OUR PROGRAM
We start your pups off the right way.
We set the bar high and this is just one of the differences with Rocky View Bernedoodles. We start all our neonate puppies on Fresh Frozen Plasma Serum from LifeStream Animal Blood Bank (when available from LifeStream) to supplement the mom’s colostrum to boost their immune systems. From the time they are born until 48 hours old (the puppy’s gut closes after 48 hours and can no longer metabolize the serum). We syringe each puppy a dose based on their body weight every 2 hours. It’s worth it to us to give up sleep because Canine Cryobank found frozen plasma to be the only natural immune booster for newborn pups. Breeders have reported that pups fed plasma in the first 48 hours show consistent weight gain and are more vigorous than previous litters.
Because the newborn’s digestive system is not completely operational for the first hours after birth, the molecular immune boosting components of the frozen plasma pass unobstructed into the pups circulation. We love everyone one of our puppies and want them to have the very best start to their beautiful lives.
So what is ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction)?. ESI is a training program for our puppies designed to enhance their ability to identify and react to specific scents (Day 3 thru Day 16 – neonatal period). Each day we introduce a strong scent to each puppy for a brief interval and record the puppies reaction. The reaction is considered to be positive when the puppy shows interest in the scent – moving toward it. A negative reaction is recorded when the puppy tries to get away from the scent – turn their head away.
Finally when a puppy is neither interested or disinterested in a scent – this is a neutral reaction.
Did you know puppies can’t see or hear when they are born? However before puppies are born they can detect scent while still in the womb. They depend on scent when they are born to find their mother’s milk until their eyes open at about 2 weeks. The benefit of ESI is to build nose awareness and confidence. This is useful for hunting, tracking, service / therapy dog – eg a diabetic alert dog. Dogs have 300,000,000 olfactory receptors and the part of their brain devoted to analysing smell is 40 times larger than humans!
ENS
(Early Neurological Stimulation) involves applying gentle stressors to a very young puppy for 3-5 seconds:
- We do tactile stimulation (between the toes) with a q-tip.
- Head held erect.
- Head pointed down.
- Supine position.
- Thermal stimulation. We place the pup on a cold wet towel that has been refrigerated.
Benefits in dogs that have been exposed to ENS include:
- Improved cardiovascular performance (heart rate)
- Stronger heart beats
- Stronger adrenal glands
- More tolerance to stress
- Greater resistance to disease.
ENS-Early Neurological Stimulation is also known as Biosensor Training. Originally developed by the U.S. Military for the “Super Dog” program. The U.S. Military concluded that puppies experience their first rapid neurological development phase during the neonatal period (first 2 weeks of life). This is also the optimal time to conduct neurological stimulation exercises, because during this time period puppies are extremely sensitive and receptive to mild forms of stimulations and stressors. These stimulations can kick start their neurological system and improve their natural abilities.
The body handling exercises done start on day 3 for 2 weeks. Puppies are very sensitive and helpless during this developmental phase. Eyes are closed until day 10 and they start to gain hearing around 2 weeks. So even though they can’t see or hear they already sense touch and smell. ESI has been shown to improve neurological development, along with other benefits for their overall health, development and emotional stability
When puppies are 3 weeks old, they begin their gentle handling exercises – Puppy Massage! This will progress over the next 5 weeks until puppies join their forever families. It is critical that the families continue the Puppy Massage in their home. We will provide an outline on go home day.
Puppy Massage is not meant to upset or stress the puppies. We are beginning to condition them to human touch. This is their first relationship with a human, and it’s critical to make it a positive one. We are the gentle, trusting leader for them, by us guiding and showing them that the world is safe, people are kind and that dogs are friendly, you will be rewarded with a well balanced companion. We repeat the 10 gentle handling exercises of the Puppy Massage from day 17 and forward.
