Puppy Raising Methods

We strive to raise each of our litters in our family home to give the puppies the maximum amount of socialization and training possible in their first 8 weeks of life. 

We follow the AviDog protocol pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after the puppies are born. This includes Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)  and Early Scent Introduction (ESI) exercises for our puppies in their first two weeks of life. As they age, we begin to introduce strange surfaces, sounds, and smells to their world, and work on basic house and crate training prior to them leaving our house. Our goal is to raise healthy and well-adjusted puppies who are able to transition easily into their new lives after leaving our home. At 8 weeks, each puppy is structurally and temperamentally evaluated (using Volhard's Puppy Aptitude Testing) from people outside of our home who have experience with the breed. We use the information from both evaluations to place each puppy with the home that will fit their temperament and energy level the best. Once the puppies do go home, we keep in close contact with our puppy families and are always available to provide support as needed. 

Article on Early Neurological Stimulation by Perdue University https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/VA/VA-24-W.pdf

More Information on Early Scent Introduction by Training Canines

https://trainingcanines.com/esi-early-scent-introduction/