Puppy Curriculum
What's puppy curriculum? Simply put it's like "puppy school". It's the very foundation we implement daily in how we raise our puppies. We follow Empowered Breeder/BAB protocols, some Puppy Culture with AviDog mixed in, and also our own practices of enrichment at Sweet Magnolia Doodles. It's exactly what makes our puppies so unique. Take a look below at just a few of the things we do and also read our thoughts on temperament evaluations. Truly, the proof is in our puppies!
Just a glimpse into what we do with our puppies...
Early Handling
Early Neurological Stimulation begins on day 3-16. This is done during our daily gentle handling and weight checks. Studies have shown that ENS does the following; Improved cardiovascular performance(heart rate), stronger heart rates, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress, and greater resistance to disease.
Puppy Massage
Each day we gently handle our puppies.
Starting at week 3 we begin with our "Puppy Massage" which builds pressure each week. This is a technique Jeanette Forrey developed with her Empowered Breeder Program and we use it here at Sweet Magnolia Doodles. It helps to build more touch tolerance in our puppies. We rub their ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tap their nails, rub their backs, tug gently on their tails, massage their paws, and rub their bellies. This makes a HUGE difference in puppies and we firmly believe in this part of our program! So much that we encourage you to continue to do it once you take your Sweet Magnolia Doodle home!
Grooming
Another important part in raising doodle puppies...desensitization to grooming. This MUST start early, as this is a type of dog that will require frequent grooming to prevent matting. We begin puppies around 3-4 weeks old. We bath, dry, trim their bums, paws, sanitary trim, scissor trim their faces, and start combing. This is done gently at first, then building over the course of a few weeks before going home. Doodles need frequent grooming to maintain their coats and overall health. This is simply a MUST for each one of our puppies and we feel confident this early exposure leads to positive grooming experiences after they have gone home.
Sights & Sounds
Starting early on puppies begin sound training. This is exposure to noises at low levels, building intensity over the course of 8 weeks. Sounds such as police sirens, trains, construction equipment, babies crying, doorbells, dogs barking, loud bangs, fireworks, vacuuming, city sounds, laughter, kids, classical music, just to name a few. We also start a variety of different sights and environments for our puppies to learn in. We introduce puppies to new items safely inside the whelping box at 3 weeks of age. It's important to introduce puppies to all kinds of people and we begin this around 4/5 weeks of age. We begin moving puppies from their whelping box
Temperament Evaluations
Part of staying true to raising our puppies on curriculum, honoring our puppies, and our overall beliefs in how our puppies should be raised, is performing temperament evaluations at the appropriate age. We feel selecting a puppy on looks alone can be *potentially* a big mistake! Each dog/puppy has an individual, unique personality that isn't always apparent until after 6 weeks of age. This is another reason curriculum raising is such an important step in watching their strengths, weaknesses, how they interact with the world, and more. We use this time to makes notes of each puppy and include this in our final evaluation scores given at 7 weeks old. We use this as a guide in helping families find the *perfect* match for their lifestyle and needs. We feel confident in these methods we use! We have personally witnessed the success in curriculum raising our puppies, honoring their voice through our evaluations, and have successfully matched numerous doors with their fur-ever families because of this! As we like to say, " The proof is in the puppies!" You'll have to see for yourself just how special they are.