What is Puppy Imprinting?
The word imprinting comes from the Latin word “impriemere” which means “to impress” or “to mark by pressure stamp” Like a stamp leaves a permanent mark, imprinting leaves a permanent impact on the puppies.
Puppies, like humans, are not born knowing everything. They have to be taught many things and this learning is called imprinting. Proper healthy imprinting is important because it will set a dog up for a happy balanced life. Many things that happen during the initial imprinting phase will stay with the puppy for their whole life.
I believe imprinting starts at birth. This is why we handle our puppies many times daily from the start. Our puppies interact with people of different ages, from young children to seniors. We also introduce them to our other dogs. I believe it produces a calmer more well-adjusted puppy.
Why do we raise our puppies on our main floor?
We raise our puppies on the main floor to experience the noises of a busy household; ie. vacuuming, dishwasher, pots and pans noises, doorbells, doors opening and closing, lawnmowers just to name few. Our puppies have also been experiencing the sounds of hammering and drilling, from a outdoor project my husband and father-in-law have been working on. They have even experienced the noises from a severe thunderstorm. The more they can experience at a young age, the better adjusted they will be.
Why can’t our puppies go to their forever homes until they are 8 weeks old?
Interaction between mother, littermates, and other dogs is invaluable to the puppies learning. Our mama dog teach her puppies to listen, obey, submit and what is acceptable dog behaviour. Littermates also have an important role to play. When puppies play with their littermates they learn how to “play nice” which is a skill they will use their entire lives. If a puppy is too aggressive during play, their littermates will cry. This will teach the puppy that aggression is not acceptable play. If they don’t “play nice”, the other puppies won’t want to play with them.
Lot’s of willing hands to cuddle our puppies!
Does imprinting stop when puppies leave their mama?
Dog are always learning. When puppies go to their forever homes, imprinting continues as they are learning a whole new set of boundaries from their forever families.
