Selecting Your Young puppy
The idea of raising a new puppy by yourself can be frustrating. You want a dog that can fit in  beautifully with your life-style. Your life in Menlo Park, California may be chaotic, you’ve got a full-time profession, a new family, you may like to travel or may be you just retired. We provide a worry free experience to add that  spectacular dog to your life.

The Experience Starts With a Consultation
We know it’s vital that you know who you will be partnering with. Building a rapport is tremendously important to us in Menlo Park, California. Our conversation begins with basic questions and leads into an detailed discussion, which will give us a much better idea of who you are and what your ideal dog would be. We like to have a wonderful working partnership with you. It starts the journey to choose, teach and raise your puppy.

Finding The Perfect Breed For Your Home
Once you have decided you want to add that amazing dog to your life in Menlo Park, California. You may have your heart set on a certain breed or maybe you’re interested in one of our dogs that are presently in our puppy raising program. There certainly are things to consider like the type of house you live in, maybe you work full time, maybe you are raising a young family, you love to travel or you’ve recently retired. This information will not minimize your choices, yet help shed light on your everyday life in Menlo Park, CA. We help guide you in your decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly aid you decide what you want and which dog will best suit your lifestyle.

Picking The Perfect Breeder in Menlo Park, California
We collaborate with amazing breeders who are genuinely interested in improving their breed with good health and fantastic temperament of their puppies. The first eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as vital as to what comes after. A good breeder understands this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have established a relationship with many great breeders. We specifically pursue breeders who recognize the early part they play in a puppies life. They know when one of their puppies goes through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a terrific life.  It is very important to work carefully with the breeder. We rely on the breeder’s input along with our years of knowledge to pick out the puppy with the best temperament for a potential new family.

Your Puppy‘s Training in Menlo Park, California
Training your pup is a combo of teaching new skill-sets including manners, setting boundaries, encouraging healthy relationships, and also exposing your puppy successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all various environments. For instance, we may have the puppy stay overnight with various people in different settings; which in turn produces a dog for you who is comfortable and easy to live with because he or she can easily adapt|adjusts} to your lifestyle. As a result of this and exposures to other variables your dog readily bonds with you and your family.

Imprinting Good Behavior ~Birth to 16 Weeks
Getting your puppy from the breeder

Training starts the minute a new puppy is in our hands in Menlo Park, California. Once we choose the pup from the litter, the very first thing we would like to achieve is building confidence and a bond with this new puppy. We start our relationship having fun even though we’re always teaching. Under our close guidance, we start exposing the pup to its new world. Such as, getting him or her to follow us, go up and down stairs, walk over logs, and maybe even get relatively near to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your puppy to the world while reinforcing our bond. We are huge dog lovers, but still significantly aware in those moments it is imperative to concentrate more on being a leader and guide as the new pup discovers this new world without the presence of its litter mates or mom.

The Essential time for learning
In the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no restriction as to what we may incorporate into our techniques. Typically we use specific spots or objects to create an encounter for the pup. Sometimes a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in Menlo Park, California. Our choices and imagination are limitless. Every exposure and experience builds on the prior one. Through all of this, we very closely monitor the puppy. We never restrict ourselves to stiff rules. We try to become more creative, think outside the box, and make use of occasions that unfold before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes down to teaching the pup.

Every interaction with the new puppy is a teaching moment. We often think about it as an early investment in the life of this dog. This is the first time away from his or her littermates and living with us in Menlo Park, California. Puppies have a small window of time during brain development when they are most impressionable. This is called the imprinting also known as the critical learning period. Puppies learn more during this period than they can learn in a lifetime. The quality and quantity of what they experience will have a huge influence on their future personalities and decide much of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. Throughout the imprinting period, every experience is important. It is essential to build their self-confidence. The phrase ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are soaking up every experience like a sponge, we need to stay very aware of all interactions and yet still have a good time with our new dog.

A Well-Mannered Pup
4 to 6 months 

A trained puppy is far more than just obedient. Knowing how to sit, stay or walk nicely on a loose leash are very important things to learn. Good manners, great social skills and a healthy relationship with his or her family are paramount. In addition, desensitization, exposure to many different distractions and situations, in addition to being comfortable to fit into a lifestyle in Menlo Park, CA is equally important.

Our focus is to create a puppy with impeccable manners and social skills. We start by teaching obedience the day we bring them home from the breeder; which carries on as we fine-tune the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a strong foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, making it a normal request in our day-to-day routine as well as within each new situation we expose your puppy to. We go from shaping to defining commands and testing them with distractions, duration and distance. Communication is at the center of our philosophy. Being clear and consistent is key. We limit our words when giving commands. We want your dog to understand what we mean when we give them the command. When we say ‘come’ or ‘here’ we expect 100% response immediately.

Proofing Behavior in a Social World in Menlo Park, CA
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the typical age when many dogs are re-homed or surrendered to shelters. The adolescent stage can find your sweet pup becoming a monster. That nice pup can be more mouthy and disobedient than you could ever envision. Many owners hope their dog will grow out of undesirable behaviors. Their dog is testing what is allowed and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue practicing naughty acts makes changing unwanted behavior more difficult.

Testing in the Real World in Menlo Park, California 
We work to prevent any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction locations. Such as, we practice recalls when your dog is extremely distracted perhaps chasing something like a squirrel. We test and proof obedience in high traffic locations, around barking dogs, around playgrounds and within public places.

As the dog moves through the adolescent stage we continue to challenge the dog by putting him or her in various situations. We imagine each situation as a picture. What does that look like to the puppy? How does that picture differ from day to day or location to location. We are striving to teach a dog how to adapt in each new and different environment or situation. We are raising a puppy that isn’t dependent on ongoing commands that dictate what he or she should and should not do. Rather, we prefer a dog that can make good decisions. Our main goal is to have a well-balanced dog, who will fit into your home.

We continue to strengthen and fine-tune manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. During this time, the dog has been staying with the dog trainer in his/her individual home. During this time, your puppy will also spend a few days and nights hanging out with another relative or friend. Providing the puppy with this opportunity, encourages your dog to continue to be confident and comfortable in different settings. This makes sure those habits and good manners will stay when he or she moves in to your home in Menlo Park, CA.