Deciding on Your Puppy
The thought of raising a new young puppy on your own may be overwhelming. You need a pup that is going to fit  nicely with your life. Your life in Indian River Shores, Florida might be fast paced, you’ve got a full time schedule, you may be raising a new family, you like to travel or you’ve just retired. Peace of Mind Puppy provides a stress and anxiety free experience to add that  awesome dog to your life.

The Program Begins With a Consultation
We think it’s vital that you know who you will be partnering with. Developing a rapport is exceptionally important to us in Indian River Shores, Florida. Our chat begins with basic questions and leads into an detailed conversation, which will provide us a much better idea of who you are and what your ideal dog would be. We would like to have a excellent working relationship with you. It starts the journey to choose, teach and raise your puppy.

Picking The Perfect Breed For Your Home
Once you have decided you are ready to add that perfect dog to your life in Indian River Shores, Florida. You may have your heart set on a particular breed or maybe you want one of our pups that are presently in our puppy raising program. Certainly there are things to consider including where you live, your schedule, maybe you are raising a young family, you you may love to go on vacation or you’ve recently retired. This information will not reduce your options, yet help shed light on your daily life in Indian River Shores, FL. We help guide you in this decision making process. As we get to know you better, we can certainly aid you choose what you want and which breed will best match your life-style.

Selecting The Right Breeder in Indian River Shores, Florida
We collaborate with amazing breeders who are genuinely interested in improving their breed with good health and exceptional temperament of their puppies. The first eight weeks of a new pups life are as vital as to what follows. A great breeder knows this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have developed a relationship with many exceptional breeders. We particularly find breeders who understand the early part they play in a puppies life. They know when one of their pups grows through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a terrific life.  It is very important to work carefully with the breeder. We count on the breeder’s knowledge and also our years of expertise to select the puppy with the best temperament for the prospective new family.

Your Puppy‘s Training in Indian River Shores, Florida
Training your dog is a combo of teaching new skill-sets including manners, setting boundaries, fostering healthy relationships, in addition to exposing your puppy successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all different types of environments. For instance, we have the pup sleep overnight with various people in different environments; which in turn develops a dog for you who is comfortable and easy to live with because he or she adapts|adjusts} to your lifestyle. Because of this and exposures to other variables your dog readily connects with you and your family.

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

Training starts the minute a new puppy is in our care in Indian River Shores, Florida. Once we select the puppy from the litter, the first thing we would like to achieve 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 begin exposing the pup to its new world. For example, getting him or her to follow us, climb stairs, walk over branches, and also get relatively near to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your dog to the world while strengthening our bond. We are huge dog lovers, yet significantly aware in those moments it is imperative to concentrate more on being a leader and guide as the new pup learns about this new world without the company of its litter mates or mom.

Most important time for learning
During the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no restriction as to what we will incorporate into our approaches. Often we use certain areas or objects to create an encounter for the puppy. At times a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in Indian River Shores, Florida. Our choices and creativity are unlimited. Every exposure and experience builds on the prior one. Through all of this, we carefully supervise the puppy. We never restrict ourselves to inflexible rules. We try to get more creative, think outside the box, and benefit from activities that manifest before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes to teaching the dog.

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 dog. This is the first time away from his or her littermates and living with us in Indian River Shores, Florida. 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 period than they can learn in a lifetime. The quality and quantity of what they encounter will have a substantial effect on their future personalities and determine many of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. During the imprinting phase, every experience is important. It is important to build their self-confidence. The expression ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are absorbing every experience like a sponge, we need to stay very aware of all interactions and yet still have a good time with our new puppy.

A Well-Mannered Dog
4 to 6 months 

A trained pup 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 extremely important. In addition, desensitization, exposure to many different distractions and situations, as well as having the flexibility to fit into a lifestyle in Indian River Shores, FL is equally important.

Our focus is to create a dog with remarkable manners and social skills. We begin by teaching obedience the day we bring them home from the breeder; which continues as we improve the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a solid foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, making it a normal request in our daily routine as well as within each new situation we expose your dog to. We go from shaping to defining commands and testing them with distractions, duration and distance. Communication is at the core of our philosophy. Being clear and consistent is key. We limit our words when giving commands. We want your dog to understand what we mean when we give them the command. When we say ‘come’ or ‘here’ we expect 100% response immediately.

Proofing Behavior in a Social World in Indian River Shores, FL
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the typical age when many dogs are re-homed or surrendered to shelters. The adolescent stage can find your sweet pup becoming a monster. That nice puppy can be more mouthy and disobedient than you could ever imagine. Many owners hope their dog will grow out of unwanted behaviors. Their dog is testing what is allowed and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue practicing naughty acts makes changing undesirable behavior more challenging.

Working in the Real World in Indian River Shores, Florida 
We work to reduce any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction locations. For example, we practice recalls when your dog is extremely distracted maybe chasing something like a squirrel. We test and proof obedience in high traffic locations, around barking dogs, near playgrounds and within public places.

As the dog moves through the adolescent stage we continue to challenge the dog by putting it in various scenarios. We imagine each situation as a picture. How does that look like to the dog? How does that picture change from day to day or location to location. We are striving to teach a dog how to cope in each new and various environment or situation. We are raising a puppy that isn’t dependent on continuous commands that control what he or she should and should not do. In fact, we desire a dog that can make great decisions. Our top goal is to have a well-balanced dog, who will fit into your home.

We continue to reinforce and improve good manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. During this time, the dog has been staying with the dog trainer in their personal home. Throughout this time, your puppy will also spend a few days and nights staying with another loved one or friend. Providing the puppy with this chance, encourages your dog to continue to be confident and comfortable in new settings. This ensures those habits and good manners will stay when he or she goes on to your house in Indian River Shores, FL.