Puppies’ first weeks of life are a short but very important stage. It is important to us that our puppies are able to grow up in a safe environment with their mother and littermates, while their world gradually expands according to their age and development.
Our aim is not to make a young puppy into a dog that already knows how to do as many things as possible. Instead, we want to offer our puppies a variety of experiences and opportunities to explore their surroundings safely. Every puppy is an individual, and the way they respond to new things also varies.
The First Weeks in Peace and Quiet
Pandarellan puppies are born in our home. Depending on the litter and the situation, the mother and puppies are given their own quiet space, for example in a bedroom or utility room.
During the first few weeks, a puppy’s world is still very small. The most important things are their mother, littermates, nutrition, sleep and a sense of security. At this stage, the mother and puppies are above all given peace and time together.
As the puppies grow, become more mobile and begin to show an interest in the world around them, their environment is gradually expanded.
Growing Up as Part of Everyday Family Life
Later, the puppies are allowed to move around different areas of our home. They spend most of their time in our open-plan living room and kitchen, where they are part of normal everyday family life.
This means that the puppies naturally encounter household sounds, people moving around and all kinds of everyday activities. They also meet children and have opportunities to interact and play with them.
We do not try to turn every experience into a separate training exercise. Many valuable experiences simply happen naturally as part of everyday life.
Plenty to Explore Outdoors
When the puppies are ready, they begin spending time outdoors. At first, these outings are short, but as the puppies grow, the amount of time they spend outside gradually increases. In good weather, they may eventually spend several hours outdoors during the day.
Our entire property is not fenced, so the puppies have their own secure enclosure. This prevents them from wandering off on adventures of their own and also helps protect them from wildlife in the area.
Our yard has different surfaces and changes in elevation. The puppies can climb, move across different levels, and go over and under small obstacles. There are naturally many different sounds in the environment, and we also sometimes deliberately give the puppies opportunities to become familiar with new sounds in a safe situation.
Exploring the Forest
The forest is part of the environment in which our puppies grow up. We take them into the forest to explore, move around and play.
A forest provides a puppy with an enormous variety of experiences without us having to build an artificial obstacle course: uneven terrain, different surfaces, changes in elevation, branches, vegetation, scents and sounds.
At the same time, we can observe a puppy in a completely natural situation. How readily does it set off to explore? Does it use its nose? How does it solve a small obstacle in its path? Does it return to the person from time to time and then head off to explore again?
We Do Not Evaluate a Puppy Based on a Single Puppy Test
We do not have our puppies separately assessed in a formal puppy test. However, we have familiarised ourselves with different types of puppy tests and have also explored their use with our own puppies.
For us, the most important way of getting to know our puppies has become daily observation throughout the entire time they are with us.
Living with the puppies every day allows us to see them in a wide variety of situations. Among other things, we observe their curiosity, initiative, willingness to play, ability to concentrate, problem-solving, use of their nose and ability to settle down.
We also spend a lot of time playing with the puppies. Through play, we can observe, for example, how readily a puppy takes hold of a toy, carries it, engages in tugging and continues playing, as well as how interested it is in interacting and doing things together with a person.
When considering a future dog for activities or working-dog sports, persistence is also interesting to observe: what does the puppy do when something does not work on the first attempt?
Being Startled Does Not Tell the Whole Story – Recovery Tells Us a Lot
Reacting to something unfamiliar is normal for a puppy. That is why the most important question for us is not whether a puppy is ever startled by something.
What interests us more is what the puppy does afterwards.
Does it recover quickly? Does it approach and investigate what startled it? Can it continue playing or doing what it was doing? Does it need support from a person, or does it work through the situation independently?
When the same puppies are observed over several weeks in many different situations, a much broader picture of each individual begins to emerge than could be gained from a single moment.
This Is Where the Work Really Continues
Most importantly, we hope that each puppy’s new home continues the work we have started.
Exploring the world should continue calmly and with respect for the puppy’s individual needs. The puppy should be allowed to explore, experiment, wonder and sometimes make mistakes. It does not have to cope with everything on its own. A person’s role is to be a safe and reliable source of support, helping the puppy gradually grow into a balanced adult dog.
Listening to a puppy and progressing at its pace does not, however, mean allowing the puppy to decide everything for itself. I believe that one of the most important aspects of raising a dog is that the adult person takes responsibility and ultimately makes the decisions. A puppy should not have to carry responsibility for things it is not yet capable of understanding.
A safe and dependable person allows the dog to explore and solve things independently whenever appropriate. They provide help when help is needed, but they also set boundaries when boundaries are necessary. The purpose of boundaries is not to prevent a dog from being itself, but to make life understandable, predictable and safe.
I believe the same basic principle applies to safe everyday life with both children and dogs: freedom and opportunities are given according to age and readiness, but the adult remains responsible for safety and ultimately decides what is and is not allowed.
This is where the puppy’s journey with its new family begins. As breeders, we can give our puppies their first experiences and the best possible start, but their real life is built in their new homes — one day at a time, together.
