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Our puppies begin their lives in our home, with us present for their birth. This allows us to keep a close eye on both mom and her puppies, ensuring that everyone is fed, cleaned, and kept warm while also monitoring Mom’s recovery and making sure she is properly caring for and tending to her babies.
From 3–16 days of age, our puppies undergo what is called Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI). ENS is a set of exercises performed daily that consists of four positions, foot tickling, and exposure to a cool surface. These exercises provide controlled, age-appropriate stimulation during an important period of neurological development and are intended to help puppies develop resilience and adaptability. ESI introduces puppies to a variety of different scents each day, allowing them to experience and investigate new smells. Each puppy is given the opportunity to smell the object or scent for approximately 3–5 seconds. Introductions can include everything from spices and dirt to fir and tennis balls. ESI helps encourage scent awareness, curiosity, and confidence.
At 3 weeks of age, we begin a more advanced curriculum that includes a 10-Step Puppy Handling Exercise each day. We gradually increase the level of pressure and stimulation each week until the puppies are ready to go home. This ensures that our puppies are exposed to a variety of touches, sensations, and handling experiences in a controlled and positive environment.
Our puppies are also introduced to different sights, sounds, textures, surfaces, objects to climb on, things to run through, and much more. These experiences encourage puppies to recover from new or potentially startling situations while building confidence and problem-solving skills. By learning to navigate physical and mental challenges at an early age, puppies can develop greater resilience and confidence as they mature.
Around 4–5 weeks of age, we begin introducing the puppies to “puppy mush.” Mom is usually ready to begin the weaning process around this time, so we gradually step in to help support her and the puppies throughout the transition.
Between 4–7 weeks of age, we follow what is known as “The Rules of Seven.” By the time your puppy is 7 weeks old, they will have:
- Been on 7 different types of surfaces: carpet, concrete, dirt, grass, gravel, linoleum, tile, vinyl, wood chips, and wood.
- Played with 7 different types of objects: big balls, metal items, milk or soda jugs, paper or cardboard items, plush toys, rope toys, small balls, soft fabric toys, squeaky toys, sticks, and more.
- Been in 7 different locations: basement, bathroom, car, crate, front and back yard, garage, hallway, kennel, kitchen, laundry room, living room, veterinarian’s office, and more.
- Met and interacted with 7 new people: this may include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or using a wheelchair or walker, someone tall, someone wearing a hat, and more.
- Been exposed to 7 different challenges: climbing onto a box, climbing over obstacles, going up and down steps, going through doorways with a step up or down, playing hide-and-seek, running around a fence, and more.
- Eaten from 7 different types of containers: cardboard, elevated bowls, Frisbees, frying pans, glass, human hands, metal containers, paper, pie plates, plastic, tin pans, and more.
- Eaten in 7 different locations: backyard, basement, bathroom, crate, exercise pen, laundry room, living room, yard, and more.
In addition to “The Rules of Seven,” we expose our puppies to a variety of household sounds, including vacuums, hair dryers, doorbells, fly swatters, phones, televisions, alarm clocks, ice makers, and more. We also introduce them to a variety of outdoor sounds, including car horns, motorcycles, garage doors, lawn mowers and snow blowers, tractors and UTVs, storms, fireworks, and more. These experiences help our puppies become familiar with a wide variety of surfaces, objects, environments, people, challenges, and sounds, giving them a strong foundation as they continue to grow and experience the world.
At 7 weeks of age, each individual puppy is evaluated using the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test. This test focuses on various temperament traits and drives to help us better understand each puppy’s personality, strengths, and tendencies. This information helps us ensure that each family is matched with a puppy that fits their lifestyle, needs, and expectations, while also considering what will be best for the puppy.
We believe this process helps set both our puppies and their families up for success and can help reduce the likelihood of puppies being rehomed due to temperament or lifestyle mismatches.
Once veterinary checks and temperament testing have been completed, families will be able to view evaluation videos and review each puppy’s scorecard. This allows families to make an informed decision when selecting the puppy that will be the best fit for their home on Go-Home Day.
If requested, we are also happy to provide our recommendation for which puppy we feel may be the best match for your family based on the evaluation results and the information provided in your application. Puppy selections are made in order of your position on the waitlist on Go-Home Day. No exceptions!