Raising Puppies Intentionally...
Raising puppies can be approached two ways: You can love them and provide a safe place for puppies to grow and thrive, while letting nature take its course, or you can love them, expose them to early neurological stimulation, scent introduction, and gentle handling exercises and then when they get older you can introduce a wide variety of sounds and items to encourage the puppies to learn to be confident and problem solve. We pride ourselves on intentionally working with the puppies beginning on Day 3 in every way that we interact with them, using the BadAss Breeder curriculum, from 4E Kennels as a foundation. (We give them the first three days to bond with Mama fully before we handle them for anything other than cleaning the puppy area.)
Beginning on Day 3, we conduct early neurological stimulation exercises with each puppy. These are brief, specific interactions that stimulate the puppies' brains to help in strong overall development. We also expose each puppy to one specific scent each day, to enhace their ability to identify and react to different scents. We still do not handle the puppies much, which is so hard! Then we begin gentle handling exercises with the puppies, holding them in only specific ways for short amounts of time. When they begin to open their eyes and explore their puppy area, we begin to add intentional items to their area and allow them to build the confidence to explore these items as they are ready. We also expose puppies to a variety of sounds, so that they are not afraid of new noises in their new home environments. We also begin potty training by putting a potty area in the puppy area.
At this point in development, the timing is flexible for each of our next steps. Some puppies are ready for each stage at these times, and some litters we may wait for certain milestones because they are not quite ready. When puppies are 4-5 weeks old, we begin the weaning process and also begin to take puppies outside for short periods of time. By 6 weeks we begin kennel training and provide puppy kibble, and also limit the puppies' unsupervised time with Mama, so that they are ready to go home by 8-9 weeks. We also take them to different areas of our house, gradually increase their time outside, and work on pottying in the grass. If puppies are ready, we begin leash training! All of this is going on while we also still follow the gentle handling exercises and exposure items in the puppy area, which change slightly each week as puppies get older. Sound exposures continue as well, and we play classical music at night to help with nighttime kennel training.
Each and every thing we do with your puppy is intentional to help give you that puppy with a heart of G❤️LD! We are happy to provide references from our past clients, and encourage you to ask questions and video chat often to get to know our puppies! The video chatting with us, along with the temperament testing that is conducted at about 6 weeks, is integral in helping make a perfect match between a specific family and a specific puppy. Please reach out to chat with us about our G❤️ldenHearted D❤️❤️dle program! Oh, and did we mention that we DNA test all puppies for you so you can know of specific traits before choosing your puppy? (How many breeders can tell you a reliable size for a mini goldendoodle?)
