Meet Our Puppies

How our puppies are raised

Puppies at SchapAnnRo are whelped and raised in our home. We feel strongly that puppies must be socialized from birth to reach their ultimate potential as beloved companions. Since a puppy’s ultimate temperament has much to do with how they are raised, this is as important as good genetics. Research has shown that 35% of a dog’s temperament is produced by genetic factors while environment contributes 65%. The key sensitive period in a puppy’s development is 3 weeks to 3 months. I do everything in my power to take care of the puppies both mentally and physically to ensure a great start in life. I believe it is the job of the breeder to do more than just feed, clean and vaccinate the pups. We provide the puppies with a loving atmosphere, rich in visual and auditory household sights and sounds: human voices, the vacuum cleaner, telephone, radio, TV, etc.

We use the “Bio Sensor” program for early neurological stimulations with all of our puppies. The benefits of these stimulation exercises include: Improved cardio vascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non-stimulated littermates. They were also less disturbed or upset by test conditions and more calm in the test environment, making fewer errors and giving only an occasional distress when stressed. For more information on this type of testing check out Better Breeding Dogs.

As soon as the puppies can hear, they listen daily to CD’s that expose them to all manner of sounds and noises (trucks, trains, planes, horns, babies crying, etc.). Each puppy is given individual playtime as well as being exposed to a variety of toys, people and new situations. This includes puppy agility equipment, grass, wood and brick surfaces as well as carpet, linoleum and ceramic, and rides in the car.

All of the puppies are temperament tested at least twice by a CKC obedience judge between 6 & 8 weeks and structurally assessed at 8 weeks by a CKC conformation judge to see how well they meet the breed standard. This is vital in matching puppies to prospective owners. I spend a lot of time and put a lot of thought into matching the personality and temperament of the puppy with the lifestyle of their prospective families. It is very important to us that the puppies be placed in responsible, forever homes. Companion puppies are sold on a non-breeding agreement. These puppies are not the undesirable pups from a litter. They are simply pups who will not be used for breeding. They are quite often show quality and are sold with the same guarantee.

Puppies are usually ready to go home between 9 and 10 weeks. We encourage all our prospective puppy owners to come out and visit (by appointment only) at least twice before the pups go home.

Our commitment to the puppies does not end when you take the puppy home. It is our intention to provide you with years of love and friendship with a healthy, happy, beautiful Schapendoes. If for any unfortunate or unforeseen reason you can no longer care for your Schapendoes, our door is always open. Under no circumstances should any Schapannro puppy be taken to a humane society, puppy mill or rescue organization, we will help provide a suitable replacement home. We’re happy to provide our new puppy owners with any advice and support that may be needed and we love to stay in touch with our pups after they leave us for their new homes.