Early Neurological Stimulation

A lot of you know that I am fascinated with exploring the degree to which a dog's future behavior and personality can be influenced through early intervention and environment. I really enjoy bold and confident dogs that are always up for the next adventure, but that are also smart, discerning, and who come with an "off" switch. I remember reading about duck imprinting years ago and finding that interesting, and the one time I raised a foal I couldn't wait until it was born so I could practice Dr. Robert M. Miller's imprinting techniques on it. Foal imprinting revolves around the belief that when a foal is born, it quickly forms impressions about the world. In the first few days after it is born, a foal will absorb a staggering amount ... some say up to 80% ... of what they need to survive and adapt successfully as an adult horse. Foal imprinting is a golden opportunity to expose a foal to many/most of the things it will encounter as an adult that we would like for it to accept as normal, i.e. clippers, blankets, tack, trailers, lawnmowers, cars, tractors, and the list can be as long and as creative as your imagination.

There is little doubt that a puppy's early experiences also have a profound affect upon the dog he is to become. Others, as well as myself, have long noted this. In his well known article, "Developing High Achievers" Dr. Carmen Battaglia notes that a dog's genetics accounts for approximately 35% of his performance whereas the remaining 65% is attributable to other factors such as training, management, nutrition, etc. Here at Apropos we follow Dr. Battaglia's program for developing high achievers between days 3 and 16 of the puppies' lives. We also do a lot with sound, with radio, banging pots and pans, thunderstorm noise CDs, etc. Once the puppies' eyes are opened, we change their environment to a public part of the house, and begin exposing them to different surfaces, smells, people, animals, places, etc. The older they are, the more we do, and the more frequently we do it. The theory is simple, to gradually build tolerance to stress so that the circumstances they'll encounter in their future daily lives will not be stressful, but rather, something they'll take in stride. This translates to "go anywhere, do everything" dogs that are exceptionally intelligent, and a joy to live with and to train. Above are some photographs of the puppies receiving neurological stimulation today.