Early Training: A Multifaceted Approach
Early training makes a life-long difference for puppies and their families! Here are the 9 Top-Notch areas of training that we focus on for our NY Dandy Doodles Mini, Small, and Medium sized Goldendoodle Puppies:
1. Early Neurological Stimulation
Puppy training begins earlier than you might imagine. Starting at only 3 days old, our Goldendoodle puppies start training. That is when top veterinarians recommend beginning ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation.) This gentle stimulation training provides your puppy with life-long benefits including;
- Improved cardiovascular performance
- Stronger adrenal system
- Greater tolerance to stress
Learn more about what Purdue University Veterinary Extension has to say about Early Neurological Stimulation here.
2. Early Scent Introduction
Also at 3 days of age, the puppies are introduced to a variety of odors. Early Scent Introduction includes long-term benefits such as
Early Scent Introduction is particularly valuable if you are seeking a therapy dog or service dog. This primes them for future training to alert you to life threatening situations such as a gas leak, an oncoming seizure, or abnormal blood sugar levels. Early scent training could also help prepare a puppy to be trained to locate an autistic child that tends to slip away. If you want your dog to compete in obedience or agility, ESI will certainly help your dog in training and performance.
Learn more about Dr. Gayle Watkins’ research and studies on Early Scent Introduction at this link.
3. Early Potty Training
Once puppies’ eyes and ears are open, and they begin to walk, (at a little over 2 weeks of age), we begin potty training the puppies. We have a customized system that prepares our puppies to get used to the scent of grass at this stage. This helps them to more easily transition to going outdoors when they get to your home. Even puppies this young prefer to have a separate bathroom spot and a distinct sleeping area. Between 3 and 5 weeks, they begin to seek out their distinct bathroom spot when they need to go, and by 8 weeks accidents become minimal compared to the earlier weeks. (Also see Night Training, below.)
4. Crate Exposure:
When puppies are freely moving about and playing, we begin to introduce them to a crate in their play zone. Lined with a fuzzy towel or blanket (which they delight to rearrange), they quickly learn to seek out this cozy place for nap time. A crate begins to be associated with comfort and security. We also give them individualized crate time for brief intervals throughout the day as they mature.
This picture shows one of our puppy areas. From left to right are the potty area, activity zone, and crate at the far end. Some artful rearranging of the crate blanket has happened, and Birch and Nutmeg are giving their best “not me” faces.
5. Night Training
At around 6 weeks of age, the puppies are ready to start sleeping through the night. We acclimate them as a group to sleeping in the crate together, and they will happily sleep all night long. Typically, they wake between 5 and 7 a.m. to do their business. By the time they are ready to go home at 8 weeks, they know that nighttime is for sleeping, and will be able to sleep the whole night through at your home once they are accustomed to their new surroundings.
6. Playtime
We make sure to give the puppies a variety of stimulating toys and surfaces on which to play each day. Our puppies love to play, and some even begin retrieving before they leave our home at 8 weeks. Balls, ropes, soft toys, tunnels, and crinkly objects are all part of their playtime experiences. Weather permitting, the puppies also get playtime outside in our fully enclosed play zone once they are old enough to do so.
Click below to see a video of the puppies happily learning to follow… (may take a minute to load.)
7. Habituation
In addition to being exposed to the life and noises of our homeschooling family, we introduce the puppies to habituation recordings. These recordings include sounds such as ringing doorbells, busy construction sites, traffic and street noise, fire trucks, playground sounds, fireworks, farm animals, barking dogs, and others. This helps them get used to a wide variety of sounds they might hear later in life. Early exposure to these sounds helps minimize fearful responses for them as adult dogs, and builds their confidence and resilience to better face the many things they may later encounter.
8. Car Rides
Your puppy will be taken on several car rides before he or she comes home with you. Whether going to the vet, out for a joy ride, or to your kids’ soccer games, you want car rides to be an enjoyable and normal part of life for your puppy.
9. Manners Training
We use Puppy Culture training, including Manding Exercises to reward puppies for “sits.” This helps them to sit when they want something from you rather than jumping up on you, scratching, or biting for attention. (It’s the cutest thing to see them sit like this!) They are still puppies, so please do not expect perfection from them. But, they will be well on their way to good puppy dog manners, especially if you follow their sitting behavior with lots of positive encouragement.