Puppy Enrichment

Puppies will receive daily enrichment (love, attention, socialization, training) based on methods described in below sources and specifically on our experience, and mentoring from Kooikerhondje friends/breeders.

1.  Avidog methodology, and their free ebook, 97 Ways to Create Great Puppies.
2. THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY by the Monks of New Skete.
3. HOW TO RAISE A PUPPY YOU CAN LIVE WITH 4th Edition by Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil.
4. Raad Van Beheer training Module 5 Gedragsleer 
5. VHNK Kooiker Opvoeding en Training 

Sample enrichment activities at each developmental stage are:

Neonatal Stage

• Give puppy kisses each day.
• Days 3-16 do Avidog’s Early Scent Stimulation. Let the pups smell a new object each day
• Trim toenails to accustom the pups to this lifelong task.

Transitional Stage

• As they get a little older add more toys to the pen.
• Stroke each pup’s fur from tail to head and then head to tail.
• To reinforce human contact, put an old cotton sock or unwashed cotton T-shirt into the nest so that the pups will be continuously exposed to human scent as they grow.

Socialization Stage

• Give the pups a bath.
• Introduce the pups to at least one dog that isn’t their mother. (that dog should be outside the puppy pen.)
• Begin teaching the pups to come when you call at mealtimes
• Socialization with People - The sixth week of life (thirty-five to forty-two days) is pivotal in puppy development. The main emphasis of socialization begins to shift from mother and littermates toward human beings and the world beyond the nest.
• Intentionally make eye contact with each, since puppies instinctively focus on the faces of those they greet, human and canine alike.