The first 100 days of life set a puppy up for lifetime stability and socialization, so I take puppy raising very seriously and expose them to as much as possible! Here is a bit about what I ensure puppies experience:
- Because I work from home, puppies are monitored 24/7 either directly or via camera. They are raised in my home and receive daily cuddles and/or training sessions.
- Puppies start ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction) at 3 days old. This follows the Avidog and Puppy Culture protocols, both of which we follow throughout their puppyhood.
- As soon as they are old enough, they are introduced to many rotated new items daily: a variety of sights, smells, sounds, textures, temperatures, sizes, and movement characteristics. They are introduced to soft-sided carriers as a prequel to crates. They have a baby pool with water or sand, several small slides and slightly elevated balance beams, and lots of natural play items like sticks and pinecones. They hear both synthetic and real noises, including gunfire and thunder. They have a bubble machine, a skateboard, a cave, a mister, their own iPad for sights and sounds, and every toy and chew possible. Essentially, any novel item or experience that isn’t actively dangerous to them: I try to expose them to!
- They have a “night pen,” a “day pen,” and at least one “outside pen” – all of which are impermanent so I change their boundaries and locations. The outside pen especially is moved around the yard like a chicken tractor so they can experience different places, views, and textures.
- They have potty pans or potty boxes that are scented with grass extract, so they are easy to potty train later.
- Puppies are weaned onto raw: to wean, they are fed pasteurized goat milk from a local dairy, along with probiotics, fish oil, and I slowly add in increasing amounts of grass-fed and finished ground beef from a local family farm that breeds South Polls (a local cattle breed). After weaning, I transition them to kibble as most families will be feeding kibble. Their systems’ familiarity with raw makes it easy to occupy them with raw meaty bones.
- Puppies get interaction with their mom as well as the other adult dogs in the house. The adult dogs will practice or train some of their behaviors while the puppies watch, and then get to try it: this is how we introduce birch and deer interdigital gland scent.
- We invite all visitors to come socialize the young puppies! I especially make sure to bring kids and people of different colors and ages. (If you’re in the area when I have a litter: let me know and come on by!)
- We start with short walks in a crate in the wagon in the neighborhood, then progress to wagon-ing through stores. They will go in the wagon to watch trains and airplanes, festivals, go to stores (we love Five Below!), friends’ houses, sit outside the library, visit the pool, sit outside a shooting range, etc. Once they are old enough, they are introduced to collars and leashes and do these excursions on their own four feet.
- We do daily romps on the land behind our house – they learn to navigate trails, the forest, the creekside, and the open grass.
- Around 6 weeks, they start eating in their crates. They then begin to take naps in the crates, then sleep in crates at night with siblings. By 8 weeks, they sleep at night in their own wire crates (which I can send home with them, for comfort) although they can’t “hold it” well enough to sleep through the entire night for another month or two.
- They receive a vet visit for their microchips and first shots, which is slow and full of cheese and play. Each has a personalized shot schedule called a nomograph, which based on a titer, so we know when their maternal antibodies wear off and when they actually need to be vaccinated and when they are protected. They receive deworming starting at 3 weeks with Panacur and Toltrazuril.
- All Avidog and Puppy Culture protocols, like the barrier challenge, clicker charging, and introductory grooming, are followed. We start with positive reinforcement training including clickers, teaching “sit” and “come” as well as doing foundational scent training and bird introductions. The goal is to safely and positively expose them to everything they might see or experience in their future lives!
