How We Train Our Puppies
Here at EllsWORTH Labradoodles, we take great pride in raising and preparing our puppies to be the best dogs possible. In order to accomplish this, we use a variety of techniques and methods. Per Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia, genetics accounts for about 35% of the dog's performance, with the other 65% comings from management, training and nutrition. We only breed the top dogs, so we have the 35% covered. We work diligently to have the best handling and training. We also only feed our dogs one of the top dog foods to give them the best nutrition.
Early Neurological Stimulation or ENS. I have included a link to an article about ENS which explains what ENS is, how it is done and how it helps produce the best dogs.
Crate training. This training teaches the puppy that he has his own space that provides safety and security. This also eases that transition to a new home when a crate is used in both places. The crate becomes the puppy's room.
Early and frequent exposure to children. We are blessed to live in a neighborhood with wonderful children. With supervision, the puppies get frequent handling by all ages of children and learn to love people of all ages.
Providing challenges. From going to new places to have new and varying obstacles to face, we give the puppies a safe place to learn and build confidence. Puppies get to learn how to manage stairs, play on a slide, climb hills and go out for walks. These challenges build up each puppy's confidence, making for a better dog.
Early enrichment center. We provide the puppies with an adventure box that provides a varitey of textures and sounds. This helps to build confident and stable puppies that won't spook easily.
Basic commands. Of course we start teaching puppies basic commands, such as come and sit. The puppies are surprisingly quick learners.
Leash training. Puppies are taken out for walks individually and in groups with a variety of people so that they can learn to walk on a leash. While they still haven't perfected this by the time they come home, they have started to master this necessary skill.
Early scent introduction or ESI. ESI involves introducing puppies to new pungent scents for short intervals each day. "The benefits of ESI have been studied in a seven-year breeding test. Gayle Watson PhD conducted the test with Gaylan’s Golden Retriever litters. They broke down the litters to the dogs that had early scent detection and those that did not. She began her testing by looking at results from sporting Golden Retrievers here in the United States. Gayle and her team charted the outcome of various events to determine the effect the ESI had on the pups. The results were astounding! They found the dogs that had been involved in early scent introduction had more total scenting titles. Along with the titles were earned in more complex scenting categories. Another amazing fact that came from the research was that the dogs were achieving these titles two and a half to five years younger than the non ESI pups" (http://trainingcanines.com/2014/11/esi-early-scent-introduction/). In summary, ESI helps the pups to better develop their sense of smell and become more well rounded dogs.
Potty training. We start house training our puppies when they start walking. The link to the side is very similar to how we potty train the puppies. From the ALAA confrence this fall in Florida, the AVID dog people suggested having the potty place very close to the sleeping place and where the puppies go first from the bedding. As they learn to go, we will move it farther away. While we work very hard to house train each puppy, they will still need a bit more work when they get to their forever home. They will however have a great head start.