Scientifically-Informed Puppy Rearing
Because how dogs and puppies are raised matters. A lot.
Can you tell the difference between well-bred puppies raised in home using all the latest research in canine genetics, nutrition and behavior from those that are not? At 8 weeks old, most people can't. Yet, by 4-5 months the differences become rather apparent, and by adulthood those differences are significant. That's partly because well-bred dogs have been selected for countless generations to have stable temperaments and sound structure and health. Any show or sports dog, by nature, would have to be well-built dogs with sound temperaments and fluid adaptability. But current research has revealed that genetics is only part of the story. The relatively new field of epigenetics has shown that markers on DNA affect how genes are expressed and these markers can be altered in a single generation by the experiences of the dog and its environment. Furthermore, those changes in gene expression (which can affect phenotype including health and behavior) can be stably passed to offspring for generations! So it's not just the experiences of the puppy that are important, but the experiences of its ancestors as well.
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As a breeder and geneticist, my primary goal with our dogs is to produce sound, healthy, intelligent and stable dogs that are not only fit to perform their original function, but also provide many years of stress-free companionship to their families. To achieve this, we need to not only start with well-bred dogs that have been carefully selected for these traits for many generations ensuring a sound genetic base, but we also need to provide optimal care for our dogs and scientifically researched rearing methods for the young developing puppies. In addition to our own professional expertise, we utilize both Avidog and Puppy Culture that help break down the latest science into easy to follow programs that give dogs and puppies what's needed at exactly the right times to produce the best dogs possible.
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Our Methods:
The Best Start in Life
We need to precisely control heat, oxygen and humidity to give neonatal puppies the best start in life. Newborn puppies are unable to control their body temperature as the shivering and blood vessel constriction reflexes are still under development, and the first few hours after birth is the highest risk time as they pass from the warm uterus of the mother to the much cooler and drier outside environment. This leads to a rapid heat and moisture loss putting the puppy at risk for hypothermia. The birthing process may also result in puppies being deprived of oxygen which can alter the epigenetic marks on DNA and lead to lasting neurological dysfunction. Once the puppies are warm with appropriate blood oxygens levels, they will begin nursing (cold or gasping puppies lose their digestion and suckling reflexes). The colostrum received during the first few meals will provide vital energy the puppy needs to stay warm, in addition to providing antibodies from the mom to protect the puppy from infectious disease. This window for the puppy's intestines to absorb antibodies from the mom begins to decline after 4 hours after birth, and closes by 16-24 hours. Thus, it is imperative to get puppies nursing immediately. Dehydration is also a real concern when humidity is too low or temperature is too high. We utilize the Puppy Warmer incubator and oxygen concentrator system at the time of whelping to give a stable, warmed, humified and higher oxygen environment to get puppies dry and warm (but not too warm) with appropriate blood oxygen levels and humidity.
Optimal Vaccination Timing
The above video (about 30 mins in length) is by Dr. Laurie Larson, DVM at the University of Wisconsin-Madison explaining nomographs and puppy follow-up testing (after a nomograph has been done for the breeding dam).
We perform nomograph testing on the mom to determine the optimal time of vaccination in our puppies. Antibodies obtained from the mom shortly after birth begin to break down in two-week half-lives (meaning it decreases by half every 2 weeks). When antibody levels are high, the puppy is able to neutralize viruses and bacteria that the dam was immune to such as parvo and distemper. Unfortunately, these same maternally derived antibodies also block vaccines from being able to immunize the puppy. The reason that puppies are given multiple doses of vaccine spread out over several weeks is because most of the time we don’t know what their maternal antibody titers are, or how much colostrum the puppy received during those first few hours after birth, and so don’t know when the vaccine will be effective. Once these antibodies decrease to a low enough level, the puppy is no longer protected and can be infected; this is the optimal time for vaccination. Nomograph testing helps us understand the best timing of vaccination to assure a litter will be effectively immunized.