1. Rub ears
2. Cover eyes
3. Open Mouth and rub fingers on gums
4. Rub belly in a circular motion
5. Run hand down back
6. Run hand and fingers along tail
7. Touch all paws
8. Tap nails
9. Run fingers around neck and under collar
10. Touch their nose
As we perform the Puppy Massage we snuggle puppies close to our mouth and nose to let them smell us and hold them close to our hearts. All handling is gentle and safe. Although puppies begin looking and acting more puppy – like, we are very careful. Their nervous system is still extremely fragile, since their nerves are laying down more myelin(an insulating layer that forms around the nerves) as they see, hear, feel and taste new things. It’s more detrimental than helpful if we push too soon with unrealistic expectations. So we proceed cautiously. Small and controlled amounts of stressors are important. We keep their environment stable, calm and quiet.
Also starting at approximately 3 weeks we start novelty item exposure in their whelping box. We start with items such as: oranges, apples, ping pong balls, little stuffed animals, rubber squeaky toys, tactile toys, artificial flowers etc! One item per day for approx 30 minutes so as not to overwhelm them. Puppies begin to take things in and are able to move forward, starting to vocalize with intention, eyes are open but still sensitive to light and sight is blurry. Now that they are 3 week old, they are in the transitional period and starting to realize that there is life other than mom, themselves and littermates. This is an incredible time to step in and offer safe exposure in their whelping box which is their safe space. We offer something that is not abrasive to their senses, doesn’t move or will be scary for them. This is the start of us building a foundation of trust, with a high approach of curiosity, of confidence and workability. Each day they will be offered something very safe. If a puppy reaches its threshold we are here to guide and help comfort emotional responses. Just like kids in a classroom each learns differently and at their own pace. If a puppy is overwhelmed we are here to step in, again creating trust. The pup will learn that we will never ask more of them than they could handle ever! We will respect our pups and honour them and work according to their developmental pace & no one else’s. Each puppy is an individual and we respect them. We also introduce different sounds each day to desensitize the pups to everyday life. From vacuuming to lawnmowing, jackhammers, fireworks,sirens, honking horns – we play them all. 1 or 2 different sounds per day. In the evening we continue with classical music to calm them as they wind down and sleep.
At 4 weeks old the Socialization Period begins and continues through week 16. The puppies really start to come alive and engage! We introduce more activities, noise exposure and handling exercises. The puppies now have much improved vision and hearing. They love to hear the sound of their own voice! Puppy curriculum advances as they get older to include tactile progressive smell, moving objects etc. This is also when they start venturing out of the whelping pen to a larger area. We monitor all puppies during curriculum and play time with the goal to create tolerant, pliable pups who willingly allow human touch and close interaction.
In week 5 the puppies are becoming very active and we spend more time in the bigger play area with a variety of toys to stimulate and challenge them. The curriculum gets more advanced and interesting for the puppies. In week 5 we will start to bring visitors in to meet and handle and socialize the puppies, increasing their resiliency and socialization. We must be extremely diligent with safety and cleanliness protocols as puppies have not yet been vaccinated.
At 6 weeks we advance to problem solving, showing them that all environments and situations are safe by empowering our puppies – not enabling them. Our new daily exposure activities help with problem solving, confidence, nerve strength, high approach and low fear which are practiced over and over. Puppy’s individual temperament begins emerging in week 6. We will also begin crate training and potty training to the new pups to ease their transition into your home. As you can see from our Instagram, we introduce puppies to a teeter totter, large saucer, swing, tunnels and many other tactile items. Each day we do a complete reset and change the exposure items. The more we can desensitize and challenge them – happy, confident puppies will result!
When the puppies reach 7 weeks old they can learn almost anything! However, they lack focus and self-control. We must be attentive and interactive with the puppies to gain maximum benefit of this exciting time. Puppies will have their first Vet visit with first vaccination during this week. Puppy evaluations and temperament testing will take place which enables us to match your lifestyle to the personality of the puppies. Selections will then take place to pick the puppy that fits your environment the best. While it’s tempting to pick the “cute” puppy, personality and temperament are much more crucial to the match-making process.
Programs & Partners
Rocky View Bernedoodles is committed to providing the best upbringing for its puppies, using and partnering with trusted brands and organizations to ensure the highest standards.
Browse the links below to learn more about them:
