As soon as they are born, my thoughts turn to starting the puppies' socialisation process. It's something that the new owners will have to work on through their dog's whole first year and beyond, but particularly in the first crucial weeks after they leave the litter. Long before that time, however, I am already putting in a great deal of work to make sure these puppies grow into happy, confident and relaxed dogs.
As soon as they are born the experiences start with the vacuum going around their box daily. They can't see or hear it at that stage, but they can feel the rumbling. Having said that, by the age of 6 weeks you would never guess they had been exposed to the vacuum every day for their entire lives - they still cower in a heap in the corner everytime it comes around.
They are exposed to sounds, people, strange things like hats and umbrellas, they have (soft) things thrown into the pen with them, they visit other houses, they have a little car ride, they have two trips each into town to do some visiting there. It's hard work, but it pays off in the long run.
Another experience each litter is treated to is a little burst of piano music, courtesy of Jay. As you can see, the Pippuri puppies don't appear to be exactly enamoured with Beethoven. I love the way they tilt their heads at the beginning.
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