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My early stimulation program

Puppies subjected to early stimulation exercises mature more quickly and perform better on certain problem-solving tests than their unstimulated companions.

A puppy stimulated from birth will be more at ease when he is handled, he will be more attentive, calm, receptive, in short more intelligent.

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The advantages observed are:

  1. Improved cardiovascular performance (heart rate.)

  2. The heart beats with more force.

  3. Stronger adrenal glands.

  4. Greater stress tolerance.

  5. Greater resistance to disease.

Here is concretely how I proceed;

1

tactile stimulation

I gently tickle the puppies' pads with a cotton swab. The stimulation time is 3 to 5 seconds maximum per pad.

2

Head held straight

I hold the puppy in my hands, the head is held perpendicular to the ground for 3 seconds. 

3

head down

I hold the puppy in my hands, head down for  3 seconds.

4

  Lying position

The puppy rests in the palm of my hands for 3 seconds.

5

Thermal stimulation

The puppy is placed on a small damp towel for 3 seconds. You don't have to stop him from moving.

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Early physical stimulation in puppies 
- from Avidog -

Early Olfactory Stimulation in Puppy
- from Avidog -  

I also practice olfactory stimulation on my puppies based on the “Avidog” program. Also called Program Early Scent Introduction (ESI), this program was created by Gayle Watkins, Co-founder of Avidog. It consists of making the puppies smell a particular and different smell. We also start this program on the 3rd day and end on the 16th day. Every day, we present a new scent to each puppy individually.

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We select natural scents that puppies will interact with throughout their lives. It consists of making the puppies smell a particular different smell each day of the program (i.e. 14 different smells).

We select smells with which they will interact during their daily life, such as:

  • Natural objects: grass, tree bark, leaves, moss, earth, leaves, evergreen needles and pine cones, etc.

  • Fruits, herbs and spices: lemon, apples, bananas, oranges, rosemary, mint, cloves, etc. 

  • Animals: cats, goats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils.

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Odors not to be smelled by puppies on this program are:

  • Meat, cheese, food, chemicals

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Here is concretely how I proceed;

1

I introduce a new scent daily to each pup beginning on day 3 and ending on day 16.

2

Once a day, I take each puppy individually.

3

I put what contains the scent about 1cm from the puppy's nose. If the puppy wants to move towards the element, I allow him to do so. If the pup tries to get away from the scent, I allow it too. Do not move the scent to a puppy who is trying to avoid it.

4

I leave the scent in place for 5 seconds. If the puppy shows no reaction or a negative response, I remove the scent after those 5 seconds. If the pup chooses to engage with the scent, I leave the scent on for up to 30 seconds.

5

I put the pup back with its mother and repeat this procedure with the next pup until we've done the whole litter.

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Sensory homeostasis
The 5 senses 

An animal's sensory homeostasis is the minimum threshold of sensory stimulation to which it must be exposed in childhood to be emotionally balanced in adulthood. 

Thus, a puppy aged between 3 weeks and 3 months must be accustomed to all kinds of sensory stimuli. Here, the puppies will have been stimulated until they leave: 

  • Auditory simulations: (hearing) It is essential that my babies are familiarized with the sounds of life and with different noises; the storm, the vacuum cleaner, the music. urban noises, etc. 

  • Tactile simulations: (touch) with caresses, pinches, holding the tail, touching the tongue, touching between the toes, walks outside, etc. 

  • Olfactory simulations: (smell) with the different daily smells; smell of cleaner, cooking, outside smell, etc. 

  • Visual simulations: (sight)  with different brightnesses up to black. 

  • Taste simulations: (the snack) of course they will have eaten various things; different kinds of meat, vegetables and fruits, grass, snow (yes!), etc.

  

In concrete terms, the more an animal has been exposed to various stimuli during its first weeks, the more sociable it becomes and the less likely it is to develop behavioral problems. It facilitates resistance to stress, adaptation and investigation as well as learning. He helps to establish a good relationship of trust with his family.

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