and environmental factors. When my puppies are born, they are bundles of
genetic material just waiting to be influenced, shaped and molded.
What I do during those first formative weeks is critical to the puppies'
development. From birth, my puppies are handled and stimulated. After the
dewclaws have been removed I begin Early Neurological Stimulation, a set of
activities recommended by Dr. Carmen Battaglia, renowned behavioral scientist
and researcher. From Day 3-Day 16, I do five exercises with each puppy. This
specific set of stimuli, puppy held upright, puppy held upside down, puppy held on
back, toes tickled with a Q-tip and puppy placed on cold, wet towel for 3-5
seconds stimulate the puppy in ways that would not naturally occur in the wild.
The affects are numerous, from stronger immune systems to greater
cardio-vascular performance. I am constantly handling my puppies, especially
during these first few weeks. As soon as the puppies are mobile, I increase the area where they can move around and provide a suitable surface for them to gain traction to start running and jumping.As they continue to grow and develop they are exposed to a wide variety of toys, surfaces and people! We then venture out on 'walks', weather
permitting, where we travel as a group (no adult dogs) so they can experience
sticks, rocks, dirt, hills, grass and my voice calling them to follow. They have a
favorite spot where they play chase and tag, wrestle and rough and tumble. As
they tire, we amble back to the house where they pile on top of each other and
sleep.
When my puppies are 7 weeks old, they are evaluated by Jerry Hope, a Chief
Tester for the American Temperament Test Society. Jerry goes through a set
of activities with each puppy and is able to individually evaluate temperaments
so that I am better able to place my puppies in appropriate homes. I can then
pass on critical information to new owners about specific needs of their puppy.
This information will give owners an insight into what types of training
techniques will work best for their puppy. A good start makes all the
difference in the world.
Temperament Testing