Deciding on Your New Puppy
The idea of raising a new pup on your own is frustrating. You want a pup that is going to fit in  wonderfully with your life-style. Your life in St. Augustine, Florida possible is busy, you may have a full-time schedule, a young family, you may like to travel or may be you just retired. We provide a anxiety free experience to add in that  awesome dog to your life.

The Experience Starts With a Assessment
We think it is very important that you know who you will be working with. Building a rapport is extremely important to our team in St. Augustine, Florida. Our chat begins with straightforward questions and leads into an in depth discussion, which will provide us a better idea of who you are and what your perfect dog might be. We like to have a fantastic working partnership with you. It starts the journey to decide on, teach and raise your pup.

Picking The Best Breed For Your Family
Once you have made a decision you want to add that perfect dog to your life in St. Augustine, Florida. You have your heart set on a specific 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, maybe you work full time, maybe you are raising a young family, you you may love to travel or maybe you have recently retired. This information will not restrict your choices, but instead help shed light on your lifestyle in St. Augustine, FL. We help guide you in the decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly aid you choose what you want and which breed will best suit your life-style.

Finding The Right Breeder in St. Augustine, Florida
We team up with responsible breeders who are genuinely interested in improving their breed with good health and fantastic temperament of their pups. The first eight weeks of a new pups life are as essential as to what follows. A excellent breeder is aware of this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have built a rapport with many outstanding breeders. We specifically find breeders who know 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 in addition to our years of knowledge to select the puppy with the best temperament for the potential new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in St. Augustine, Florida
Training your new puppy is a mixture of teaching new skill-sets including manners, setting boundaries, encouraging healthy relationships, along with exposing your dog successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all different types of environments.For example, 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. Because of this and exposures to other variables your dog easily connects with you and your family members.

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

Training starts the instant a new puppy is in our hands in St. Augustine, Florida. Once we pick the pup from the litter, the very first thing we want to accomplish is developing confidence and a bond with this new puppy. We start our relationship having fun while always teaching. Under our close guidance, we begin exposing the puppy to its new world. Such as, getting him or her to follow us, go up and down stairs, walk over branches, and also get somewhat near to loud noises. By doing this, we are environmentally socializing your dog to the world while at the same time boosting our bond. We are huge dog lovers, yet remarkably aware in those moments it is imperative to focus more on being a leader and guide as the new pup learns about this new world without the companionship of its litter mates or mom.

Crucial time for learning
In the initial few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no limitation as to what we may incorporate into our approaches. Often we make use of certain spots or objects to create an experience for the puppy. At times a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in St. Augustine, Florida. Our decisions and creativity are unlimited. Every exposure and experience builds on the prior one. Through all of this, we carefully supervise the puppy. We do not restrict ourselves to stiff rules. We try to be more creative, think outside the box, and make the most of occasions that manifest before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes down to teaching the pup.

Every interaction with the new pup is a teaching moment. We like to consider it as an early investment in the life of this pup. This is the first time away from his or her littermates and living with us in St. Augustine, 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 time than they can learn in a lifetime. The quality and quantity of what they encounter will have a significant impact on their future personalities and determine a number of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. During the course of the imprinting stage, every experience is vital. It is essential to build their confidence. The phrase ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are soaking up every experience like a sponge, we must stay very aware of all interactions and yet still have fun with our new pup.

A Well-Mannered Puppy
4 to 6 months 

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

Our focus is to raise a dog with remarkable manners and social skills. We start 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 stable foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, keeping it a regular request in our everyday routine as well as within each new situation we expose your puppy to. We move from shaping to formalizing commands and testing 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 St. Augustine, 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 turning into a monster. That nice puppy can be more mouthy and disobedient than you could ever imagine. Many owners hope their puppy will outgrow 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 St. Augustine, Florida 
We work to reduce any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction places. For instance, we practice recalls when your dog is highly distracted perhaps chasing something as common as a squirrel. We practice and proof obedience in high traffic places, around barking dogs, around 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 puppy? How does that picture change 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 scenario. We are raising a puppy that isn’t reliant on continual commands that control what he or she should and shouldn’t do. Instead, we desire a dog that can make great decisions. Our main priority is to have a well-balanced puppy, who will be comfortable your home.

We continue to reinforce and refine manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. During this time, the puppy has been residing with the dog trainer in his or her individual home. During this time, your dog will also spend a few days and nights staying with another loved one or close friend. Giving this chance, encourages your dog to continue to be confident and comfortable in brand-new surroundings. This ensures those habits and good manners will remain when he moves in to your home in St. Augustine, FL.