HowWe Raise Our Puppies
Here is everything you need to know about how we raise our puppies for families like yours.
Message from Bubblings Springs Doodles' Founder, Allison Mowery
As a woman that has spent much of my life immersed in education and the importance of education, I wanted to incorporate those same parts of me into our breeding program. I am an elementary learning support teacher.
I’m passionate about my role in shaping these wonderful young people. I am also a mother, I support our children and encourage them to learn, grow in kindness, and be teachable. I wanted this to carry over into every puppy I raise and how we select the parents of our puppies.
I want our puppies to reflect our personal values and add great comfort and companionship to their families. We have researched and worked along side some of the greatest breeders in our country and the Puppy Curriculum we use was chosen based on the profound impact it has on entire litters and what it stands for.
- Allison
General Puppy Care Info
Choosing your new pup based on excellent genetics is crucial, but equally vital is how they are raised during their early developmental weeks.
At Bubbling Springs Bernedoodles, we prioritize this aspect, carefully following a well-structured curriculum to foster confident, attentive, and capable puppies.
Going above and beyond, we empower our Bernedoodle pups with enriching experiences, preparing them for any future lifestyle before they head off to their new homes.
Through extensive research and analysis, we have crafted a unique program to offer our pups the most well-rounded education possible.
Our foundation primarily stems from the exceptional Empowered Badass Breeder Program, an advanced service dog curriculum that has equipped us with the skills to give our puppies a voice and ensure their success in their new lives.
Additionally, we've integrated some fantastic elements from the renowned Puppy Culture Program, revolutionizing and elevating our program to new heights.
Early Development Care (3-16 days of age)
Learn about the early development techniques we use to set our puppies up for future success.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)
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During days 3-16, our puppies experience Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) using the US Military's Bio-Sensor Program. ENS helps to stimulate the neurological system, which improves the growth and development of the puppy's immune system, cardiovascular system and stress tolerance. Studies show that performing ENS can also provide a greater resistance to diseases.
Early Scent Introduction (ESI)
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In conjunction with ENS, we perform Early Scent Introduction (ESI) with all our pups during days 3 - 16 as well. ESI is designed to enhance a puppy's ability to identify and react to specific scents. Dogs that are introduced to ESI not only have better scenting skills as adults to perform certain tasks or jobs, but they have also proven to have a more optimistic attitude toward life and with that, fewer behavioral problems.
Puppy Raising at 2-3 Weeks of Age
We take early steps towards our puppies' potty training around 3 weeks of age by creating separate sleep and potty areas in the whelping box. Once our pups reach around 4 weeks of age, they are moved from our bedroom into our dining/main room, where they will experience more frequent traffic with our family and our other dogs. Once in the dining room, we set up a gridded potty area. We begin to potty train from a very young age and they do very well with it!
During this time, our puppies continue working on basic skills like walking and navigating around their pen. They start experiencing new toys and exposure activities to improve their confidence and stimulate their senses. Each day comes with a new activity or experience for them. The daily curriculum allows us to teach our puppies valuable life skills like problem-solving, conquering fears, perservering and learning to be curious and optimistic when experiencing new things. Our goal is to encourage our puppies to discover their own amazing abilities. Please follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see lots of examples of our daily curriculum activities.
We begin Daily Handling Exercises with each of our puppies at 3 weeks of age as well. These exercises encourage our puppies to be willing, compliant and capable of accepting different types of touch, handling and sensation. These traits are especially important for families with children or for those that may be looking for a therapy dog prospect. Daily handling exercises will also help prepare our pups for being handled at vet appointments, grooming, etc.
We also start introducing our puppies to a variety of soundtracks designed to prepare them for life outside our home. We find these soundtracks make a significant difference in our puppies' confidence levels and they help with their move into their new homes, which are filled with all sorts of new sounds and experiences.
Puppy Raising at 4-5 Weeks of Age
Once our puppies reach 4-5 weeks of age, we really start to step up our curriculum! By this age, our puppies start spending time in different areas of our home, where they can experience new sights and sounds while working on their daily curriculum. They also start spending some time outdoors each day from about 5 weeks of age onward.
We have a fully fenced outdoor puppy area that is great for playtime and outdoor curriculum activities, but we also introduce our pups to many other areas around our property, where they are regularly exposed to different types of terrain, sounds, passing vehicles (cars, trucks, trailers, ATV's, dirtbikes), water, obstacles, etc. Our puppies love playing outside and we believe exposing them to the outside world is such an important step to building their confidence and preparing them for their new homes.
Puppy Raising at 6-8 Weeks of Age
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During the puppies' last few weeks in our care, frequent handling of each puppy continues of course. We also start introducing more challenging stimuli and activities to help them learn in a safe, controlled setting before heading off to their new homes. We begin crate training around 5-6 weeks of age. We start by breaking the litter up into smaller groups for short time periods, with groups of 3, then 2. Once they're ready to spend some time on their own, we then introduce the crate and break it down into 30 minute intervals to start, and gradually stretch it out to 3-4 hours by the time they reach 8 weeks of age.
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Although we work hard to set a solid crate training and potty training foundation, we in no way guarantee they will be crate/house trained once they come home between 8 and 9 weeks of age. They are young and new to life, and a big transition like moving does cause some regression in their training, so all puppies do require ongoing effort and practice to solidify those habits. You will receive a puppy training information booklet to provide you with lots of tips for making that transition into your home a much easier one.