Cedar Creek's Enriched Learning Environment
In the first 16 weeks of a puppy's life, she will learn more than she can learn in a lifetime. This period is called the Imprinting Period. In fact, the brain of a 16-week-old puppy has exactly the same number of brain cells as a newly born puppy – but it is roughly 10 times larger. This extraordinary increase in size has nothing to do with the brain cells themselves but the number of connections established between them. These connections are established as a direct result of all the experiences the puppy has in these first critical four months of life.
Here at Cedar Creek we provide an enriched learning environment for your puppy during his first weeks of life. We follow a structured, research based program in order to give your puppy every learning advantage, whether your puppy is here for only 8 weeks, or participates in one of our Puppy Starter Camps.
Here at Cedar Creek we provide an enriched learning environment for your puppy during his first weeks of life. We follow a structured, research based program in order to give your puppy every learning advantage, whether your puppy is here for only 8 weeks, or participates in one of our Puppy Starter Camps.
For Beginners...
Commencing at 3 days of age, every puppy starts the Early Neurological Stimulation or ENS. ENS has proven to provide the following lifelong benefits to dogs:
- Improved cardiovascular performance
- Stronger heart beats
- Stronger adrenal glands
- More tolerance to stress
- Greater resistance to disease.
Click here for a YouTube video about the Bio Sensory Program
And then comes sound habituation...
At 3 weeks of age, we begin sound habituation. Puppies are exposed and acclimatized to sounds such as babies crying, children screaming, vacuuming, thunder, fireworks, etc.
Potty, potty, got to go potty...
Simultaneous to the introduction of puppy gruel, puppies start learning housebreaking. We teach them there is a place to play, eat, sleep and go potty. By the time they are 8 weeks of age, they have a solid foundation upon which to build housebreaking when they are ready for their forever homes. Most puppies easily transition this skill over to their new homes within a very short period of time.
Baths, baths, and more baths...
At 4 weeks of age, we introduce your puppy to the sounds and elements of grooming. Weekly your puppy will be bathed, nails clipped, ears cleaned, and generally fussed over.
Wait, there's still more...
In addition your puppy will be exposed to: Many hugs and squeezes from kids, Lego Robots zooming around, Guinea Pigs, other dogs, pet birds, cats, vacuums, lizards, car rides, hamsters, kittens.... Yep, the whole 9 yards.
Puppy Play Room...
Our Puppy play room is intentionally set up to assist in providing elements of our enriched learning environment. You will find a wobble board to a custom puppies to various surfaces and unstable ground as well as encouraging their balance development, a crate set up for volunteer sleeping in or exploring, a tunnel maze for walking through, litter box to introduce potty training, squeaky toys, soft toys, hard toys, toys to play tug of war, etc. A rotation of toys and items are introduced daily for mental stimulation. Watch our YouTube video of 5 week old pups playing in the play room. Watch our YouTube video of 7 week old pups playing in the ball pit.
Mozart, and more Mozart...
At Cedar Creek we incorporate the research which has been conducted on young mammals. Studies have shown young mammals exposed to the complex melodies in Mozart compositions, in contrast to the control group who did not listen to Mozart, showed a significant increase in their brainpower, making them over all smarter than their counterparts in the control group.
And last, but never the least...
The Rule of Sevens
Pat Hastings, AKC judge and author of The Puppy Puzzle offers these hints for socializing very young puppies. By the time a puppy is 7 weeks old, it should have been exposed to the following:
Commencing at 3 days of age, every puppy starts the Early Neurological Stimulation or ENS. ENS has proven to provide the following lifelong benefits to dogs:
- Improved cardiovascular performance
- Stronger heart beats
- Stronger adrenal glands
- More tolerance to stress
- Greater resistance to disease.
Click here for a YouTube video about the Bio Sensory Program
And then comes sound habituation...
At 3 weeks of age, we begin sound habituation. Puppies are exposed and acclimatized to sounds such as babies crying, children screaming, vacuuming, thunder, fireworks, etc.
Potty, potty, got to go potty...
Simultaneous to the introduction of puppy gruel, puppies start learning housebreaking. We teach them there is a place to play, eat, sleep and go potty. By the time they are 8 weeks of age, they have a solid foundation upon which to build housebreaking when they are ready for their forever homes. Most puppies easily transition this skill over to their new homes within a very short period of time.
Baths, baths, and more baths...
At 4 weeks of age, we introduce your puppy to the sounds and elements of grooming. Weekly your puppy will be bathed, nails clipped, ears cleaned, and generally fussed over.
Wait, there's still more...
In addition your puppy will be exposed to: Many hugs and squeezes from kids, Lego Robots zooming around, Guinea Pigs, other dogs, pet birds, cats, vacuums, lizards, car rides, hamsters, kittens.... Yep, the whole 9 yards.
Puppy Play Room...
Our Puppy play room is intentionally set up to assist in providing elements of our enriched learning environment. You will find a wobble board to a custom puppies to various surfaces and unstable ground as well as encouraging their balance development, a crate set up for volunteer sleeping in or exploring, a tunnel maze for walking through, litter box to introduce potty training, squeaky toys, soft toys, hard toys, toys to play tug of war, etc. A rotation of toys and items are introduced daily for mental stimulation. Watch our YouTube video of 5 week old pups playing in the play room. Watch our YouTube video of 7 week old pups playing in the ball pit.
Mozart, and more Mozart...
At Cedar Creek we incorporate the research which has been conducted on young mammals. Studies have shown young mammals exposed to the complex melodies in Mozart compositions, in contrast to the control group who did not listen to Mozart, showed a significant increase in their brainpower, making them over all smarter than their counterparts in the control group.
And last, but never the least...
The Rule of Sevens
Pat Hastings, AKC judge and author of The Puppy Puzzle offers these hints for socializing very young puppies. By the time a puppy is 7 weeks old, it should have been exposed to the following:
- Been on 7 different surfaces, such as: carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, snow, gravel, wood chips, newspaper, etc.
- Played with 7 different types of objects, such as: big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy balls, squeaky toys, metal items, wooden items, paper/cardboard items, milk/soda jugs, etc.
- Been in 7 different locations, including: front yard, backyard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, crate, kennel, etc.
- Been exposed to 7 challenges, such as: climbed a box, climbed off a box, gone through a tunnel, climbed up steps, climbed down steps, climbed over obstacles, played hide and seek, gone in and out a doorway with a step, etc.
- Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, china, pie plate, frying pan, etc.
- Met and played with 7 new people, including children and the elderly.
