How Puppies Are Raised Makes a Difference

What sets us apart...

Over 20 years of experience raising, training, showing, and handling dogs (and horses). Studying ethology and understanding animal behavior makes a difference when raising a litter of puppies. The temperament, personality, and overall trainability of your new best friend will be affected significantly by who raises your puppy. I guarantee “the best dog ever” was hand raised. The dog you met at the park, the one who impressed you with his calm demeanor and exceptional manners, hand raised. We hand raise our puppies in our home, we temperament test our puppies using the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test. We help you choose the puppy that is the best match for your lifestyle. But let's start at the beginning.

Early Neurological Stimulation

We've been successfully training puppies using the Early Neurological Stimulation Techniques recommended by Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia along with positive reinforcement techniques for years. We begin using Bio Sensor techniques (early neurological stimulation) when the puppies are 3 days old. We incorporate socialization and enrichment experiences once the puppy's eyes open and they begin to walk. From days 3-16 we use Early Neurological Stimulation to help give your puppy the best start in life. Early Neurological Stimulation has been proven to help puppies handle stress, improve physiological functioning, and increase curiosity. Our puppies are introduced to new sounds, smells, textures, surfaces, and people of all ages. They have access to puppy (and baby) interactive toys in the puppy yard, to challenge them to play, learn, and gain confidence. They are curious and confident puppies when it's time for them to explore their new homes.

Socialization

Puppies go through a critical period of socialization between five and twelve weeks of age. During this period they mature very rapidly. If isolated from external stimuli and not exposed to the outside world, they can grow up to be fearful adult dogs. Litters of puppies raised in an isolated location such as a barn, a garage, or a dog kennel often have little exposure to humans except those feeding them. If puppies never leave their confined isolated quarters where they have been raised, they may never experience any external stimuli such as automobiles, strangers, loud noises or children running and playing.

If puppies are not socialized at an early enough age, it makes little difference if they have been raised by a breeder, a private family, or in a vacant building, the outcome will usually be the same. Puppies that receive little or no human handling between the ages of five and twelve weeks of age often remain fearful when exposed to new situations. Meeting their new family for the first time, the car ride to their new home, their first trip to the vet, and meeting children, strangers or other dogs for the first time can be extremely frightening for these puppies. The key to socialization is to make sure puppies are exposed to everything they may be exposed to during their lifetime while they are very young. If not exposed to new situations during this critical period, your puppy may always be fearful when exposed to new things in the future. Our Golden puppies interact with us, our children, our friends, and our adult dogs. They are not confined in a cage 24 hours a day. They are raised in our home and handled by us, our children, and by several people. Every puppy is accustomed to vacuum cleaners, automobiles, and other loud noises by the time they leave our home.

Easier to Potty Train

As soon as the puppies are walking; we start teaching them to come when they are called. This helps with potty basics. We call the puppies outside when they wake up and we close the door. Within 30 seconds the puppies are going potty outside. Puppies naturally have to go when they first wake up, we use this basic principle to get them used to going potty outside. We wake the puppies every 2 hours and repeat the process throughout the day. What begins to happen is the puppies will naturally walk to the door when they have to go potty; even at this early age. While it will be a few months before they will be completely potty trained, this goes a long way in helping the process.

Familiar with the collar and leash

Between 6-8 weeks of age we start getting the puppies familiar with walking on the leash, using their natural desire to follow.

Crate Conditioning

Our puppies are exposed to sleeping in crates starting at 5 weeks of age. They are comfortable lounging in crates with the doors open so they can come and go freely. The crate is not a scary place, it is a place of rest and snuggle time with their littermates.

Temperament Testing

Like children, puppies are born with different personalities and temperaments. Working with the puppies at a young age helps us start to identify the puppies that have a stronger natural drive toward obedience. As we continue working with the puppies between 6-8 weeks of age we're able to identify the A (excellent) B (above average) and C (average) students. All of these puppies are trainable, some will excel as therapy dogs, show dogs, and very obedient family pets; while others will be much happier just lying at their owner's feet or playing fetch. This identification process is VERY important when it comes time to help match puppies with their forever families. We will send a very specific temperament analysis for families to read. This identifies which puppies are likely to be eager to please-quick learners (typically obedience, agility, and rally) which puppies will be less active and just happy to follow you around (obedience and couch potatoes) and which puppies will fit into any situation (a therapy dog quality). I will tell you which puppies match the traits that you are looking for; most puppies will adapt well in most homes. I generally allow the family to choose their puppy unless the puppy isn't a good match for the family. For example: I won't allow a very active puppy to go to a sedentary home. Most of the time people ask for our advice (as we have known the puppies since birth) and most people choose the temperament that matches their lifestyle. While one person might want a great therapy dog, another wants nothing more than a companion to follow them from room to room. We have a variety of requests with each litter, some want an agility dog others want a jogging partner. You might think that everyone wants exactly what you want but the families are as individual as the puppies and we've made many great matches over the years. Before the puppies go to their forever homes we give advice specific to each puppy’s needs and personality based on what we’ve identified while working with the puppy. All of this is invaluable advice given by the only people who have known your puppy since birth; we love these puppies very much and want to see them flourish.