Today I am showing one of the ways we start building service dog foundations before eyes even open: Early Scent Introduction (ESI). ESI is a simple daily protocol done during the newborn window, usually days three through sixteen, where each puppy is briefly exposed to one new scent. It is gentle, it is short, and it is always followed by going right back to mom. ESI is not just about “novelty.” Studies looking at early scent exposure found that puppies who received structure

One thing you’ll see us doing very early with our puppies is ENS, or Early Neurological Stimulation. It’s brief, gentle, and always done during a very specific window of development, but it plays a powerful role in how the nervous system matures. ENS is performed during the first couple of weeks of life, when a puppy’s brain and stress response systems are rapidly developing. Research originally conducted through the U.S. military’s canine program showed that puppies exposed

By day three, the puppies are settling into a steady rhythm of nursing, sleeping, and growing. While much of their time is still spent resting, there is already a lot happening beneath the surface. You may notice tiny muscle twitches during sleep—little paws moving, whiskers fluttering, or even brief tail flicks. This is called active sleep (sometimes referred to as REM sleep), and it is a critical part of early neurological development. During active sleep, the brain is busy