We do everything possible to raise happy, healthy well socialized puppies. From the moment the puppies are born the socialization process begins. We start with the Bio Sensor program (Super puppy).
Puppy must stay with mother and litter mates to at least eight weeks old. During this period, your puppy learns about social interaction, play, and inhibiting aggression from its mother and litter mates. This is also the time not long after the birth that the breeders should regularly pick up and handle the puppies. Handling on a regular basis when they are still blind and deaf causes them a mild stress response that allows them to be healthier, bond more with humans, more intelligent and easier to train. Puppies must stay with their mother and litter mates through this critical period. As the puppies learn the most important lesson in their lives, they learn to accept discipline. It is at this time that they also learn not to toilet in the nest.
The best time to take a puppy home is 8 weeks then you have 8 whole weeks to work with the dog over this incredibly important period. The puppy now has the brain waves of an adult dog, but his attention span is short. This period is when the most rapid learning occurs. Learning at this age is permanent so this is a perfect time to start training but make it fun. This is also the time to introduce the puppy to things that will play an important part in his life. Different people, places, animals, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and unusual sounds, in a positive non-threatening way.
The human socialization period effectively ends at 12 weeks. It is vitally important to get a minimum of a hundred people handling your dog. Hopefully, the breeder will have started this procedure. However, you must make sure you carry it on. You can take your puppy out after the first vaccination: either carry it or in a doggy bag. Take it to your local coffee shop or pub and get as many people as possible to handle and treat the puppy gently.
This is also the time to work with any perceived problems, especially aggression. If dogs are showing aggressive behavior under 16 weeks, then get it treated immediately. The dog’s personality and future temperaments are formed around the age of 16 weeks. This relates to the same age as a 5-year-old child. It is at this time that a child’s personality is fully formed, any learning after that is just based on knowledge and experience. The personality will not change and that is exactly the same for your dog. These puppies must attend a good puppy class where puppies can interact which each other and learn.
Whilst the pup is going through human socialization it also has an important fear/hazard avoidance period. This starts at 5 weeks and peaks between 8 and 10.5 weeks. Any traumatic, frightening or painful experience will have a more lasting effect on the puppy than if it occurred at any other time in its life. This is the period that if you do not handle it correctly, you can give your dog a lasting fear of traffic, vets, or other frightening experiences, noises, or events. Never ever praise, cuddle, comfort or sympathize with your pup when it is startled or showing fear or anxiety. This only serves to reinforce the fear the exact opposite of humans.
Puppy starts to cut teeth and apron strings! Puppy begins testing its position in the family unit. You must discourage all biting; the dog should have started to learn and understand bite inhibition by this time! It is important that you are a strong and consistent leader.
The period between 0 and 16 weeks is the most important period in your dog’s life. He will learn more during that short space of time than at any other time in his life. Other windows of opportunity for learning will open during your dog’s life. However, what you see at 16 weeks without extensive training and behavioral modification is about what you are going to get as an adult. Therefore, work hard on giving your pet the best start in life!
Puppy may wander and ignore you. It is very important that you keep the puppy on a leash at this time! The way that you handle your pup at this time determines if he will come to you when called. At about 4-1/2 months, your puppy loses his milk teeth and gets his adult teeth.
That’s is the time when he begins serious chewing! A dog’s teeth don’t set in his jaw until around one year of age, depending on breed and size. During this time, the puppy has a physical need to exercise his mouth by chewing. Training must continue through this period or all your good work may revert back to stage one. Occasionally, the puppy will start to urinate in the house again if this happens, just go back to basic toilet training.
Dog again shows fear of new situations and even familiar situations. The dog may be reluctant to approach someone or something new. It is important that you are patient and act very matter of fact in these situations. Never force the dog to face the situation. DO NOT pet the frightened puppy or talk in soothing tones. The puppy will interpret such responses as praise for being frightened. Training will help improve the dog’s confidence. This fear period is normally more marked in male dogs.
