Oh My Goodness, where to start! I really put in a lot of effort to produce the best pups ever. Here is a portion of what the pups experience while here
First, lets start with the 0-10 days old, The pups experience early neurological stimulation . By applying gentle stressors for short periods of time, it's believed the pups are better able to cope and learn as they grow up. Early Scent Introduction is important for Service Dogs, things like Keytones in diabetics or anxiety are detected by scent. For a pet pup, it makes involvement in scent games more fun. If you're on a farm, they can sniff a rat! Both, introduced sytematically and early promote confidence and foster cognitive growth.
The third thing, and unique to Duty Dogs is Motion Sickness protocols. This is a system developed by me after hundreds of hours researching. It's heartbreaking to have a Service Dog disqualified because they get sick in the car. A series of body maneuvers and experiences is showing signs that it's working. It's a difficult thing to prove, and at this stage (2 years in), it's still in the "won't hurt, might help" category.
I often supplement feeding for the pups pre 3 weeks. It allows the Momma's to stay healthy and less stressed. Momma's are given free access to calcium in the forms of yogurt or cottage cheese. They pace themselves and that allows them to the milk needed. Momma's look after the babies all night. I find a supported Momma is a happy and healthier Momma.
At 3 weeks life changes pretty quickly. They have eyes and ears open and are mobile. It's at this time I start setting up mini sensory experiences. The goal is to get pups to a saturation point of ; textures under foot, in mouth, sounds, touch. So when the pup goes to the vets at 8 weeks, they have smelled the cleaners, vaccines, been elevated, walked on so many textures that the floor there isn't adding to stress. They've been handled in mock exams multiple times. When they go home, your shampoo, cleaners, work environment scents are not something that takes a lot of time to process. They are more confident and able to move with ease through any environment. You can see some of the sensory work on the instagam page.
The pups are taken on outings. We go to Childrens daycare, assisted living facilities, special needs homes, stores, parks and anything else that I can fit in. The pups need 3 days off after each big event. That allows them to reset and process. I watch for puppy dreams, that is when a puppy is processing the events. No dreams means they aren't ready for more.
Socializing is a structured event here. Textures under foot and in mouth. A stuffy feels different than a cue ball from a pool table. Different weights, noises and sizes. It can be as simple as letting them walk on an empty bag of potting soil, carry a shovel, empty plant pots, dirty gloves. They take in so much information, in a different way than we do. I work on elevation and sounds. Sounds from toys, traffic, and the echo dot! (play coyote sounds or play fire engines). I do try to cover a lot with the themes of the sensory mornings. Sports, school, Halloween, music, Hawaii, gardening, Easter, kitchen and whatever else I can think of or have time to set up. A favorite is when I ask friends to save their recyclables of cleaners and personal hygiene items. That goes a long ways to introducing scents and noise and feel without the stress of a drive or outside people.
Are the pups potty trained? I I said yes, (or any breeder), it would be a lie. At 8 weeks, when pups go home, they can only hold it for about 2-3 hours. Most often the humans are trained. The pups are doggy door trained. They understand the need to eliminate and that it gets done away from where they sleep/eat. I'm working on an "at home guide" for success.
The pups are crate conditioned. That essentially means they group sleep in a crate at night and have had introductions to them during the day. Crates are a valuable resource for proper sleep, stays at vets and in case of emergencies, like wild fires. Dogs not crate trained are left behind by rescue because they cannot manage multiple unknown, stressed dogs that are not able be be contained.
Lets talk sleep! Pups here are self directed sleepers. They set their own rhythm of play/eat/sleep. They leave the pile to potty and return to continue sleeping. Pups need about 20+ hours to function properly. Most behavior concerns evaporate when proper sleep is restored. This sleep therapy takes some time and some practice, but it works and is an invaluable achievement for pups when they go home.
Last vet and health care. Besides the pre work that happens with Mom and Dad before breeding, we have a whole system in place once the babies are here. Deworming starts at 3 weeks and continues at 5,7 and I send a dose home for 9 weeks. Vaccine protocols set out by my vets are followed, starting at 8 weeks (earlier vaccines are not effective with Momma antibodies running through their systems). The pups are micro-chipped as well as a vet health form filled out. The pups are weighed daily for 2 weeks (with the goal of weight doubling by then), and continuing weekly until they are 8 weeks. Weighing frequently is the best/earliest way to detect something going wrong. While I may not be able to recognize a 10 gram weight loss, the scale sure can!
Each pup is observed and assessed for best matches. Some are sent to service dog training, some are more suited for farm life, others are snuggle bugs who make the most amazing companions.
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