Choosing Your Young puppy
The idea of raising a new young puppy by yourself may be overwhelming. You need a pup that is going to fit in  wonderfully with your daily life. Your life in Santa Cruz, California is busy, you’ve got a full-time profession, you may be raising a new family, you may like to travel or may be you just retired. We provide a anxiety free experience to add that  amazing dog to your life.

The Program Begins With a Assessment
We think it’s important that you know who you will be dealing with. Building a rapport is tremendously important to us in Santa Cruz, California. Our discussion starts with straightforward questions and leads into an thorough discussion, which will give us a much better idea of who you are and what your ideal dog would be. We want to have a fantastic working relationship with you. It begins the journey to choose, teach and raise your pup.

Selecting The Perfect Breed For Your Home
Once you have determined you want to add that perfect dog to your life in Santa Cruz, California. You may have your heart set on a certain breed or maybe you’re interested in one of our pups that are presently in our puppy raising program. There are things to take into consideration such as where you live, how much you work, maybe you are raising a  little family, you you may love to go on vacation or you’ve recently retired. All this will not minimize your choices, yet help shed light on your lifestyle in Santa Cruz, CA. We will help guide you in your decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly assist you choose what you want and which dog will best match your lifestyle.

Finding The Perfect Breeder in Santa Cruz, California
We coordinate with responsible breeders who are truly interested in improving their breed with good health and great temperament of their puppies. The first eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as vital as to what comes after. A excellent breeder is aware of this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have built a relationship with many amazing breeders. We specifically seek breeders who understand the early role 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 extremely important to work carefully with the breeder. We count on the breeder’s feedback together with our years of experience to select the puppy with the best temperament for the prospective new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in Santa Cruz, California
Training your pup is a mixture of teaching new skill-sets including manners, setting boundaries, fostering healthy relationships, along with exposing your dog successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all different types of environments.For example, we have the pup stay overnight with different people in various environments; which creates a dog for you who is comfortable 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 readily connects with you and your family members.

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

Training starts the moment a new puppy is in our care in Santa Cruz, California. Once we pick the pup from the litter, the first thing we wish to achieve is developing 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 puppy to its new world. For example, getting him or her to follow us, go up and down stairs, walk over branches, and maybe even get relatively near to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your puppy to the world while enhancing our bond. We are huge dog lovers, but still incredibly aware in those moments it is imperative to focus more on being a leader and guide as the new puppy discovers this new world without having the company of its litter mates or mom.

Most important time for learning
In the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no limitation as to what we will incorporate into our techniques. Typically we take advantage of particular areas or objects to create an encounter for the pup. At times a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in Santa Cruz, California. Our options and vision are limitless. Every exposure and experience builds on the last one. Through all of this, we very closely monitor the puppy. We don’t restrict ourselves to stiff rules. We try to be more creative, think outside the box, and benefit from events that unfold before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes down to teaching the pup.

Every interaction with the new pup is a teaching moment. We like to think of it as an early investment in the life of this dog. This is the first time away from his or her littermates and staying with us in Santa Cruz, 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 time than any other period of time in their lives. The quality and quantity of what they encounter will have a massive effect on their future personalities and decide many of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. During the course of the imprinting period, every experience is vital. It is essential to build their confidence. The phrase ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are taking in every experience like a sponge, we must stay very aware of all interactions and yet still have fun with our new puppy.

A Well-Mannered Dog
4 to 6 months 

A trained puppy is a lot more than just obedient. Knowing how to sit, stay or walk nicely on a loose leash are important things to learn. Good manners, great social skills and a healthy relationship with his or her family are extremely important. In addition, desensitization, exposure to various distractions and situations, as well as having the flexibility to fit into a lifestyle in Santa Cruz, CA is equally important.

Our focus is to raise a puppy with remarkable manners and social skills. We start by teaching obedience the day we bring them home from the breeder; which carries on as we improve the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a strong foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, keeping it a standard request in our day-to-day routine in addition to within each new situation we expose your puppy 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 very 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 Santa Cruz, CA
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the normal age when many dogs are re-homed or surrendered to animal 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 puppy will outgrow unwanted behaviors. Their dog is testing what is permitted and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue rehearsing naughty acts makes changing undesirable behavior more difficult.

Testing in the Real World in Santa Cruz, 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 very distracted perhaps chasing something like a squirrel. We test and proof obedience in high traffic spots, around barking dogs, near playgrounds and within public places.

As the puppy goes through the adolescent stage we continue to challenge the dog by putting him or her in various scenarios. We consider each situation as a picture. How does that look like to the dog? How does that picture differ from day to day or location to location. We are striving to teach a dog how to adapt in every new and different setting or scenario. We are raising a puppy that isn’t dependent on ongoing commands that determine what he or she should and should not do. Instead, we prefer a dog that can make great decisions. Our top goal is to have a well-balanced dog, who will be comfortable your home.

We continue to reinforce and fine-tune good manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. Throughout this time, the dog has been staying with the dog trainer in his/her individual home. During this time, your dog will also spend a few days and nights hanging out with another loved one or close friend. Giving this chance, encourages your dog to continue to be confident and comfortable in different areas. This makes sure those habits and good manners will remain when he goes on to your home in Santa Cruz, CA.