The Mariah Puppy Journey
I am going to step into a personal journey to share with all my readers. As most of you know, I suffered a heart attack this summer that threw me into a world of unknowns and digging deep into my soul to survive and thrive. Just a week ago, I finally finished phase one of cardiac rehab.
In the midst of so many horrible personal losses this year, my Mariah accidentally mated with one of my males. I struggled with deciding about a litter at this time, but after much consultation with my trusted professionals and mentors, and Mariah passing all of the health certifications, I decided it would be something I embrace. Early puppy development is my specialty and passion. If I can make this wonderful experience of growth for them something I can share for everyone to learn from, then it shall be!
Each week, as I did with Kalidor, I am going to document and share the things I do with this litter to prepare them for their new homes. Most of all, I hope everyone will get to see what learning machines baby puppies are and what can be done with puppies early on to prepare them for their new homes. I hope to show people that responsible breeders can shape puppies into a wonderful thing through knowledge, care, love, and consistency.
Five boys were born in the wee hours of Wednesday, January 24th. My primary concern was for Mariah and how she was going to adjust to her new role in motherhood. What I am totally consumed with is the instincts that take over driving a new mother dog to nest, deliver and free a puppy from their birth sack, to nurse, be gentle and keep pups warm, clean the puppies and protect them from anything they view as a danger to their newborn.
Since I am what I would call an “integrated” trainer and behavior consultant, I use many different schools of thought and methods with every dog or puppy. Every animal is unique in their learning abilities, just like children are. One size does not fit all. There are so many wonderful techniques available in every methodology. It only makes sense to pick and choose what works best for each dog.
With the puppies, I will be incorporating research done by the military and Dr. Carmen Battaglia called “Early Neurological Stimulation.” Because scent work is my personal passion, I also have adapted scent imprinting and stimulation for pups that might become Search and Rescue dogs, competitive scenting dogs, or HRD (Human Remains Detection) or drug and explosive detection dogs.
I will incorporate some massage techniques from Tellington Touch to help them learn to relax and look to their owner as the director, or leader. As they get older, I will also begin obedience training with a clicker and food. Primarily, I use cream cheese to begin as soon as they are 3 weeks old and eating solid foods. Yes, puppies that young can learn amazing things. My Brinx and Baewulf knew all their basic obedience by the time they were 5 weeks old!!!
More than anything, I hope to educate anyone that loves dogs to understand that astounding things can be done with puppies as early as a few days old, and that obedience training, bite inhibition, no jumping and positive restraint can begin before pups ever leave the breeder.
I hope you will enjoy this journey! You can also find information about what I am doing on the Positive Puppy Dog Training LLC FaceBook page.
Caption: Mariah’s natural instinct to protect, love and keep her newborn puppy warm.
