Bio-Sensor program

Puppies are now 4 days old. Yesterday I started the Bio-Sensor routine on each puppy as described in the book "The Breeders Guide to Raising Superstar Dogs" by Jerry Hope.  As stated in the book the purpose of the bio-sensory routine is to "expose the pup to controlled stress. Stress is introduced in small increments; the pup is allowed to recover, and then another stressor is applied.  The positive results of the utilisation of this program in the adult dog includes a faster recover from stress, an improved immune system, improved heart function and greatly improved social skills."

At this stage the puppies are exposed to 5 very simple stimuli for 3 seconds at a time, once a day.  This is slowly increased to a maximum of 5 seconds at a time when the program finishes at 17 days of age. At which time we move to the second stage, the active introduction stage.

The 5 stressors include holding the puppy in a vertical position with the head up, then holding vertical with the head down, then holding it on it's back, then touching the toes with a q-tip and then placing the dog on a cold, damp towel. 

The puppies squirm a bit and make the occasional squeaking noise, but other than that they don't seem to mind at all.  But that is the whole purpose of the superdog program, to teach the puppies from a very early age what the "norm" is.  In this case by the time we are done the "norm" for these puppies will be weird noises, surfaces, positions, movement, etc until we have a confident puppy that reacts to anything novel in a positive manner.  As Jerry states in his book, 35% of workability and temperament are inherited, the remaining 65% is a result of the environment.  So I want to make sure these puppies have the best start possible before going to their new homes.

Here is a picture at day 4: