Choosing Your Puppy
The thought of raising a new young puppy on your own may be stressful. You hope for a puppy that will match  beautifully with your everyday life. Your life in West Palm Beach, Florida is stressful, you may have a full time profession, maybe you’re raising a young family, you like to travel or may be you just retired. Peace of Mind Puppy provides a stress and anxiety free experience to add in that  amazing dog to your life.

The Process Begins With a Assessment
We know it’s important that you know who you will be coordinating with. Developing a relationship is incredibly important to our team in West Palm Beach, Florida. Our conversation begins with basic questions and leads into an detailed conversation, which will give us a much better idea of who you are and what your perfect dog would be. We like to have a excellent working partnership with you. It begins the journey to decide on, teach and raise your puppy.

Choosing The Best Breed For Your Household
Once you have determined you are ready to include that perfect dog to your life in West Palm Beach, Florida. You have your heart set on a specific breed or maybe you want one of our dogs that are currently in our puppy raising program. Certainly there are things to think about for example, the type of house you live in, how much you work, are raising a young family, you you may love to go on vacation or maybe you have recently retired. This information will not limit your choices, yet help clarify your everyday life in West Palm Beach, FL. We help guide you in this decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can help you choose what you want and which breed will best fit your life-style.

Finding The Best Breeder in West Palm Beach, Florida
We partner with responsible breeders who are genuinely interested in improving their breed with good health and excellent temperament of their puppies. The initial eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as vital as to what comes after. A excellent breeder is aware of this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have developed a rapport with many fine breeders. We particularly find breeders who are aware of the early role they play in a puppies life. They know when one of their puppies goes through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a good life.  It is very important to work carefully with the breeder. We rely on the breeder’s input in addition to our years of knowledge to pick the puppy with the best temperament for a potential new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in West Palm Beach, Florida
Training your pup is a combo of teaching new skill-sets including manners, setting boundaries, nurturing healthy relationships, as well as exposing your puppy successfully to people, other dogs and desensitizing him or her to all different types of environments.Such as, we may have the puppy stay overnight with different people in different environments; which in turn produces a dog for you who is relaxed and easy to live with because he or she can easily adapt|adjusts} to your way of life. Because of this and exposures to other factors your dog easily bonds with you and your family.

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

Training starts the moment a new puppy is in our hands in West Palm Beach, Florida. Once we pick the pup from the litter, the very first thing we want to achieve is developing confidence and a bond with this new puppy. We start our relationship having fun while always teaching. Under our close guidance, we start exposing the pup to its new world. Such as, getting him or her to follow us, climb stairs, walk over various things, and maybe even get somewhat near 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, but still extremely aware in those moments it is essential to concentrate more on being a leader and guide as the new puppy learns about this new world without having the company of its litter mates or mom.

The Essential time for learning
In the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no restriction as to what we will integrate into our strategies. Often we make use of specific places or objects to create an experience for the puppy. In some cases a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in West Palm Beach, Florida. Our options and imagination are endless. Every exposure and experience builds upon the prior one. Through all of this, we very closely monitor the puppy. We don’t restrict ourselves to inflexible rules. We try to become more creative, think outside the box, and take advantage of events that unfold before us. Those opportunities are priceless when it comes to teaching the dog.

Every interaction with the new pup is a teaching moment. We like to think of 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 West Palm Beach, 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 any other period of time in their lives. 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 vital. It is essential to build their confidence. The expression ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ does not apply to their early interactions. Because puppies are taking in 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 Pal
4 to 6 months 

A trained puppy is a lot more than just obedient. Knowing how to sit, stay or walk nicely on a loose leash are necessary things to learn. Good manners, great social skills and a healthy relationship with his or her family are vital. Furthermore, desensitization, exposure to various distractions and situations, in addition to having the flexibility to fit into a lifestyle in West Palm Beach, FL is equally important.

Our focus is to raise 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 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 regular request in our day-to-day routine as well as within each new situation we expose your puppy to. We move from shaping to defining commands and testing them with distractions, duration and distance. Communication is at the center of our philosophy. Being clear and consistent is key. We restrict our words when providing 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 West Palm Beach, FL
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the normal 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 think of. Many owners hope their dog will outgrow unfavorable behaviors. Their dog is testing what is allowed and what is not. Allowing a dog to continue practicing naughty acts makes changing unwanted behavior more challenging.

Testing in the Real World in West Palm Beach, Florida 
We work to reduce any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction locations. Such as, we practice recalls when your dog is extremely distracted possibly chasing something like a squirrel. We test and proof obedience in high traffic locations, 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 him or her in various situations. We consider each situation as a picture. How does that look like to the dog? 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 depending on continual commands that dictate what he or she should and shouldn’t do. In fact, we want a dog that can make great decisions. Our number one priority is to have a well-balanced puppy, who will fit into your home.

We continue to reinforce and refine manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. Throughout this time, the dog has been staying with the trainer in their individual home. During this time, your dog will also spend a few days and nights hanging out with another relative or friend. Giving this chance, encourages your puppy to continue to be confident and comfortable in new settings. This ensures those habits and good manners will remain when he/she goes on to your house in West Palm Beach, FL.