You may encounter some increased aggression and renewed testing for position and authority, however if you have spent lots of time with your dog and trained consistently and regularly, then this should not present itself as a problem – in fact, you may hardly notice this change, it is just something to keep in mind. Continue to train your dog during this period. It is possible that your dog may have another fear period between 12 – 16 months of age.
Regardless of your reason for acquiring a puppy, you’ll have to win it over. You, not your dog, will have to create a safe and secure environment with ongoing training if your pup is to develop into a well-mannered family member instead of a thug or a burden. Dogs are animals, not human beings. They are motivated and think as a pack animal. In every pack, there is at least one, sometimes more than one, leader who tends to make most of the decisions. Usually, the pack will have at least one and possibly more breeding males and females.
In reality, there is no such thing as an ‘alpha’ in a wolf pack. It is a family unit, father mother and various ages of offspring. People got the idea of alpha by observing wolves in captivity. Unfortunately, none of those wolves were related so squabbles and fights broke out over hierarchy. All the other members of the pack form a hierarchy in which everyone has a place. Your dog is not a wolf, and though we have tended to think alpha is an important position, new scientific knowledge and observation of wolves in the wild have totally disproved this idea. That is not to say you should not show leadership through controlling resources in a fair and equitable way. In your home, you and your family become your dog’s family, as do any other dogs you may have. It is, therefore, your responsibility to establish yourself in a position of authority and trust. If you fail to do this, your dog may question your commands. Many people assume that they are automatically the lead figure just because they are humans.
Are you really the leader? Does your dog know it and respect your wishes and commands? Are you controlling all the resources around your dog and does the dog see you as the resource controller? Being the leader/controller does not mean you have to be big and aggressive. Nor does it mean that there has to be a battle of strength or wills. Anyone can be the leader/controller. It is an attitude an air of authority. It is the basis for mutual respect and provides the building blocks of communication and trust between you and your dog. It never means punishment or overt aggression.
Stan Rawlinson © 1999 Adapted from and credited to Stan Rawlinson. Visit his page here for more information.
The “Bio Sensor” program was also concerned with early neurological stimulation in order to give the dog a superior advantage. Its development utilized six exercises, which were designed to stimulate the neurological system. Each workout involved handling puppies once each day. The workouts required handling them one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. Listed in no order of preference the handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following exercises:
These five exercises will produce neurological stimulations, none of which naturally occur during this early period of life. Experience shows that while sometimes pups will resist these exercises, others will appear unconcerned. In either case a caution is offered to those who plan to use them. Do not repeat them more than once per day and do not extend the time beyond that recommended for each exercise. Over stimulation of the neurological system can have adverse and detrimental results. These exercises impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected. The result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance. Those who play with their pups and routinely handle them should continue to do so because the neurological exercises are not substitutions for routine handling, play socialization or bonding. Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises:
In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates over which they were dominant in competitive situations.
The entire article can be read by following this link.
The Super puppy program lasts from Day 3 to Day 16. After Day 16 we begin the Rules of 12 to enhance early socialization.
The entire article can be found by following this link.
We expect the new owners to continue with the socialization of their puppy. There are many experiences the puppy should have by 16 weeks of age (when the primary socialization period ends). Below are links to socialization ideas.
We also require a minimum of 2 obedience class sessions (a typical session is 6 to 8 weeks) by a year old. If you do not have a training club already we would be happy to help you find one. We highly recommend achieving an AKC Canine Good Citizen with your puppy as well.
More information about the CGC can be found HERE.
We expect the new owners to continue with the socialization of their puppy. There are many experiences the puppy should have by 16 weeks of age (when the primary socialization period ends). Below are links to socialization ideas.
We also require a minimum of 2 obedience class sessions (a typical session is 6 to 8 weeks) by a year old. If you do not have a training club already we would be happy to help you find one. We highly recommend achieving an AKC Canine Good Citizen with your puppy as well.
More information about the CGC can be found HERE.
Cane Corsos are large breed dominant dogs, they need socialization, exercise (both physical and mental), and structure throughout their lives to be a happy family member. If you are looking for a push button dog-this is not the breed for you. But if you are willing to put in the time and effort you will be well rewarded.
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