Nanny's Pups

PROJECT PAWS

Animal Rescue


			CREATING A ‘SUPER PUPPY” USING Early Neurological Stimulation



	Early Neurological Stimulation Creating Super Puppies! Studies with other species, such as cats, dogs, and chimpanzees, found similar results. Animals that were not given the early stimulation were less able to cope, adjust and adapt. Although they have yet to determine an optimal amount of early stress, they do know that some stimulation is good, but too much can cause problems. The U.S. military decided to study the effects of early neurological stimulation in their "Bio Sensor" or "Super Dog" program. From this research they developed a series of exercises for very young puppies. These exercises work best during the puppy's third to sixteenth day of life which is a period of rapid neurological development. Each puppy undergoes this handling once per day for those two weeks. All five exercises are completed with one puppy before handling the next puppy. 1. Tactile stimulation While holding the puppy in one hand, the handler uses a Q-tip to tickle the puppy between the toes on one foot. The tickling should last between three to five seconds. The puppy does not have to show a reaction. 2. Head held erect Holding the puppy in both hands, the puppy is positioned so its head is directly above its body. This position is held for three to five seconds.

PUPPY NEWS - Part I
******* Had a call from our local vet last night....had an owner who dropped their pregnant female lab mix while she was in labor and wanted to have her put down....ughh some people...more in a minute..must run

New Puppies PART II:
Project Paws is proud to announce the rescue and live birth of 10 adorable puppies birthed by their Mom - NANNY GIRL - Nanny was dumped and abandoned by her owner on the day she was in labor at a local vet office to be put to sleep per the owner's orders.

Of course our local vet staff being a caring and compassionate group - they could not kill a pregnant Mom that was about to give birth - that would have been very inhumane indeed.

New Puppies PART III:
We got the call and went directly to pick up Nanny - she was in labor during transport to a Project Paws Foster home. The driver (Foster Mom) was speeding to get Nanny to a birthing place...and of course was stopped by the NC Hwy Patrol - who was very kind and let her continue on her important mission.

Nanny's Puppies - Part IV:
Puppies and Mom are doing so very well. We perform ‘Early Neurological Stimulation’ & ‘Touch Therapy’ for all our puppies. This procedure insures a calm, well balanced, healthy, and over all Super Puppy!
Please check back as we will have video and pictures soon.

New Puppies Part V:
All puppies and Mom will be available for adoption in a few months. We believe leaving the pups with their Mom up to 12 weeks is best for the temperament and learning of the puppies.

All pets are spayed/ neutered, vaccinated & de-wormed before going to new homes. The adoption fee includes the medical care. We work out of foster homes, and base our info on these pets to the best of our knowledge.

3. Head pointed down
Holding the puppy in both hands, the puppy is reversed so its tail is uppermost and directly above its head. This position is held for three to five seconds.

4. Supine position
Hold the puppy in the palms so it is resting on its back with its face pointed upward. This position is held for three to five seconds.

5. Thermal stimulation
Before starting the exercises, place a damp towel in the refrigerator for at least five minutes. For this exercise, place the puppy on the cool towel, belly down. Allow the puppy to wriggle off if it desires. Remove the puppy from the towel after three to five seconds if it hasn't moved itself.

The researchers found that these exercises started the puppies' neurological system earlier than was normally expected. The benefits that they noticed included:

Improved cardiovascular performance (heart rate)
Stronger heart beats
Stronger adrenal glands
More tolerance to stress
Greater resistance to disease

Although the stimulation proved beneficial, over stimulating had detrimental results. The researchers also found that regular handling and socialization were still necessary.

Studies by Scott and Fuller pinpointed several critical periods in a young puppy's development. These periods occurred between four and sixteen weeks of age. If a puppy did not interact with other dogs (at least his mother and littermates) and with people during this time period, he would never be able to bond to other dogs or to people. For an interesting account of how this research was used to dramatically increase the number of guide dogs who successfully completed training, read The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior by Clarence Pfaffenberger.

In addition to socialization, exposing puppies to various sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches allows them to better cope as an adult dog. Enrichment activities can begin at a very early age, perhaps even at birth. Some ideas include providing toys of all shapes and textures; providing a variety of footing such as newspaper, carpeting, window screens, plastic, concrete, gravel; providing a variety of sounds such as radio, cap gun, vacuum cleaner; providing a variety of challenges such as climbing steps, going through a tunnel, playing hide and seek, etc. Just be sure that the enrichment activities you design won't hurt or scare the puppy.

To provide even more experiences the puppy can be walked around the shopping mall, taken for a romp in open fields, enrolled in a Puppy Kindergarten class, taken on car trips, allowed to watch older, trained dogs working. All of these experiences will give the puppy a chance to experience new things and to meet new people.

So to get a puppy off to the best possible start in life be sure to provide:

early neurological stimulation (between three and sixteen days of age)
plenty of socialization (especially important during weeks four to sixteen)
enrichment activities starting early and continuing throughout the puppy's life

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