How Our Puppies Are Raised

Our puppies are all whelped and raised with us in our home. We rotate their living environment as much as possible to get them used to many different sights, sounds, and smells.

They are born in our bedroom and stay there for the first week so we can keep a close eye on them, taking daily weights to ensure everyone is thriving. During this time, we start Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) with our pups. We also go for 4 car rides before the pups are 10 days old to curb motion sickness as adults.

After the first week, we move them into my office where they stay with me for 2 weeks. At this point, their eyes are fully open and they start to become quite mobile. Now they need a bigger area.

This is what used to be our formal dining room which now houses the pups from 3 to 5 weeks. Pups are moved from their whelping box to a larger “condo” where they have a place to sleep and a place to go potty. We start “litter box” training with wood stove pellets and put the pellets right at the edge of their bedding so they learn to potty in the correct area. Even at this young age, pups instinctually don’t like to mess where they lay (this is the premise behind using a crate for potty training). Let the potty training begin!!

At this age (3 1/2 weeks) we also introduce solid food. We take the Life’s Abundance dog food, grind it up in our blender, mix it with puppy milk replacement and warm water.  All food is mixed by hand so that the pups start to associate the food with our human scent. Every time we set the food down, we call them so that soon, they have learned recall and come every time we call them. Not bad for a little pup!

We regularly have our pups listen to “Desensitization CDs”. It gets them used to noises like fireworks, thunderstorms, clippers and blow dryers, traffic, crying babies, etc.

At 5 weeks, the pups are moved once again to our 3 car garage which has been converted into a puppy nursery. It is heated and air-conditioned and the door from the garage to the house is kept open at all times so we can hear the pups. At this point, we move the litter boxes to the end of the 2nd big box. All pups use the litter boxes and I recommend my new puppy owners invest in a bag of wood stove pellets if there is a specific place they want their pup to go potty.

We also put crates in the bedding area so the pups get used to sleeping in a crate. We just take the front door off so they can come and go as they please.

Once the pups are 6 weeks, they are taken outside twice daily for a little group outing! It’s a great time for them to practice all their new-found skills ie. running, jumping, etc. It’s also a great time for them to interact with other adult dogs besides mom…

These are pictures of our family and our home. We live on 3.5 acres with a pond.

We also have a play yard that the pups love to play in when the weather permits.

Outside Play Yard

Inside Play Area

Come take a look around our home