Training starts at birth
We get asked about our puppy training program alot. We loosely base our training/socializing program on PUPPY PRODIGIESThis organization is amazing. Leader and Pioneers in the psychology of puppy development. We have received approval to link to their site. It’s great reading for those that are interested.
We use a series of puppy milestones to work with puppies as they grow. Puppies are born with a fully functional sense of smell but can’t open their eyes. During their first two weeks, a puppy’s senses all develop rapidly. During this stage the nose is the primary sense organ used by puppies to find their mother’s teats, and to locate their litter-mates, if they become separated by a short distance. Puppies open their eyes about nine to eleven days following birth. At first, their vision is poor as their retina’s start to develope and vision sharpens. Puppies’ ears remain sealed until about thirteen to seventeen days after birth, after which they respond more actively to sounds. Between two to four weeks old, puppies usually begin to growl, bite, wag their tails, and bark.
Toys to expand skills
During each of the stages of sensory development the puppies are exposed to sights, sounds, toys, textures, music, blow dryers and anything we can give them exposure to. The goal? To increase and develope brain cells early in life. Giving them the most opportunity to learn and excell as adults. We see so many of our puppies go into beginning obedience and sail through with ease. Often times the trainer will bump them up a class. Of course they must always have a loving human to bring them to their fullest potential…never underestimate a good training course with your puppy. We suggest and actually ask all our families to take one class before their puppy is 4 months of age. So the human and dog can learn each other and how to communiate with each other. And every relationship is different. There are no cookie cutter humans and no cookie cutter dogs.
Positive Reinforcment is used to build the skills and to help develope a trusting bond between humans and puppies.