Puppy stimulation and socialization

It has become somewhat fashionable to have an organized "program" for early puppy raising. Some of you may have seen the article by Dr. Carmen Battaglia about early neuro stimulation of pups. He developed this based on some sort of research by the U.S. military I believe and it involves handling each pup once a day during the... first two weeks or so. So, if anyone has read it and is interested, no, I have not tickled their toes with a q-tip or laid them on a cold towel. *g* However, rest assured, all puppies I raise ARE handled, far more than once, daily. I play with toes, ears and all other parts and pieces, just in the general course of checking each pup over.

Part of the "early neuro education" is to hold each pup upright, on their backs, and I don't recall what else. Let's just say, while I am certainly careful when handling pups, I do not treat them as extremely fragile little things. And any dam, no matter how good, will step, roll on and otherwise *abuse* pups from time to time. They have so far been on fleece mats, newspaper, the tiled kitchen floor and most recently the grass.

In the coming week, I will spend more time taking each pup to different areas of the house one at a time. I have found, over the years, that getting them away from the "pack" occasionally challenges what may seem to be a very bold puppy. When you don't have other pups around, sometime they aren't so cocky.

So, between Neat and I, I think these pups are fairly "stimulated".

Friends (known to Neat) and family have been visiting pups all along. Starting next week I have asked some other folks to start coming by for visits. Particularly those with kids. Since my youngest "kid" is now 21 years old and only home on weekends I now have to work to socialize pups to children. So it's time to begin having responsible, well behaved young visitors. I strongly suggest those of you getting pups who do NOT have children continue this when you get them home. Find responsible young neighbors to come give your puppy treats each day and play with it. You don't want your future agility champ worried about those short aliens often utilized as leash runners and ring crew at trials! *g*

So now you know what your pup has been doing, and have an idea of what the next week or so will bring. As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have (except which pup is my favorite, because it changes all the time!), and if anyone wants to visit, just ask!