Deciding on Your New Puppy
The thought of raising a new puppy on your own can be frustrating. You want a pup that can match  wonderfully with your daily life. Your life in Los Altos Hills, California might be busy, you may have a full-time job, you may be raising a young family, you like to travel or you’ve just retired. Peace of Mind Puppy provides a stress free experience to add in that  amazing dog to your life.

The Process Begins With a Consultation
We think it is very important that you know who you will be teaming up with. Establishing a relationship is exceptionally important to our company in Los Altos Hills, California. Our chat begins with easy questions and leads into an detailed discussion, which will provide us a better idea of who you are and what your dream dog would be. We want to have a great working relationship with you. It begins the journey to select, teach and raise your puppy.

Picking The Best Breed For Your Home
Once you have determined you are ready to include that amazing dog to your life in Los Altos Hills, California. You may have your heart set on a particular breed or maybe you want one of our dogs that are presently in our puppy raising program. There certainly are things to take into account such as where you live, how much you work, are raising a  little family, you love to go on vacation or maybe you have recently retired. This information will not restrict your choices, yet help shed light on your life-style in Los Altos Hills, CA. We will help guide you in your decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly aid you decide what you want and which breed will best suit your life-style.

Finding The Right Breeder in Los Altos Hills, California
We partner with responsible breeders who are genuinely interested in improving their breed with good health and excellent temperament of their pups. The first eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as crucial as to what happens after. A excellent breeder knows this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have established a rapport with many outstanding breeders. We specifically pursue breeders who are aware of the early part they play in a puppies life. They understand when one of their puppies goes through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a good life.  It is quite important to work carefully with the breeder. We depend on the breeder’s input along with our years of knowledge to select the puppy with the best temperament for a potential new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in Los Altos Hills, California
Training your dog is a combo of teaching new skills including manners, setting boundaries, promoting healthy relationships, in addition to exposing your dog successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all types of environments.Such as, we may have the puppy stay overnight with various people in different environments; which in turn produces a dog for you who is comfortable and easy to live with because he or she adapts|adjusts} to your lifestyle. As a result of this and exposures to other variables your dog easily bonds with you and your family.

Imprinting Good Behavior ~Birth to 16 Weeks
Getting your puppy from the breeder

Training starts the moment a new puppy is in our care in Los Altos Hills, California. Once we select the puppy from the litter, the very first thing we wish to accomplish is developing confidence and a bond with this new puppy. We start our relationship having fun even though we’re always teaching. Under our close guidance, we start exposing the puppy to its new world. Such as, getting him or her to follow us, climb stairs, walk over branches, and maybe even get relatively close to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your dog to the world while at the same time enhancing our bond. We are huge dog lovers, yet incredibly aware in those moments it is imperative to focus more on being a leader and guide as the new puppy discovers this new world without the company of its litter mates or mom.

Crucial time for learning
During the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no limit as to what we may integrate into our strategies. Often we make use of certain places or objects to create an encounter for the pup. Occasionally a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in Los Altos Hills, California. Our decisions and vision are endless. Every exposure and experience builds on the prior one. Through all of this, we carefully monitor the puppy. We do not restrict ourselves to stiff rules. We try to become more creative, think outside the box, and benefit from events that manifest before us. Those opportunities are invaluable when it comes down to teaching the pup.

Every interaction with the new puppy is a teaching moment. We like to think about it as an early investment in the life of this puppy. This is the first time away from his or her littermates and staying with us in Los Altos Hills, California. Puppies have a small window of time during brain development when they are most impressionable. This is called the imprinting also known as the critical learning period. Puppies learn more during this time than any other period of time in their lives. The quality and quantity of what they encounter will have a substantial influence on their future personalities and decide a lot of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. Throughout the imprinting stage, every experience is crucial. It is essential to build their self-confidence. The phrase ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are taking in every experience like a sponge, we must stay very aware of all interactions and yet still have a good time with our new dog.

A Well-Mannered Dog
4 to 6 months 

A trained dog is far more than just obedient. Knowing how to sit, stay or walk nicely on a loose leash are very important things to learn. Good manners, great social skills and a healthy relationship with his or her family are very important. In addition, desensitization, exposure to many different distractions and situations, along with being comfortable to fit into a lifestyle in Los Altos Hills, CA is equally important.

Our focus is to create a puppy with impeccable manners and social skills. We begin by teaching obedience the day we bring them home from the breeder; which carries on as we refine the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a strong foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, keeping it a regular request in our day-to-day routine as well as within each new situation we expose your puppy to. We go from shaping to defining commands and proofing them with distractions, duration and distance. Communication is at the center of our philosophy. Being very clear and consistent is key. We restrict our words when providing commands. We want your dog to understand what we want when we give them the command. When we say ‘come’ or ‘here’ we expect 100% response right away.

Proofing Behavior in a Social World in Los Altos Hills, CA
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the normal age when many dogs are re-homed or surrendered to rescues. The adolescent stage can find your sweet pup becoming a monster. That nice puppy can be more mouthy and disobedient than you could ever picture. Many owners hope their puppy will outgrow unfavorable behaviors. Their dog is testing what is permitted and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue rehearsing naughty acts makes changing undesirable behavior more difficult.

Testing in the Real World in Los Altos Hills, California 
We work to stop any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction places. For instance, we practice recalls when your dog is extremely distracted possibly chasing something as common as a squirrel. We test and proof obedience in high traffic locations, around barking dogs, around playgrounds and within public places.

As the dog goes through the adolescent stage we continue to challenge the dog by putting it in various scenarios. We imagine each situation as a picture. What does that look like to the puppy? How does that picture differ from day to day or location to location. We are aiming to teach a dog how to cope in every new and different environment or situation. We are raising a dog that isn’t reliant on constant commands that control what he or she should and should not do. In fact, we want a dog that can make great decisions. Our number one priority is to have a well-balanced dog, who will fit into your home.

We continue to strengthen and improve good manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. Throughout this time, the dog has been living with the dog trainer in his or her own home. During this time, your dog will also spend a few days and nights hanging out with another relative or friend. Offering this chance, encourages your dog to continue to be confident and comfortable in new surroundings. This ensures those habits and good manners will remain when he moves on to your house in Los Altos Hills, CA.