If you haven't heard about these programs, you will. Puppy Culture is 'trending' & for good reasons, it's a wonderful program for new breeders & new puppy families to learn what reputable breeders have been doing for many years to produce the happiest, healthiest, well socialized & trainable pups. Us included. These practices aren't new but the training programs going mainstream are. We have Puppy Culture & Super Dogs in our program & how we've always raised puppies, & here's why that is important...

Puppy Culture is a program developed by Jane Killion, professional dog trainer and breeder. It is a comprehensive, organized program for breeders to follow during the first weeks of a puppy’s life. 

The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach him. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.

Prenatal Period:

Making sure that your puppy’s genetic material is excellent is only the beginning. The physical and emotional health of the mother will affect the health of her puppies. Since research has shown that puppies born to mothers that receive prenatal massage {our son is a professional massage therapist} are more docile and enjoy being touched, we spoil our mommies with lots of affection and belly massages. A puppy’s predisposition to form deep and meaningful relationships begins even before they are born. 

Neonatal Period: 0-14 days

Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS-which is the Hallmark of the Super Dogs program) begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that tiny struggles and stresses in appropriate small doses are actually good for puppies and will help them grow into strong, healthy well-adjusted adult dogs. Benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies once during the window of 3-16 days.

Transitional Period: 14-21 days

Behavioral markers are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period because every puppy is different and these timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. 

Critical Socialization Period: 3-12 weeks

Most people think of socialization as exposing their puppies to as many new experiences as possible while the puppy is young. While this is part of the process, it’s not enough. Our goal is to raise dogs that have the emotional intelligence to connect with you. Emotional intelligence can be taught to young puppies and one of the goals of the Puppy Culture Program is to teach breeders how to do this. There are 7 key things that will nurture the emotional intelligence of a puppy. 

1: Communication - giving a puppy his own voice (Communication Trinity - (power up clicker, box game, manding) - attention/distraction protocols.

2: Emotional stability - the ability to recover easily from fear as well as stress (startle recovery, barrier challenges, Volhard Aptitude Test at day 49. We PAT test our pups).

3: Habituation - familiarity with the maximum number of things (Puppy Parties, sound protocols, habituation soundtracks and noises, meeting different people, dogs, other animals) Our Puppy Yoga program helps with this as well. 

4: Enrichment - the view that novelty and challenges are opportunities for enrichment rather than things to be feared or avoided.

5: Health - physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop in a neurologically and physically sound way (daily weight checks, grooming, vaccinations at appropriate ages & not over-vaccinating, deworming, proper nutrition ie. Real food. Using natural products, foods, detoxifiers.)

6: Skills - learned behaviors which allow him to function in human society (recall, manding, simple commands, litterbox training, crate training, leash walking, resource guarding, bite inhibition.)

7: Love - the desire to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences (shaping emotional responses, Happy and Calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses), daily cuddles with humans and mom).

Weeks 8-12: Per Puppy Culture protocol, puppies go home with their families. This gives them 4 weeks in that critical socialization period to adjust to their new family’s lifestyle and be introduced to new people and experiences. 

This is definitely an incredible amount of work, but it is 100% ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!!!!!! When you adopt your puppy, you will be just as thankful as we are for this program & how we've always done most all aspects of it, more in other areas it doesn't cover & Super Dog, which has similar components. 

The U.S. Military in their canine program developed a method that still serves as a guide to what works. In an effort to improve the performance of dogs used for military purposes, a program called “Bio Sensor” was developed. Later, it became known to the public as the “Super Dog” Program. Based on years of research, the military learned that early neurological stimulation exercises could have important and lasting effects. Their studies confirmed that there are specific time periods early in life when neurological stimulation has optimum results. The first period involves a window of time that begins at the third day of life and lasts until the sixteenth day. It is believed that because this interval of time is a period of rapid neurological growth and development, and therefore is of great importance to the individual. (Same as Puppy Culture teaches)

The “Bio Sensor” program was also concerned with early neurological stimulation in order to give the dog a superior advantage. Its development utilized six exercises which were designed to stimulate the neurological system. Each workout involved handling puppies once every day. The workouts required handling them one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. Listed in order of preference the handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following exercises:

Neurological Stimulation Program details

the five exercises are as follows. The duration of each of the five exercises is 3-5 seconds.

1. Tactical stimulation (between toes) 

Holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see that the pup is feeling the tickle.

2. Head held erect

Using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail. This is in an upwards position.

3. Head pointed down

Holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward, towards the ground.

4. Supine position

Hold the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep struggle.

5. Thermal stimulation 

Use a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving.

Five benefits have been observed in puppies that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises.

The benefits noted were:

1. Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate)

2. Stronger heart beats

3. Stronger adrenal glands

4. More tolerance to stress

5. Greater resistance to disease

In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates over which they were dominant in competitive situations.

Secondary effects were also noted regarding test performance. In simple problem solving tests using detours in a maze, the non-stimulated pups became extremely aroused, whined a great deal, and made many errors. Their stimulated littermates were less disturbed or upset by test conditions and when comparisons were made, the stimulated littermates were more calm in the test area, made fewer errors and gave only an occasional distress when stressed.

We also do ESI, Early scent introduction (ESI). 

This is a training program for puppies designed to enhance their ability to identify, and react to, specific scents. Each day, the we introduce a strong scent to the puppy for brief intervals. 

Did you know that healthy puppies are born blind and deaf, and must rely on their sense of olfaction (as well as touch) to find their mother's milk? Sniffer dogs aren't only born, but can also be carefully nurtured, starting from newborns and beyond. For example, starting at 3 days of age, a critical window of opportunity for puppy development is open: for Early Neurological Stimulation, in addition to Early Scent Introduction. 

WHY BOTHER WITH EARLY SCENT INTRODUCTION?