them love. Each puppy will be assigned a colored collar so that we can track each puppy as they grow. We take weekly pictures and will often post videos to our instagram and facebook.

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Once the puppies are old enough they will be moved into a higher traffic area of our home so they are introduced to typical life such as the coming and going of guests, house related chores and so on. They will spend time with our older friendly dogs regularly and we will have close family and friends come over to play and socialize them with new and different people.

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We begin introducing them to loud noises (vacuum, washing machines, bottles with rocks, TV) while they are eating their meals so that they associate these sounds with something positive.

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We set up our puppy pen to have an artificial grass potty area so that they always have a place to go when we are not around. This instills clean habits encouraging them to go potty in one place. In addition to this, after every meal we form a routine and take a trip outside to potty so they are well prepared for their housebreaking by the time they go to their new homes, during these potty breaks someone will clean out the pen so the cycle starts over again.
 

We also like to set our puppies up for success when it comes to grooming, we give regular baths and toenail trims with lots of treats!

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We introduce them to the flirt pole and evaluate their prey drives.

Our puppies are given their first vaccine at 6 weeks of age. If they are with us longer than 8 weeks then we will continue their vaccine schedule.
 

At 8 weeks old our puppies are allowed to join their new families! It is important for them to learn as much as they can from both their mothers and litter mates during the crucial first weeks of life.