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We also recommend new owners perform "Follow-up Nomograph Testing" to ensure the puppy has been effectively immunized to have peace of mind during critical early socialization periods when we often are torn between what's best for the puppy's socialization versus what's safest for the puppy's health.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI)
From days 3-16, we incorporate a series of brief exercises that each puppy experiences daily. The exposure to these very slight stressors are thought to have an optimal effect on the developing brain and immune system.
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Early scent introduction exposes the puppy to one novel non-food scent from days 3-16. This stimulates the development of scenting abilities and increases cognitive connections in the developing brain which undergoes massive development during this time.
This is an example nomograph from one of our litters. Notice it is showing the optimal time to vaccinate the puppies in this litter is at 7 and then again at 10 weeks of age, followed by a titer test to ensure immunity.
Puppies raised in home
Many breeders will whelp litters in the house, but then move them to outside kennels once the pups reach 3-4 weeks and begin making a lot of noise and mess.
Unfortunately, this coincides with when the critical socialization period starts, and when the pups need --more than ever before -- to be in the middle of a busy household! From 3-20 days, the developing pups are most sensitive to stress, and from 3-13 weeks, a small amount of experience produces the greatest effect. In fact, it has been shown that early socialization can extend this critical period by an additional 3 weeks allowing for more exposure to new and exciting things to create a more balanced and stable dog.
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Early house-training
We introduce our pups to a litterbox with Second Nature Dog Litter starting at 3 weeks of age. Puppies naturally want to be clean and learn to use the box very quickly.
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This greatly speeds up house breaking since puppies don't get used to going everywhere and to sleeping in their pee/poop. Once they get used to being messy, it's pretty hard to break them of it. To train to go outside, sprinkling a few litter pellets on the grass outside is usually all it takes for a puppy to sense they should go there, and if followed up with reward, they catch on pretty fast.
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The Best Nutrition
First and foremost, our bitches receive the best nutrition using the latest science. Starting at the time of mating, our bitches receive pre- and probiotics daily which have been shown to increase the immune power of the colostrum that the pups receive shortly after birth. In addition, all of our dogs, including pregnant dams, are supplemented with DHA and EPA daily. Studies have shown that supplementation with these unsaturated fatty acids increase cognitive and neurologic development in puppies, and vision/retinal function when supplemented during gestation and lactation, and may also improve cognitive function when supplemented later in life.
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Our pups start weaning around 3 weeks of age with a raw meat combination of ground beef, ground chicken, ground green tripe, ground beef heart, ground beef liver, and ground chicken bone mixed with Puppy Gold by K9Power (a milk-based essential nutrient mix that provides probiotic and nutritional support for developing puppies). The puppies immediately take to this new food and thrive on it.
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We start mixing in Farmina or Pro Plan Puppy to get them used to eating a dry kibble. Farmina, which we feed to our adult dogs and highly recommend, is formulated by a team of veterinary nutritionists in Italy and is composed of 90% of greater animal-based proteins. Siberians did not evolve along side humans in agricultural communities like some other breeds, and thus do not have the genes that allow them to digest and thrive on plant-based foods. We rotate our puppy food with Veterinarian recommended Pro Plan Sport Puppy to give greater variety to ensure a healthy gut acclimated to different ingredients.
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New stimuli daily
As soon as the puppies' eyes have opened, a new object is introduced to the whelping box everyday to stimulate different visual and tactile senses. Once they hit 3 weeks, we start outdoor experiences and introducing pups to new, friendly adult Siberians.
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The puppies have no fear at this age and explore this novel object or new environment with much interest. We try to vary the objects, dogs and places so they meet someone new and are exposed to different textures, sounds, smells, colors, shapes and sizes of objects. We also work on startle reflexes to loud noises during this time which helps the puppy develop a healthy startle recovery response.
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Problem solving games (>4 weeks)
At around 4 weeks of age, we start training the puppies using a series of fun games. First, they learn to associate a clicker with a treat. This association leads to pleasurable feelings every time they hear the clicker in the future, and marks behaviors so the puppy understands what we want, which leads to less frustration from the puppy and human, and ultimately makes training easier.
