What's in Puppy Culture?
We apply Jane Killion's Puppy Culture techniques to our breeding program, and have developed our own, one of a kind Puppy Culture curriculum. This curriculum consists of daily visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli your puppy will experience. Please see our video below which outlines this amazing curriculum.
Puppy Culture breeders lay the foundation for emotional stability and learning. Then Puppy Culture owners follow through with training and socialization. Here's just a sampling of the fun and easy lessons included in Puppy Culture!"The same exact gene can express itself as an extremely negative trait or an extremely positive trait....Mother dogs who receive affection during their pregnancy may give birth to more docile puppies. While there is nothing you can do to control this genetic lottery, you can make a difference in how those genes express themselves....The pre-natal care and emotional support you give your mother dog can affect the ultimate health and personalities of her puppies.”
The Prenatal Period:
“Newborn puppies look like sleeping loaves of fur. But there’s furious activity going on under their little hoods – They double in body weight by 10 days and their brains undergo amazing changes. Dr. Carmen Battaglia shows us how to take advantage of this period by neurologically “jump starting” puppies when they’re between 3 – 13 days old.”
The Neonatal Period: 0 – 14 Days
"Did you know that puppies have developmental periods, and those developmental periods are defined by behavioral markers? It’s important for both breeders and puppy owners to be able to correctly identify these behavioral markers, because something that is extremely beneficial one week, could be very harmful in the next week, depending on what developmental period the puppy is in. In this amazing week, we see the puppies transform from deaf, blind, helpless loaves of fur, to real little puppies who can hear, toddle, and play. You’ll get to take a peek at the funny and touching moments when they realize there’s a whole world outside of themselves. The puppies' eyes and ears are sealed shut when they're born. Their eyes open first (usually at around 12-15 days old for our breed), and their ear canals usually open around 7 days later. That period, between the time that their eyes and their ears open, is known as the "transitional" period. This is because useful vision and hearing are thought to be necessary for the puppies to enter into the next developmental period, which will be the socialization period."
Transitional Period:14 – 21 Days
“Did you know that the critical socialization period in dogs begins at just three weeks old, and is over when the puppies are 12 weeks old? What does it take to socialize a puppy? Socialization is more than just exposure – it’s a rich blend of skills, experiences, and enrichment.” Did you know that prevention of common behavior problems begins when the puppies are just three weeks old?"..." Breeders and owners will find a wealth of information for avoiding conflict between adult dogs and puppies, enriching their puppies environment, early problem prevention protocols, and safe guidelines for socialization of puppies.”
Critical Socialization Period:3-12 Weeks
Week by Week Activities
3 Weeks
•The Enrichment Effect: Puppies receive a carefully enriched environment, the benefits of which will last a lifetime. This continues every week until puppies leave.
•Puppies begin receiving visitors as socialization starts.
•Startle Recovery exercises prime puppies for the challenges of a busy life.
•Foundation exercises for the prevention of separation anxiety.
•A designated potty area is introduced
Week 4
•Puppies are moved into a larger weaning pen, with age appropriate enrichment.
•Emotional Resiliency Exercises are done, giving the puppies the gift of “bounce back” from life challenges.
•Problem solving games are introduced, these help puppies learn to handle life’s frustrations early.
•Crate training starts! Crates are introduced to the weaning pen (doors removed), Comfy beds are placed inside to encourage puppies to nap in crates.
Week 5
•Puppies learn to communicate with us in socially acceptable ways, learning the Communication Trinity, how to solve problems, and finding their voice.
•Clicker training starts and puppies start learning their core skills: Attention, Manding (asking politely), Come.
•Fear starts: At five weeks puppies are for the first time, capable of experiencing true fear. We avoid any experience that might cause lifelong fear problems, while building more emotional resilience as we go along.
•Crate Training: Puppies are fed in crates. Puppies are encouraged to run into their crates.
Week 6
•Puppy Parties are started. These important socialization and training events are designed to expose puppies to just the right experiences at the right time.
•Novel people of all shapes, ages, and sizes are introduced, and we work to ensure the puppies have positive responses during these important “first” meetings, because a scary meeting at this age can cause lifelong fear.
•Puppies get to practice their training in real life settings, they get to mand (ask politely) for petting (instead of jumping).
•Puppies show off their enrichment seeking abilities and build confidence on novel object challenges.
•Puppies learn to love strange and unusual footing, heights, and noises.
•Session are kept short, puppies have naps and learn to relax when visitors come over, all skills they will need in their new homes.
•Crate Training:oPuppies nap in crate with door open.oPuppies eat in crate with door closed.
•Car Training: Puppies play in the car, engine off.
Week 7
•Crate Training: Enter crate when asked,
eat in crate with door closed, chew bone in crate with door closed and nap in crate with door closed.
•Car Training: Puppies chew bones in the car with the engine running.
•Training begins on: To sit on cue, to come when called and to give up a toy.
•Mock Vet exams, clipping nails, grooming, etc.
Week 8
•Fear periods are a normal part of puppy development, knowing how to deal with them, what to do, and most importantly what not to do, have lifelongimplications for the adult dog and it’s family. With the Puppy Culture training, we are able to both recognize when a puppy is experiencing a fear period, to help them through the period, without allowing any trauma that might affect their temperament forever.
•Training continues as does practice.
•Sit, come, crate on cue, hand targeting, are all continuing. Puppies continue to practice manding (asking politely).
•Crate training: Enter Crate when asked, eat in crate with door closed, chew bone in crate with door closed and sleep overnight in crate.
•Car training: Puppies have short car ride. More work learning to love giving up: food, toys, bowls, and other resource guarding prevention is done.
The proof is in the puppies!