Puppy Curriculum

Sending puppies home with the right tools to thrive in your household! 

 

We breed our dogs methodically and intentionally and take great pride in giving them the best possible start in life. Starting from day one our dogs are learning to be the best possible members of your household. Animal Ark puppies are raised using the world renowned PUPPY CULTURE method developed by a team of veterinary behaviorists, breeders, and dog trainers.  This course is a 12 week program (so you get to go home with homework!) that each puppy participates in. With over 50 lessons completed by each puppy, they will learn early neurological stimulation, aggression prevention, potty training,  leash walking, and so much more. Click the above photo to learn more about what your puppy is coming home knowing, there is more then I can cover.  There is still lots of training ahead for these little ones- that's your job- but here are a few of the things WE do to ensure they start on the right track and have good foundation skills for you to build on.

                             

Our puppies are imprinted from birth acquainting key senses with human handling by:

Touching the inner and outer ear in preparation for healthy ear upkeep.

Touching the nose in preparation for complete ease with human handling.

Turning the puppy on its back and rubbing its tummy in preparation for complete vet checks. 

Gently rubbing the gums and mouth in preparation for good dental health upkeep.                                                                                                                                

Our puppies are prepared for good future grooming habits with Coat brushing and

Gentle bathing, and each is introduced to the sound and feel of clippers.  

 

Our puppies begin potty training at three weeks old:

As soon as each baby in the litter can get around on their little legs, we introduce them to indoor paper training.   By the time they come home they are well acquainted with being clean and trying very hard to do their business in the directed areas.  Their bladders are not fully developed until around 14 weeks so there is still work ahead to be fully house trained, but our little guys are smart and are eager to impress you by learning very fast where is acceptable to do their business!

 

Socialization is extremely important for puppies, and each puppy is held, petted, kissed, and loved from birth to the day of placement in their new family. They are born right in our home and are exposed to our busy family environment. Each puppy is introduced to adults, children, and seniors.  Our puppies learn group and one-on-one socialization, tolerance of noise, and adaptation to the many everyday activities that happen on a farm. From six weeks on we also work on adjusting each puppy to small increments of time away from the "puppy pack" for the eventual transition to their new family or "people pack", so when they go home, they have a far easier time adjusting. 

 

Introduction to a multitude of sounds, and textures is a key portion of how our puppies are raised. To encourage dogs who are calm, curious and confident, our babies are introduced to noises such as vacuum cleaners, many styles of music, noisy children playing as well as audio recordings developed specifically for puppy adjustments such as city noises. We start with sounds that are low and slow and work towards bigger and "scarier" obstacles so that our puppies can adjust not only to their new home life easier, but also the outside world without fear. They are also slowly conditioned to different textures in their environment including different flooring types, hard and rough toys, soft and chewy toys, and many other sterilized "objects" like sticks, rocks, pillows, bristle mats, and rugs. Puppies have also been accustomed to travelling short distances by car, so that they do not have a "trip to the vet only" association with traveling.

*Stair climbing is not covered in our puppy curriculum under veterinary recommendation that dogs wait until 3-6 months of age before climbing stairs for proper joint health. 

 

Our puppies are already introduced to the outside world and pottying outside starting at 6 weeks (Weather Dependent). Although most reputable breeders do not allow puppies outside due to the high risk of PARVO virus, our remote location, strict parvo protocols and farm bio-security standards, and separate quarantined "puppy play pen" allow this luxury. 

 

Our puppies have begun preliminary crate training! Generally, each puppy is able to stay dry in their crate for about 6-7 hours overnight by the time they leave our farm for their new home. We believe it is important that puppies have a separate, safe place available for them when they go home to lower chances of eating something toxic while you are out, allow personal space for the dog during overwhelming situations, and prepare them for the unfortunate event of an emergency evacuation or overnight vet stay. They do not have to spend extended amounts of time in their crate, but it is a useful training tool to utilize. We start our crate training with a small crate that puppies spend 20 minutes in with a littermate. We build on this in gradual increments, until they are happily spending an hour daily in their crate at which point, they can transition to individual crates. We use positive reinforcement and strive for our puppies to recognize the crate as a happy, secure place and never want puppies to feel alone or scared during crate training. Beginning crate training in advance allows puppies go home with one less big adjustment for them to handle.  (More on crate training is included in our puppy training booklet that goes home with you. We also share our favorite resources with each puppy family before go-home day.)

 

Our puppies have began the foundational skills needed for leash walking as well as sitting, by learning the "manding" skil l(sitting to ask for food affection, toys, or when approached) early on they are well prepared to learn the "sit" que.  They are  started on a clicker so they can transfer to your household training easier. 

 

Our puppies are bred to have A clear line of health for which we offer a two-year genetic health guarantee. They also have a soft coat that is low shedding and hypoallergenic with less trigger scent for allergy-prone people.     

 

Our puppies come to you with:

First vet check.

Dewormed.

First vaccination

booklet of heath care records.   

MicroChip I.D.

Puppy Blanket.

Birth certificate

Any applicable registration papers

Puppy Collar & Leash.

Puppy food he/she is use to

A harness 

a toy they are used to and has their littermates smell on it.

a lifetime of support.