Providing For A Healthy Start
 

It has traditionally been considered the responsibility of the new owner of a nice fluffy puppy to take the puppy to classes and make sure they are exposed to a variety of people and situations.

But more research shows that encouraging a stable temperament can start even before puppies are born. As a breeder we can do a lot to make sure our puppies have a great start on being more adaptable to all the situations they will encounter in life. We look at the first three weeks of the puppies’ lives.

The First Three Weeks

The first three weeks of a puppy’s life are a crucial time. Puppies are very helpless at this stage. Their eyes do not open until around 10 days, and the sense of hearing starts around 2 weeks. Mama dog does most of the work at this stage, and our job is to keep everyone warm, safe, and clean.

The most important way to interact with our litters during this phase is by touch. Our puppies are gently handled and stroked so they learn that human touch is a pleasant experience and that's also when we introduce them to:

Early Neurological Simulation!!

 Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) exercises, which we conduct once daily from the third to the 16th day, a period believed to be a time of rapid neurological growth and development. Even though puppies are very immature during this time frame, they are sensitive and respond to ENS.

The US Military developed this method designed to improve the performance of future military working dogs, according to the Breeding Better Dogs program developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia, esteemed breeder, judge, seminar presenter, and AKC board member.

ENS requires handling the puppies one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. Listed in order of preference, we start with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. We complete the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following 5second exercises:1. Tactile stimulation – Holding the pup in one hand,we 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,Holding it upside down,holding it upright,laying it on it's back,and laying it on a cold wet towel.

   What Does ENS Do?

When performed correctly, ENS is believed to impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected, the result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance, according to Breeding Better Dogs. ENS is time sensitive and must be performed from the third to the 16th days of a puppy’s life.

Five benefits have been observed in dogs that were exposed to ENS, including improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate); stronger heart beats; stronger adrenal glands; more tolerance to stress; and greater resistance to disease.

In tests of learning, ENS stimulated pups were more active and exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates, according to Breeding Better Dogs.

What is Early Scent Introduction?? (ESI)

Early Scent Introduction (ESI) is a procedure we do that helps puppies with their nose awareness and confidence. It enhances their ability to identify and react to scents. Similar to Early Neurological Stimulation, ESI is introduced at days 3-16 of a puppies life and is very benefical for their development.

During this time, we expose them to a different scent each day. As we do this, we hold the puppy close to us, and let them smell the item.Some examples of scents are Leather,tennis ball,garlic,spices,soil ......

So what are the benefits?

This procedure creates a more aware and alert dog, which in return makes an even better companion, service, and therapy dog. Many times with therapy and early service dog training, the dog’s scent abilities are a characteristic that is required. Studies have shown that stimulating puppies scent ability early on has been proven to dramatically increase their scent ability later in life. 

Here are a few examples of how dogs can help through their scent abilities:

• Nearly half of children with autism tend to run away or go missing. Many dogs are trained to follow the scent and can locate the child.

• Diabetic alert dogs are trained to detect low or high blood sugar levels by the smells in the air.

• Some dogs can even let an elderly person know that the stove has been left on, or even a gas leak.

Naturally some dogs have more of natural nose instinct compared to others.

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