Picking Your New Puppy
The thought of raising a new young puppy by yourself might be overwhelming. You need a dog that is going to fit in  perfectly with your life-style. Your life in San Diego, California can be chaotic, you’ve got a full time profession, a young family, you may like to travel or may be you just retired. Peace of Mind Puppy provides a anxiety free experience to add that  outstanding dog to your life.

The Experience Begins With a Assessment
We know it is vital that you know who you will be working with. Building a rapport is exceptionally important to us in San Diego, California. Our talk begins with straightforward questions and leads into an detailed discussion, which will provide us a much better idea of who you are and what your perfect dog will be. We like to have a wonderful working partnership with you. It begins the journey to select, teach and raise your pup.

Picking The Perfect Breed For Your Home
Once you have determined you want to add that perfect dog to your life in San Diego, California. You may have your heart set on a certain breed or maybe you want one of our pups that are presently in our puppy raising program. There are things to think about like the type of house you live in, how much you work, maybe you are raising a  little family, you love to go on vacation or you’ve recently retired. This information will not limit your choices, yet help shed light on your life-style in San Diego, CA. We help guide you in this decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly assist you choose what you want and which breed will best fit your lifestyle.

Picking The Right Breeder in San Diego, California
We partner with responsible breeders who are truly interested in improving their breed with good health and exceptional temperament of their puppies. The first eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as vital as to what happens after. A great breeder is aware of this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have established a rapport with many outstanding breeders. We specifically pursue breeders who understand the early part they play in a puppies life. They understand when one of their puppies goes through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a wonderful life.  It’s very important to work closely with the breeder. We depend on the breeder’s input along with our years of knowledge to select the puppy with the best temperament for a potential new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in San Diego, California
Training your new puppy is a combo of teaching new skills including manners, setting boundaries, promoting healthy relationships, together with exposing your puppy successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all different types of environments. For instance, we may have the pup sleep overnight with various people in different settings; which in turn develops a dog for you who is relaxed and easy to live with because he or she can easily adapt|adjusts} to your way of life. Because of this and exposures to other factors your dog easily bonds with you and your family.

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

Training starts the moment a new puppy is in our care in San Diego, California. Once we pick the puppy from the litter, the first thing we want to achieve is developing confidence and a bond with this new puppy. We begin our relationship having fun while always teaching. Under our close guidance, we begin exposing the puppy to its new world. For instance, getting him or her to follow us, go up and down stairs, walk over logs, and maybe even get somewhat near to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your dog to the world while strengthening our bond. We are huge dog lovers, but still very aware in those moments it is imperative to focus more on being a leader and guide as the new pup learns about this new world without having the presence of its litter mates or mom.

Crucial time for learning
In the initial few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no limit as to what we will incorporate into our approaches. Typically we make use of specific locations or objects to create an experience for the pup. In some cases a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in San Diego, California. Our options and imagination are unlimited. Every exposure and experience builds upon the last one. Through all of this, we carefully monitor the puppy. We don’t limit ourselves to rigid rules. We try to be more creative, think outside the box, and take advantage of occasions that manifest before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes down to teaching the dog.

Every interaction with the new pup 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 San Diego, 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 significant influence on their future personalities and decide much of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. During the imprinting stage, every experience is vital. It is important to build their 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 puppy.

A Well-Mannered Puppy
4 to 6 months 

A well-trained pup is so much 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 very important. Furthermore, desensitization, exposure to various distractions and situations, as well as having the flexibility to fit into a lifestyle in San Diego, CA is equally important.

Our focus is to raise a dog 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 refine the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a solid foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, keeping it a standard request in our regular routine in addition to within each new situation we expose your dog to. We move from shaping to defining commands and proofing 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 want when we give them the command. When we say ‘come’ or ‘here’ we expect 100% response immediately.

Proofing Behavior in a Social World in San Diego, 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 rescues. The adolescent stage can find your sweet pup developing into a monster. That nice pup can be more mouthy and disobedient than you could ever think of. Many owners hope their canine will grow out of unfavorable behaviors. Their dog is testing what is permitted and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue practicing naughty acts makes changing unwanted behavior more difficult.

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

As the dog goes through the adolescent stage we continue to challenge the dog by putting it in various scenarios. We imagine each situation as a picture. How does that look like to the dog? How does that picture change from day to day or location to location. We are striving to teach a dog how to cope in each new and various environment or scenario. We are raising a dog that isn’t depending on ongoing commands that determine what he or she should and shouldn’t do. Rather, we want a dog that can make good choices. Our top priority is to have a well-balanced puppy, who will fit into your home.

We continue to strengthen and fine-tune manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. Throughout this time, the dog has been staying with the trainer in his or her own home. Throughout this time, your dog will also spend a few days and nights hanging out with another relative or friend. Giving this opportunity, encourages your puppy to continue to be confident and comfortable in new areas. This makes sure those habits and good manners will stay when he or she goes on to your house in San Diego, CA.