Early Neurological Stimulation. Pix to your left is link to another video. We believe this prepares your puppy to handle stress better, to be better problem solvers, improves immune and over all health in your bullmastiff puppy.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) in Puppies
Video explaining it
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) is a process we started doing that introduces mild stresses to very young puppies in a controlled way. These stresses help stimulate the neurological system which improves the growth and development of the puppies immune system, cardiovascular system, and stress tolerance later in life.
ENS is done starting at day 3 after the puppies are born for 2 consecutive weeks. The process consists of 5 simple and harmless exercises, which are: tactile stimulation, lying in the supine position, held with head held up, tilted upside down, and thermal stimulation. Each exercise is done for 3 to 5 seconds the entire process takes less than 60 seconds. Tactile stimulation is done by gently tickling or touching in between each of the pup’s toes with a Q-tip but I often do this with my fingers. The supine position is achieved by holding the pup in both hands belly up (some pups squirm in this position so a solid but gentle two handed hold is necessary). To hold the pup with head up simply hold the pup in both hands so that the tail is pointed to the ground and the head is above the tail towards the ceiling. From the Head held up position tilt the pup over and hold so the head is towards the ground and the tail is towards the ceiling. Use a cool damp towel for the thermal stimulation. You lay the pup right side up with its belly on the damp cool towel. Now this doesn't have to be a huge ordeal every day it's something you get in the routine of doing because of the wonderful dividend it pays later in the puppy's life.
These 5 simple and painless exercises are done to prepare our puppies for their life’s journey. Only 30 to 60 seconds a day for 2 weeks and we see a great improvement in their immune systems (which is huge!) and stress tolerances. We make it a point to do Early Neurological Stimulation with our puppies because we see the benefits and know it helps them grown into more agreeable adults able to handle life's stress better.
Rule of 7
LonelyCreek Bullmastiffs have discovered a great socialization technique known as the Rule of 7.
Our Rule of 7 was adapted from Dr. Carmen Battaglia’s guide for increasing puppy’s exposure:
Dr. Carmen Battaglia created the Rule of 7’s as a guide to increase a puppy’s exposure. You do not have to follow it to the letter, but make sure your puppy is current on all shots before taking him out into a strange area. By the time a puppy is 3 months, make sure he has:
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Been on 7 different types of surfaces: carpet, tile, linoleum, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, and wood chips.
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Played with 7 different types of objects: rope toys, plush toys, big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, squeaky toys, paper or cardboard items, metal items, and sticks.
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Been in 7 different locations: front & back yard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, kids room, living room, hallway, Vet’s office, groomers.
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Met and played with 7 new people: include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or in a wheelchair or walker, someone tall, someone in a hat.
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Been exposed to 7 challenges: climb on a box, go through a tunnel, climb steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, play hide and seek, go in and out of a doorway with a step up or down, run around a fence.
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Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, human hands, pie plate, tin pan, frying pan, Frisbee, elevated bowl.
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Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, exercise pen, basement, laundry room, living room, bathroom, back yard.
Each new, positive experience will help your puppy flourish into a confident companion. Allow your puppy to learn passively by letting them to explore on their own, but make sure he is 100% supervised and that it is a controlled environment. Do not use any harsh training methods with a puppy, because you will break the bond of trust. Training should be fair and fun.
We think all puppies should go through the puppy socialization called the “Rule of 7.” The rule of 7 is a technique we learned to help introduce our Bullmastiff puppies to new environments and get them used to many different things they may encounter in their lives. Much like ENS (early Neurological Stimulation) the Rule of seven introduces the pups to small stresses that will help boost confidence, social behavior, and their train-ability.
Our rule of 7 works by introducing pups starting at 4 weeks of age to 7 new things they hadn’t had a lot of contact with before. Four days later we change these to 7 new items. So by the time you pick up your LonelyCreek Bullmastiff puppy they have been introduced to 49 different or new things/changes. When your puppy goes home they can be a cute, confident pup ready to trek across carpet, tile or wood floors, play with balls, squeaky toys and chase sticks and begin to work on obedience.
Here’s an excerpt from our rule of 7 form:
Choose a Number (1-7) from each Category (A-G) and this litter gets introduced to these 7 things for the Next 4 days. On the 5th day choose a different Number (1-7) from each category (A-G) and this litter gets introduced to these 7 things for the Next 4 days. Etc…. Put the start date on each choice. Cross off the ones you chose on the last day so we don’t have a repeat. By the time puppies are 8 weeks old they will have been introduced to serval new things and areas. This improves their ability to cope with stress, socializing, and train-ability.
A. Different types of Surfaces:
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Hard Wood Floor _____
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Vinyl, or linoleum flooring _____
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Fake Grass _____
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Real Grass _____
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Dirt or Sand or Gravel _____
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Carpet _____
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Tile, or stone, concrete _____
B. Different Toys:
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Different sized balls _____
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Squeaky toys _____
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Hard plastic/ rubber or metal items _____
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Soft fabric toys _____
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Natural items, sticks _____
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Water, pools (weather permitting) _____
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Ropes _____
We hope to encourage those who purchase our wonderful bullmastiff puppies to continue to introduce them to new things every week or every month. It keeps them happy and helps them adapt to their world in less stressful way.