Pups Day 17-Week 5: Puppy Kindergarten & Beyond

This is one of our favorite aspects of puppyhood! As their eyes and ears open, and their mobility increases, so too does their curiosity, play and sense of engagement with other pups, dogs and people. To build on the foundational work of ENS, we follow The Rule of 7s through our own Puppy Kindergarten, as well as behavioral work through routine schedules, clicker work, and positive reinforcement. At Day 17, they’re still adjusting to the new incoming sensory data of the world around them. For that reason, we start slow and very gently. As they grow, though, so too does their experience with Puppy Kindergarten and behavioral work.

Dogwood’s Puppy Kindergarten, also known as Puppy K., is a new puppy proof play space separate from their whelping bed. It’s modular in nature so that it can grow in size as the pups do, and can constantly change shape to adjust to different activities and keep things stimulating for the pups. Mama can easily come and go, or simply watch her little ones from a perch above. The pups still live in their whelping bed during this time, but they visit Puppy K. once or twice daily as well as go for field trips outside once a day for enrichment exercises that serve to expand their world and build their confidence, following the Rule of 7s.

The Rule of 7s is a socialization technique developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia to build confidence, adaptability and trainability by exposing them to new stimuli in a controlled environment where they will have a positive experience. The Rule of 7 suggests that each pup be exposed to at least 7 new things in a given category by the time they’re 7 weeks old. We track our progress daily with the below goals aiming for at least 7, though some categories exceed that. We prioritize allowing the pups to figure out each new stimuli on their own time, but should a pup seem to need encouragement, such as climbing down a stair, we happily abide by turning ourselves into a joyful pup cheerleading squad.

• 7 substrates: e.g. hardwood, carpet, ice, grass, concrete, tin foil, plastic, tarp, blanket, dog bed.

• 7 sounds: e.g. laundry appliances, blender, ice maker, music & tv, birds, construction, cars.

• 7 types of toys: e.g. bouncing, teething, crinkly, rope, plush, puzzle, treat, squeaking.

• 7 food / water containers: e.g. plastic, ceramic, metal, elevated, floor, travel dog water bottle and travel dog food bag, human hand.

• 7 x 3 safe people & animals: 7 adults, 7 kids, 7 pup-friendly dogs (under careful supervision; it’s important that until the pups are vaccinated, they only meet vaccinated dogs).

• 7 challenges: e.g. maneuvering in and out of boxes, climbing a platform, going over obstacles, going up and down stairs, through tunnels, playing hide-n-seek, going around a blockade.

• 7 water experiences: e.g. puddle, bath, shower, kiddie pool, water toys, water pads, hose.

• 7 spaces to play: e.g. whelping bed, Puppy Kindergarten, kitchen, laundry room, back of parked car, outdoor exercise pen, nearby sports field (when unused).

• 7 spaces to eat: e.g. whelping bed, Puppy Kindergarten, kitchen, laundry room, person’s lap, crate, outside.

• 7 1-mile car rides: both with littermates and alone.

• 7 times in a crate: both with littermates and alone.

• 7 times away from mama and littermates: both within earshot and further away.

By 7 weeks of age, our pups will have had at least 77 unique and positive experiences in addition to the car rides, crate time and time away from mama and littermates. This prepares each pup for the new experiences, people, pets and environment of their future homes.

In parallel to the confidence building of the Rule of 7 comes behavioral work. We do this through a routine daily schedule for meals, Puppy Kindergarten and outings, familiarization with basic commands and clicker communication, rewarding wanted behaviors / ignoring unwanted behaviors, and teaching appropriate chew targets.

The routine daily schedule promotes a sense of security and trust in the pup that we will fulfill their needs, both physical and mental.

We introduce our pups repeatedly to several basic words. Although the commands of their forever family may differ, the idea that there’s a pattern between human verbal cues and wanted behavior will serve to make our pups that much more trainable. The basic words that we use daily include: come come, food, sit, stay, move move, leave it, down, playtime, beddy bye and shh for calming down. When the command is followed, even when accidentally, we reward with positive reinforcement through praise and clicker work. In addition to priming them for future training, these teachings also stretch them mentally and strengthen their bond to people.

At Dogwood, we reward all wanted behaviors with positive reinforcement. This includes clicker sounds, praise and continued playing with us. When they exhibit an unwanted behavior such as jumping on people, whining for attention, etc., we simply ignore them, delaying praise patiently until they exhibit a positive behavior. This technique always ensures that every interaction with us ends with a success for the pup and promotes a positive relationship with people. There are some unwanted behaviors that are painful, destructive or dangerous. For the first two, we simply use redirection. This is commonly seen with biting. When the pup tries to chew on us, we simply redirect to a chew toy. If they continue to revisit us as their target, we eventually remove ourselves from direct contact until they’ve turned their attention to something else. If there’s anything that’s dangerous, though, such as a wasp’s nest outside, we intervene immediately until the danger has been eliminated.