Deciding on Your New Puppy
The thought of raising a new pup by yourself might be overwhelming. You want a doggy that is going to match  very well with your life-style. Your life in St. Charles, Illinois can be busy, you’ve got a full time job, you may be raising a new family, you like to travel or may be you just retired. We provide a stress free experience to add in that  outstanding dog to your life.

The Process Begins With a Assessment
We think it’s very important that you know who you will be partnering with. Developing a relationship is extremely important to our company in St. Charles, Illinois. Our chat starts with basic questions and leads into an in depth discussion, which will provide us a much better idea of who you are and what your ideal dog will be. We want to have a great working partnership with you. It begins the journey to choose, teach and raise your pup.

Selecting The Perfect Breed For Your Household
Once you have decided you are ready to include that amazing dog to your life in St. Charles, Illinois. You may have your heart set on a particular breed or maybe you’re interested in one of our pups that are currently in our puppy raising program. There certainly are things to take into consideration for example, the type of house you live in, maybe you work full time, are raising a  little family, you you may love to travel or maybe you have recently retired. This information will not minimize your choices, yet help shed light on your way of life in St. Charles, IL. We will help guide you in your decision making process. As we learn more about you, we can certainly aid you pick what you want and which breed will best suit your lifestyle.

Selecting The Best Breeder in St. Charles, Illinois
We partner with responsible breeders who are truly interested in improving their breed with good health and great temperament of their puppies. The initial eight weeks of a new puppy’s life are as crucial as to what happens after. A good breeder recognizes this and helps get the puppy off to a great start.

We have built a rapport with many great breeders. We specifically search out breeders who recognize the early part they play in a puppies life. They understand when one of their puppies grows through our program, it ensures the puppy will end up having a good life.  It’s very important to work carefully with the breeder. We count on the breeder’s feedback together with our years of knowledge to select the puppy with the best temperament for the potential new family.

The Puppy‘s Training in St. Charles, Illinois
Training your pup is a combo 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 various environments.Such as, we may have the puppy stay overnight with various people in different environments; which develops a dog for you who is comfortable 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 readily bonds with you and your family members.

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 St. Charles, Illinois. Once we select the pup from the litter, the first thing we would like to accomplish is building 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. For instance, getting him or her to follow us, go up and down stairs, walk over various things, 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, but still remarkably 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 companionship of its litter mates or mom.

The Essential time for learning
During the first few weeks we are teaching your new puppy boundaries, trust and focus. There is no limitation as to what we will incorporate into our methods. Often we take advantage of specific locations or objects to create an experience for the pup. In some cases a spur of the moment opportunity may present itself in St. Charles, Illinois. Our choices and vision are endless. Every exposure and experience builds on the prior one. Through all of this, we closely observe the puppy. We never confine ourselves to rigid rules. We try to get more creative, think outside the box, and make use of occasions that manifest before us. Those opportunities are invaluable when it comes to teaching the dog.

Every interaction with the new puppy is a teaching moment. We often consider it as an early investment in the life of this dog. This is the first time away from their littermates and living with us in St. Charles, Illinois. 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 experience will have a huge influence on their future personalities and determine many of their “good” or “bad” behavior tendencies. During the course of the imprinting phase, every experience is crucial. 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 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 Puppy
4 to 6 months 

A trained puppy is so much 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 critical. Additionally, desensitization, exposure to various distractions and situations, as well as being comfortable to fit into a lifestyle in St. Charles, IL  is equally important.

Our focus is to create a dog with impeccable manners and social skills. We begin by teaching obedience the day we bring them home from the breeder; which continues as we refine the dog’s behavior. The goal is to have a strong foundation by about 4 to 6 months. We practice obedience, making it a regular request in our daily routine in addition to within each new situation we expose your dog to. We move from shaping to defining commands and proofing them with distractions, duration and distance. Communication is at the core 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 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 St. Charles, IL
6 months to young adult

Enter the teenage years– adolescence. This is the usual age when many dogs are re-homed or surrendered to rescues. The adolescent stage can find your sweet pup developing 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 permitted 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. Charles, Illinois
We work to stop any unwanted behavior by instilling boundaries and practicing obedience in high distraction locations. Such as, we practice recalls when your dog is highly distracted maybe chasing something as common as a squirrel. We practice and proof obedience in high traffic areas, 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 situations. We think of each situation as a picture. How does that look like to the puppy? How does that picture differ 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 scenario. We are raising a puppy that isn’t reliant on continuous commands that determine what he or she should and shouldn’t do. Instead, we desire a dog that can make good decisions. Our number one priority is to have a well-balanced puppy, who will be comfortable your home.

We continue to reinforce and fine-tune good manners making good behavior a habit for the dog. During this time, the dog has been staying with the dog trainer in his/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 different surroundings. This ensures those habits and good manners will remain when he or she goes on to your home in St. Charles, IL.