First 8 Weeks of Life as a Miller Creek Standard Poodle.
Check out our week-by-week breakdown of how our puppies are handled, the activities introduced, and the socialization we are providing. This is what sets our puppies apart from other breeders. We want to raise well-rounded puppies that will get a great head start on being more adaptable in situations they will encounter through life with their new family.
You can also check out our page of puppy introductions from our last litter to get an idea of different activities and intros
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2-3 Days Old
Our poodle's tails are docked and dewclaws removed by our licensed veterinarian. We continue with DAILY weight checks until about 3 weeks of age.
3-16 Days Old
The first few weeks of a puppy's life are very crucial. We start introducing ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation), which is a series of exercises done every day. This will help improve cardiovascular performance and build more tolerance to stress. Here is a link to help explain why these exercises are so helpful in producing amazing puppies.
ESI (Early Scent Introduction) is done by introducing a new smell every day and determining the puppy's reaction. This helps to enhance the puppy's ability to identify and react to different scents.
3 Weeks Old
At the start of 3 weeks old, we start introducing brief sessions of LOUD noise exposure.
This will continue until they leave at 8 weeks old.
We start gentle handling exercises like rubbing ears, opening the mouth, touching all paws, slight tugs on the tail, etc. These exercises help us build trust with our puppies. This will also set them up in the future to handle veterinarian exams with confidence.
Grooming is a huge part of your new poodle's life, so we also start introducing brushing and clipper noises at 3 weeks of age. We will add a separate potty area to get them used to going to the bathroom in one spot.
4-6 Weeks Old
We continue to add loud noise exposure along with gentle daily handling exercises with increased pressure.
We start adding exposure activities to our whelping area. These items consist of pillows, stuffed animals, chairs, balls, brain activities, small climbing structures, etc. We start adding mush to their diets until around 5.5 weeks and then continue with hard kibble. Face and sanitary areas are shaved weekly along with nail trims.
Around 6 weeks we will start introducing crates and begin crate training.
7 Weeks Old
Puppy Evaluations are complete and will email and notify potential owners and start the matching process.
We will schedule 8-week veterinarian appointments. We will continue to add loud noise exposure along with daily handling exercises with increased pressure. We continue exposure activities to our whelping area.
8 Weeks Old
Puppies will have their 8 week check-up and receive health clearance from our veterinarian.
They will get their first set of vaccines and will be microchipped.
Then, it's GO HOME DAY!