WHAT IS PUPPY CULTURE?
For those who are unfamiliar with the term "Puppy Culture" I will try to break it down quickly for you. Studies have proven over the years that puppy development and training can start literally from the moment they are born, and that the most crucial development stages isn't after 8 weeks but right during them, from birth up to 12 weeks is the most vital time in a puppy's development and it will set them up for the rest of their life.
We, as puppy culture breeders, adhere to the majority of the methodology that deals with human involvement from the birth of the puppy until they find their own forever homes. We believe this to be one of the ways that we can be the best breeder with ethical practices to ensure a well-rounded quality pet for your family.
Puppy Culture has taken most of the best puppy husbandry practices from over the last 50 years and formalized them into a systematic program. We have used most of these protocols, but what we like best about Puppy Culture is that it has connected each protocol to specific developmental markers. This makes is much easier and effective to not only do the right thing, but to do it at the right time for optimal results.
Neonatal Period: 0-14 days
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) begins on day 3 through day 16. Benefits are tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat.
Transitional Period: 14-21 days
The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.
Critical Socialization Period: 3-12 weeks
Communication, emotional stability, habituation, enrichment, health, skills, love
Just a few of the Puppy Culture protocols include:
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) - to enhance the development of strong nervous systems, this included handling and rubbing their paw pads and stimulating them from the very beginning before their eyes and ears even open.
Barrier Challenges - to help instill problem-solving ability and teach the puppies frustration tolerance.
Conditioned Emotional Responses - teaching positive associations with important puppy skills, such as crate training, grooming, veterinary handling, enjoying the company of humans, and having manners. We start exposing them to these items early on to help them manage these stresses independently when they leave.
Attention to People - this teaches a puppy to be confident enough to make eye contact with humans, and to use this as a communication method.
Puppy Parties - help the puppies to engage confidently with humans and enjoy activities with humans, we routinely bring toddlers to teens in to spend time and play with our puppies and get them acclimated to all age groups.
Resource Guarding Prevention - to help prevent the unwanted behavior of puppies or dogs guarding food, toys, people, or other valued items.
Habituation - Desensitization of loud noises and new experiences, such as a vacuum, lawn mower, and blow dryers, television, refrigerators, air conditioning units and loud children.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US
Now that you know what "Puppy Culture" is, what does that mean for us, as your breeder, and what our job entails? That means that we are incredibly dedicated to your puppies well being and we strive to introduce them to a variety of stimuli that they will encounter in their everyday life so that they learn to become a dog that can take novelty in stride and learn to seek enrichment rather than cower from it. This means that on our social media accounts you will see us:
Having gatherings with larger numbers of people that are in our Doodles Elite Team families to introduce them to teens and toddlers and everything in between.
You will see them getting baths and being dried with a blow dryer, getting their nails clipped routinely.
Puppy ball pits, slides, and jungle gyms where they get to experience a variety of textures and obstacles.
We provide them with a television, air conditioner and heaters not just to regulate temperature but to get them used to the sounds of the machines.
They will have exposure to puppy pads, pellet boxes, crates, dog beds and couches.
Our children will regularly play with them and handle them or play near them so they are used to small children and active older children, we ensure the safety and there is always adult supervision while this is happening.
The puppies will develop a strong bond with humans and want and desire to be near them.
This is a very time intensive process for us, but we know that when we send our pups home they will take life in stride and their experience will be a good one. This is an incredible amount of work, even more so when you are trying to photograph, record, and provide proof of this to our families. In this day and age we want to give ALL of our families the assurances necessary, even the ones that cannot come in person to pick up their puppy but must have our flight nanny services hand-deliver the puppy to them. Many of our families are across the country and even outside the US. Is it a lot of work, yes, but it is 100% ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT and when you adopt your puppy, you will be just as thankful as we are for this program!
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