Congratulations on your new or upcoming puppy! What a joy they are, but boy are puppies a lot of work. Do you wish you could receive a ‘leg up’ on crate and house training? Establish nice behavior patterns right away? Have your puppy socialized under the supervision of a professional dog trainer? Learn the basics so your pup will be the star of the class? If so, Puppy Jumpstart is for you!

Socializing and training your puppy during the first 8-16 weeks of their life is critical. This is their first social window when they learn all about how the world works. It is vital to offer them positive experiences and develop polite behavior patterns during this time to set them up for a lifetime of success. This premium program for puppies is designed to take the guess work out of raising a puppy. We’ll work on socializing and training your puppy so you won’t have to worry.

Puppies are lodged with other puppies of a similar age range in a home environment at night. During the day, puppies may visit our 2000+ square foot puppy-only Nursery School for added exposure to new people, places, and pets. Your puppy will receive critical information about the world during this period, including socializing with dogs and exposure to new animals, people, places, preventing resource guarding behavior, and much more!

Requirements: Our jumpstart program is designed for puppies ranging in age from 8-16 weeks. All puppies must be up to date on age-appropriate Distemper combo, Bordetella (given at least 2 weeks prior to start date), and produce a recent parasite-free fecal test and be in good health.

Puppy parents can choose from 1 of 2 packages – our Small Step Program (a 7 day program including lodging), or our Jump Start Program (a 21 day program with lodging). To read more about each program, check out the descriptions below.

The Puppy Jump Start program is also an excellent first step before joining our Nursery School for Puppies!

We can even assist you in picking your puppy! For puppy selection assistance, please contact us directly via email: info@fourleggersdogdaycare.com

The Small Step Program

The Small Step program is 7 days in duration. During this period, your puppy will socialize with other puppies of a similar age. Developing a positive crate-association and house training habits will be emphasized during this time.

This program includes a 7 day lodging stay, a 1 hour group training transfer session, a crate, no-pull harness fitted for your puppy, and discounted tuition on our Puppy Kindergarten group class.

The Jump Start Program

The ultimate puppy-prep program, your puppy’s stay will include everything in the Small Step program, as well as basic obedience training (including conditioning to a clicker, sit, down, come when called, conditioning to a leash and harness, and stay).

This program includes a 21 day lodging stay, a 1 hour group training transfer session, a complimentary crate, no-pull harness fitted for your puppy, clicker, a treat bag, bag of training treats, and discounted tuition on our Puppy Kindergarten group class!

This program is 21 days in duration and includes a crate

Let’s Get Started!

You can conveniently request enrollment in our program by filling out the form below!

Space is extremely limited to ensure each puppy receives ample individual attention and training! We encourage you to work with your breeder or rescue to ensure your pup has all necessary health requirements in place and to complete enrollment ASAP.

Puppy Development

8 to 12 weeks old — First Fear Period

That adorable ball of fluff is becoming more independent and starting to really get the hang of physical coordination. They will continue to learn about everything around them, like what’s safe and unsafe.

During this phase, your puppy soaks up everything like a sponge.

Between 8-12 weeks of age, a puppy’s fear response becomes more pronounced. It’s vital during this period that the puppy be exposed to the world in a positive and controlled way, because they can be hypersensitive to upsetting incidents.

Training During This Period

From about 7 to 8 weeks of age, owners can start promoting some independence in their puppies. It may be as simple as chewing on a chewy toy while supervised to start.

If a dog owner plans to get a puppy and then work for 8-10 hours a day, finding care for the puppy during the day is critical.

Housebreaking begins at 8-9 weeks of age.

Many people think socialization involves having guests come in and everybody handling the puppy, but that’s not accurate. If someone handles the puppy and he gets scared for example, because we pick him up too quickly and he loses contact with the floor, or inadvertently while handling him a young child causes some pain – these are not positive experiences. The same way positive experiences leave a long-term mark, negative experiences leave a more profound impression.

12 to 24 weeks old — Chewing Everything In Sight

With the puppy’s first permanent teeth making their appearance now, chew toys are a must-have.

Chewing is an exploratory behavior. Puppies become extremely proactive during this period and explore the world.

This is also a great time to enroll your puppy in its first training class, like our Nursery School for Puppies or Puppy Kindergarten. This is a great time to have exposure to people in a controlled way, after already developing positive associations through our Jump Start program.

Training During This Period

This is the age to start working on more advanced puppy obedience training.

This is also a very important time for house-training. Take them out when you anticipate that they are going to go potty, usually every two to three hours, after meals and when they’re excited or when they wake up.