Bright Beginnings Puppy Program
This program allows puppies to live with a professional dog trainer to focus on creating stable and confident puppies.
Giving puppies the start in life they need
Bright Beginnings Puppy Program (BBPP) was designed to give puppies the best possible chance of success in life. The beginning stages of their lives are the most formative when it comes to socialization, training, animal/human interactions and basic handling. Therefore we believe starting them off on the right foot, can help ensure success for their future.
All puppies who enter the program spend 21 days living in a home environment with a professional canine behaviourist. Puppies are individually assessed in order to understand their individual temperaments and overall requirements for a successful future. Puppies will begin basic training, environmental conditioning and proper socialization. All puppies will come with LIFETIME TRAINING through our virtual training program www.trainingdogsonline.ca. This will allow us to ensure success as puppies age and go through different developmental stages.
Includes Lifetime Dog Training
Tailored Training Plan
A training plan will be customized based on the puppies individual behavioural assessment. Due to the thorough and in depth assessments, we will be able to identify specific behavioural traits and potential struggles puppies are or will experience as they mature. Training plans may include but are not limited to: confidence building, counter conditioning, desensitization, separation anxiety prevention, resource guarding prevention, aggression prevention, a proper socialization plan or an environmental conditioning plan. All training plans will begin the moment the puppies have arrived and completed their personal behavioural assessments. Clients will then be given specific strategies to follow, implement and maintain for their particular puppy. Since all training plans will have already been implemented and practiced during their stay at BBPP, puppies will have a solid understanding of each plan, making it even simpler for clients to continue.
Sarah - Preston
"The separation anxiety prevention aspect of the program made it 100% worth it for me. "
Proper Socialization and Environmental Conditioning
The main focus of BBPP is proper socialization and environmental conditioning. One of the main reasons puppies develop behavioural issues as they mature is improper or inappropriate socialization and exposure to environments. We ensure that all puppies are socialized and exposed to new environmental stimulus appropriately in order to help prevent future issues. This part of the program allows us to understand how the puppy feels when presented with new socialization experiences and new environmental challenges. Let’s face it, life is stressful and there are some stresses in life we cannot avoid. Starting puppies with a proper socialization and a proper environmental conditioning plan will help them learn to deal with the every day stresses of life.
When implemented correctly, at an early age, proper socialization helps puppies feel comfortable when introduced to new people, dogs and animals. During the puppies stay with a canine behaviourist they will have the opportunity for proper socialization with dogs of all sizes, different people and early exposure to small animals such as rabbits. It is important to note that early exposure to small animals will not remove a dogs natural prey drive. If a puppy demonstrates a strong instinct to chasing prey, they will not be allowed to be adopted in an environment where small animals reside. Our concept of socialization is not about the quantity of exposure, but the quality of exposure. If we simply focus on the quantity of exposure, we tend to miss or ignore how the puppy is feeling emotionally. We want to make sure that every socialization opportunity makes the puppy feel good and allows the puppy to feel comfortable with future socialization.
Environmental conditioning will focus on building the puppies confidence when introduced to new environments, as well as new objects, surfaces and sounds. When puppies are faced with new environmental challenges, we want them to feel brave and secure doing so. Our concept of environmental conditioning is all about building confidence when puppies are presented with something “new”. Environmental conditioning includes walking on different surfaces, visiting new environments and hearing different sounds all while ensuring the puppies emotional well being and capability of recovering if a stressful event occurs.
House Training
Although puppies under the age of 6 months old cannot be reliably house trained, the beginning stages of where and when to potty can begin being implemented. This consists of puppies learning not to soil in their kennel or play pen and creating a positive association with going potty outdoors.
Puppies who complete the Smart Start Rescue Program will have:
a positive association created with using the bathroom outdoors
the ability to hold between potty breaks for up to 3 hours during the day
the ability to be crated up to 7 hours during the night without accidents
In order to help puppies house training transition be as successful as possible clients will be given a schedule to follow. This will include a breakdown of the puppies potty training habits , schedule and their personal cues indicating when they have to potty.
Crate Training and Confinement
All puppies will be crate trained and playpen trained before completing the program. Crate training and playpen training not only allows for piece of mind when leaving puppies unattended, it also allows for management strategies to be properly implemented.
Puppies who are able to be confined quietly and comfortably are 90% less likely to develop separation anxiety in the future. Preventing separation anxiety from developing is a key component to ensuring their success and longevity in a new home.
Puppies who complete the Bright Beginnigs Puppy Program will:
be able to be crated up to 7 hours during the night
have the ability to be left for short periods during the day
feel comfortable traveling in a car in their crate
be comfortable and quiet when secured in a playpen.
enter their crate or play pen with a food lure
have all the skills needed to prevent them from developing separation anxiety
Basic Handling and Grooming
An essential skill for all puppies is being able to calmly accept basic handling and grooming. This can be tricky for some puppies and without proper conditioning, will result in a squirmy, mouthy, unruly puppy. As they mature, these behaviour can escalate making it impossible to physically handle or restrain puppies for grooming or medical appointments. We begin handling techniques and conditioning exercises the moment puppies arrive in our program.
This will include the beginning stages of creating positive associations:
when puppies are picked up
when puppies are held or carried
when puppies are brushed
when puppies have their paws held and nails trimmed
Clients will be given customized training plans based on their puppies requirements.
A Foundation in Obedience
An obedience foundation for young puppies, simply consists of an understanding of the positions used in basic obedience. Puppies under the age of 3 months are not required to obey specific obedience commands, instead we like to create confidence and an understanding of required future obedience positions.
All puppies who complete the Smart Start Rescue Program will have an understanding of our 3 core obedience commands:
Down
Sit
Place
Teaching confidence and muscle memory in performing positions will allow adopters to easily pair words with future commands.
Positive Interrupter
All puppies will be conditioned to respond to a positive interrupter. This means puppies will respond quickly to direction when the positive interrupter is used. We typically use the word “pup pup” as our positively charged word. This technique is not only used to interrupt unwanted behaviours, but to get attention when needed. Think of a positive interrupter as a clicker. When a puppy hears the sound of a clicker, it is meant to be followed be a food reward. Our positive interrupter is a verbal cue, pup pup, used to get the puppy to come towards us for a reward.
Introduction to Leash Walking
A basic understanding of walking on leash and even wearing a harness can be overwhelming to some puppies. Especially puppies whom have never experienced the sensation of wearing an item or the restraint of a leash. BBPP will begin the ground work on creating comfortability while wearing a harness and walking on leash. Our goal with puppies is not to create a loose leash walk, but to help them develop the confidence and the skills needed to safely explore the outdoors.
The Financial Cost
$2100.00
Includes 21 days of boarding school and lifetime training support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a Question? Here’s an Answer
Can a 12 week old puppy be fully house trained?
Even the very best trainers would be hard-pressed to produce a fully house trained 12 week old puppy! A 12 week old puppy is simply not developmentally mature enough to achieve certain training milestones. The program begins the conditioning stages of creating positive associations in appropriate potty areas.
Isn't 8-12 weeks too young for this program?
The "Golden Window" of puppy training occurs between 8 and 12 weeks of age, when your pup is actively working on social skills and is still in a highly eager-to-please mindset, as they look to other pack members (older dogs and confident people) for advice.
Will I have to continue training the puppy?
Absolutely! Puppies will have an adjustment period when it must learn it's new environment & people. Setting aside time to work with your puppy daily for the first weeks he/she is home will set you both up for success. The puppy needs to practice his/her training with you in order for our work with the puppy to transfer to you.