Next, we teach the puppies how to use their own form of sign language to communicate with humans. First, we play a box game. Every time they put their paw in the box, they are rewarded with a treat. They quickly learn to offer this behavior on their own which is a profound moment for them -- they understand that they can communicate with humans by offering a behavior! We also implement barrier challenges during this time (such as food on the other side of a barrier that they have to figure out how to get to) to build problem solving and critical thinking skills. Finally, we teach the puppies to mand -- that is to sit politely when around humans instead of jumping (shown in video). These games play a central role in developing impulse control and teaching the puppies how to communicate and interact with humans in a socially acceptable manner.
Car Trips and Novel Experiences (6-7 weeks)
Many of our pups have a long journey ahead of them, and many will travel frequently with their families. For this reason, we believe it is important they are exposed to the crate in the car and have experienced car travel before going to their new families. Every puppy has been in a car for at least 7 miles two times by 8 weeks of age.
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Our puppies are exposed to a variety of novel experiences by the time they are 8 weeks old. We do not allow them to walk on the ground in public places (due to stable dog viruses being in the public environment), but we do walk them in a stroller or carry them through parks and other public places. We also utilize the Avidog concept of "woodland walks", allowing puppies to explore the woods as they follow us on short hiking trips, which helps them become adventure seekers and reduces fear of new places later on.
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100 people (5 -16 weeks)
Meeting and interacting with a variety of people is essential to the social development of young puppies. From ages 3 weeks up to 16 weeks, pups are particularly sensitive to social engagement with other dogs, people, other pets and even livestock. A little experience now goes a long way to promoting healthy interactions later on.
We do our best to ensure our puppies meet 100 people during these early months, and encourage new families to continue adding new people to their pups experiences.
Puppy Evaluations (7-8 weeks old)
We normally have a pretty good idea which puppies are best suited for which homes, but we use a more objective assessment for final determinations.
​You can see the APET score sheet that we use here.
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This test helps us assess a puppy's temperament including confidence levels, sociability, resilience, focus, independence, and working ability. ​We use this assessment in addition to our structural assessment to match our puppies to appropriate homes.
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For a family pet/companion, we look for the following traits: (Avidog 2021)
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Moderate to high biddability
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Moderate to high people focus
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Low environmental focus
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Low prey desire
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Low to moderate play desire
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Low energy (quiet pet home)
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Moderate energy (active pet home)
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Low to moderate sight and sound sensitivity
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Moderate to high pain threshold although low-pain threshold dogs can do well in homes with no children
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Middle-of-the-road forgiveness
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Puppies with the following temperament traits are generally not well-suited for pet homes:
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x High energy
x Low activity focus
x Low biddability
x High sight sensitivity
x High sound sensitivity (homes with young children)
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For active show or competitive obedience homes, we look for the following traits: (Avidog 2021)
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Excellent Structure
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High natural following
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High eye contact
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Moderate to high energy
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Moderate to high food desire
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Moderate to high play desire
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Strong natural hold
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High people focus
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Low to moderate environmental focus
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Moderate to high biddability
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High self-confidence
The following temperament traits generally hinder a puppy from being a good show or obedience sport prospect:
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​x High environmental focus
x Low people focus
x No eye contact
x Low play desire
x Low food desire
x Low self-confidence
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For working or high energy sports (e.g., agility, lure coursing, bikejoring, sled dog racing) prospects, we look for the following traits: (Avidog 2021)
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Excellent Structure
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Moderate to high environmental focus
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Moderate to high people focus
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Strong three dimensionality
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High pulling desire for mushing sports
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High play desire
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High courage
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High energy
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The following temperament traits generally hinder a puppy from being a good working or high energy sports prospect:
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x Low play desire
x Low food desire
x High sight and sound sensitivity
x Low pain threshold
x Low self-confidence
x Low pulling desire for mushing sports
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