Daily ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) for 4 day old Miss BLUE puppy includes holding her on her back for the count of three. Each day the nine puppies are weighed; all are gaining steadily.
More about ENS for those who are interested:
The first three weeks of a puppy’s life are a crucial time. Puppies are very helpless at this stage. Their eyes do not open until around 10 days, and the sense of hearing starts around 2 weeks. Mama dog does most of the work at this stage; a breeders job is to keep everyone warm, safe, and clean.
The most important way to interact with puppies during this phase is by touch. Gentle handling and stroking at least two times a day teaches them that human touch is a pleasant experience.
Many dog breeders are providing increased environmental enrichment to puppies in the form of exposure to a large variety of toys, sounds, playtime outdoors, and interactions with a wide variety of humans and other animals.
Simple interactions early in a puppy’s life may increase its ability to learn and cope successfully with stress later on.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS), involves applying gentle stressors to a very young animal (age 3 days to 16 days exactly) for very short periods of time (only to the count of 3) .
The US Military developed this method designed to improve the performance of future military working dogs.
The stressors include holding them in different positions, and gently touching parts of their bodies including running a q-tip between the toes of one foot.
The link between stress and activation of the endocrine system is well known. The effects of short-term, very mild stress can be beneficial, creating “robustness” in the body and preparing it to deal more effectively with stressors later in life.
Possible benefits of ENS:
1. Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate)
2. Stronger heart beats
3. Stronger adrenal glands
4. More tolerance to stress
5. Greater resistance to disease
#winterpastfarm #goldenretriever #puppies #ens #dogs #dayfour