What is Puppy Culture?

I raise my puppies with Puppy Culture, but what does this mean? Puppy Culture is based on the idea (backed by a great deal of science) that the first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life shape their whole future. 

This forms the basis for the title of the main film in the Puppy Culture program: Puppy Culture: The Powerful First 12 Weeks That Can Shape Your Puppy’s Future. The film is available on both DVD and Video on Demand, and is over 5 hours long (I recommend watching it in sections).  Breeders who use Puppy Culture also use the Puppy Culture Workbook, which breaks down when and how to apply the protocols shown in the film to a litter of individual puppies, and contains helpful shopping lists and behavioral markers to pay attention to. The workbook is immensely helpful for breeders, but would be less helpful for puppy buyers.

In addition to the main protocols in the original film, Puppy Culture also has additional add-on protocols that may be helpful for some dogs, as shown in additional films. I intend to do Attention is the Mother of All Behavior which teaches puppies to pay attention to their handler in distracting environments (great for service dog prospects or performance prospects), and Shaping Emotional Responses (great for all dogs), and starting on Killer Free Stacks. In addition the video on Puppy Party, while a concept covered by the main film (and one I will be working on with my puppies as well), was also very useful for diving-in in more depth. 

So what are the main protocols in the original film? The main protocols cover such things as teaching puppies not to guard resources, how to problem solve, how to learn with a clicker, and overall how to be confident, outgoing dogs. 

Over the next few weeks I will be discussing individual protocols that I will be doing from Puppy Culture on this blog. Please feel free to click through and take a look at the videos and programs Puppy Culture has available.