ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation)

ENS requires handling the puppies one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. We complete the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to ENS, including improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate); stronger heart beats; stronger adrenal glands; more tolerance to stress; and greater resistance to disease. In tests of learning, ENS stimulated pups were more active and exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates, according to Breeding Better Dogs.

ESI (Early Scent Introduction)

ESI is a training program for puppies designed to enhance their ability to identify, and react to, specific scents. Each day we introduce a new strong scent to the puppy for brief intervals, and records the puppy’s reaction. For practical purposes, these results mean the potential for even better companion, service, and therapy dogs. At Merced Doodles we understand how important a dog’s sense of smell is to him and his brain function. The area in the brain that processes the data picked up by the nose is 40 times larger in dogs than humans. A dog’s ability to smell is a function of their intellect. According to Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog, they examine and understand the world through their noses like we see and make sense of the world with our eyes.

Habituation, Sounds & Surfaces

Habituation is all about getting your puppy used to the big wide world. It involves exposing your puppy to both common and uncommon experiences, and encouraging calm and relaxed behavior. Habituation starts from the moment your puppy is born and will continue throughout their life. The key to great habituation is making sure the experiences are fun or calm for your pup. Merced Doodles promotes this through introduction of different sounds and surfaces so that our litter is more well suited for the real world. We promote this normalization in the litters natural environment to further promote positive habituation.

Early Potty Training Introduction

Potty training our litter of puppies is a win-Win-WIN for the puppies and owners. By introducing potty training early on in our program:

1. Puppies are able to use their natural instinct to keep their sleeping and play areas clean.

2. Merced Doodles spend less time cleaning puppies and puppy pens.

3. New Owners take home pups that are on their way to being potty trained.

Socialization, Children & Other Animals

Socialization refers to the range of experiences your puppy will have with other dogs, other animals and people. Whilst those first introductions are amongst the most important, socialization is an ongoing process that will continue throughout your dog’s life. We ritually allow our children and entire household to handle the puppies under supervision to make sure the puppies become comfortable with human touch early on. We allow the Sire to interact with the puppies as they get older and we introduce the litter to our pet birds to promote new social experiences. We also wear different props to change our look while we are around puppies so they feel safe with different people.

Avidog Adventure Box

We are always searching for fun and easy ways to develop our pups’ stability. We incorporate the Avidog Adventure Box as one of our favorite, particularly for early stimulation. An Adventure Box is wonderful way to introduce baby puppies to the sights, sounds, touch and motion they will experience during their lives. Experiences like the Adventure Box may grow the size and complexity of puppies’ brains, helping them to become more confident. The cherry on the top is that the puppies have tons of fun!

Rule of 7

We think all puppies should go through the puppy socialization called the “Rule of 7.” The rule of 7 is a technique we learned to help introduce our GoldenDoodle puppies to new environments and get them used to many different things they may encounter in their lives. Much like ENS the Rule of seven introduces the pups to small stresses that will help boost confidence, social behavior, and their trainability.

• Been in 7 different safe locations

• Eaten from 7 different containers

• Met at least 7 different people

• Ridden at least 7 miles in a car

• Been in a crate at least 7 times

• Played with 7 different kinds of toys

• Been exposed to 7 different challenges (Crate/Doggy Door included here)

• Been played with or taken somewhere alone, without mom or litter mates, 7 different times

Volhard’s Puppy Aptitude Test (PAT)

Merced Doodles currently does a puppy evluation, Volhard’s PAT, which uses a scoring system from 1-6 and consists of ten tests. The tests are done consecutively and in the order listed. Each test is scored separately, and interpreted on its own merits. The scores are not averaged, and there are no winners or losers. The entire purpose is to select the right puppy for the right home. We acknowledge you might have already put a deposit on a puppy at this point since we do PAT at 7 weeks on our litters. We score and interpret the results to the families of their pup, if there is a contradiction in family with a pups results we will discuss your options. Remember at the end of day there is no perfect dog just like there are no perfect humans, through training, time and patience we can continuously improve our forever companions.