Our Methods

Nature is a beautiful thing and God created animals with an incredible natural instinct. We aim to tap into these instincts at each step of the puppy's growth and development to allow them to operate as nature and God intended.

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Pregnancy: Shadow lives a very active life, but she is also trained to be content with rest. Before pregnancy, she is in peak physical condition. During pregnancy, we back down on her intense physical activity, and replace it with mental stimulation and extra rest. We begin to feed Purina Pro Plan Puppy formula very early in this stage and since Shadow is not typically an overeater, we allow her to have as much as she will eat, which will naturally increase as she progresses. We also supplement with a daily multivitamin. 

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Birth: Shadow will take care of this mostly on her own! We remain present, but let her do the work of cleaning and stimulating the puppies. We only step in when necessary. Shadow will eat all the placentas which provide her with the extra energy and nutrition she needs to get through the first few days. The puppies first nursing will consist of colostrum which contains antibodies from the mother and growth factors to give them a leg up in their first few weeks.

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Weeks 1-2: The puppies cannot hear or see, but they can eat! We monitor feedings and weigh them daily, tracking their growth to ensure no one falls behind. We handle each puppy regularly, touching their ears and feet, and holding them in different positions (Early Neurological Stimulation).  By day 5 they will have their tails docked and dew claws removed. This is a very quick procedure and requires no aftercare. We allow close family and friends to visit the puppies, but limit interactions until they are a little bigger and stronger.

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Weeks 3-4: The puppies eyes are opening and their teeth are emerging! during this time we start introducing many new things such as food, toys, and potty training. Visitors are welcome and encouraged! It's important for the puppies to learn that new sights and sounds are not things to be fearful of which helps grow their self-confidence.  We start slow with food, and Mom continues to stay with them most of the time. As their appetites grow, we encourage more food meals and fewer mom meals and start limiting their time with her. We make it a point to handle them while they are eating to discourage and development of food aggression or guarding.

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Weeks 5-6: We are finalizing the weaning stage and preparing for our vet visit where the puppies will receive health checks, deworming, and their first round of vaccines. They are very active at this stage and continue to work on potty training. For potty training, we use a method where we keep one area of their pen designated for potty, and the others for sleeping/play/eating. We keep the clean areas free from messes as much as possible, but allow some scent to remain in the potty area. Dogs naturally keep their den clean so our goal is to tap into those natural instincts and provide a way to do that from early on. At this point mom will be cleaning up after them less and less. 

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Weeks 7-8: The puppies will be eating all meals on their own and continue building their potty skills. The puppies will not necessarily know how to "hold" it, but they will learn that there is a place to potty, and a place not to potty, giving their new owner a head start for the real deal! A good rule of thumb for potty training is that the puppy can hold it for as many hours as they are months old - so at 8 weeks they need potty breaks every 2 hours. At 8 weeks old the puppies are ready to leave the nest and go home to their permanent families! We'd love to receive updates and photos on how they do!