Paw-sitive Puppy Start
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Don’t Miss the Most Crucial Weeks of Your Puppy’s Life
From 8 weeks to 6 months, your puppy undergoes powerful genetic and developmental changes that will shape their future. Confidence, trust, manners, personality, and emotional balance are all being formed right now — once this window closes, you can’t go back and redo it.
Every single interaction teaches your puppy something. Whether you mean to or not, you’re training them with every look, word, and moment of attention or inattention.
The question is — are you teaching them the right things?
Our exclusive Puppy Foundations Program is designed to make sure you don’t miss a single critical step. This program was designed with, and initially for, a local veterinarian. Because real results take time, patience, and total focus, we only accept one puppy at a time — ensuring your dog gets the expert, personalized training they deserve during this once-in-a-lifetime stage. The sooner you do it, the better. We prefer to get puppies right at 8 weeks of age, but certainly before they are 12 weeks old.
Spaces are extremely limited — apply now to reserve your puppy’s spot.
How it Works
Program Duration:
4 Weeks
Objectives
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Introduction to a leash, leash pressure, and Guidance
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Socialization with dogs, children, new places and hazards / scary stuff
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Housebreaking / Kennel Training
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Body Handling Drills
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Schedule and routine
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Resource Control (Food Water, Space, Toys, Affection and Time).
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Handling for grooming
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Discouraging Play Biting
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Managing Destructive Behavior
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Preventing problems by implementing appropriate boundaries and managing your puppy properly
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and many others!
Please note that this is not obedience training and we will not be attempting to build obedience training skills like we do in our board and train. However, your dog will be well-positioned to enter our board-and-train program as soon as they are old enough.
Phase 1: Bonding, Structure, Sensory Normalization
Primary Focus: Build trust, begin house/crate training, normalize every day life.
Focus & Objectives:
● Positive exposure to a variety of sights/sounds, environments and people. ● Name recognition & engagement
● Crate training (calm entry/exit, overnight sleep)
● Potty training (on leash with consistent schedule)
● Sit for food, leash, petting (basic impulse control)
● Introduce “Place” with shaping toward a relaxed down
● Body handling: ears, feet, tail, mouth, collar grabs (prep for vet/groomer), with restraint.
● Intro to respecting leash pressure, tethering and structured leash walks indoors
● Passive neutrality around people and dogs (not all greetings = play, no direct interaction with other dogs.)
Environmental Exposure (No direct dog-dog interaction):
● Household noises: vacuum, blender, doorbell, TV
● Human appearances: hats, masks, glasses, beards, sunglasses
● Surfaces: tile, grass, concrete, metal grates, tarps
● Short neutral car rides in a crate
● Human handling by other adults