Home-Raised, Health Focused, Temperament Driven

From the moment puppies are born, they receive gentle, intentional care to build confidence, adaptability, and curiosity. Puppies are handled daily, giving them positive human contact in a safe and calm environment.  

We incorporate Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS), during the first few weeks of our puppies’ lives. This gentle program is performed daily from days 3–16 and involves a series of very brief, carefully handled exercises.

• The Five Exercises (performed daily):

1. Tactile Stimulation: Rubbing a Q-tip between toes.

2. Head Erect: Gently holding  puppy straight up (perpendicular), head above tail.

3. Head Down: Gently holding the puppy with its head pointing toward the ground.

4. Supine Position: puppy on its back (belly upward).

5. Thermal Stimulation: puppy is placed on a cold, damp towel for 3-5 seconds.

Each exercise lasts 3-5 seconds and is designed to safely introduce mild stimulation to the developing neurological system.

Why we use ENS:

ENS helps support stronger stress tolerance, improved resilience, and overall adaptability as puppies grow. It lays an early foundation for confident, well-balanced temperaments.  

As they grow, they begin to learn basic manners, boundaries, and key cues such as ‘ouch,’ ‘no bite,’’no,’ ‘potty.’ We introduce ‘sit’ and ‘stay,’ understanding these cues rely on impulse control, a skill that is still forming in young puppies. At this age, training is intentionally light, centered on exposure, communication, and confidence, not accuracy or expectations. These early lessons lay the foundation for a confident, well-mannered companion, setting the stage for a lifetime of positive learning.

They are gradually introduced to brushes and grooming tools to make future handling stress-free. Puppies receive regular bathing and grooming including paws, ears, faces, and sanitary trims. Puppies are exposed to different surfaces such as carpet, grass, concrete, and gravel, as well as everyday household sounds including vacuums, blenders, doors, and music, etc. 

Our puppies have access to their crates throughout the day, which are left open so they can choose to retreat whenever they need a calm space. This approach encourages independence, teaches them to enjoy their safe space, and helps them build confidence while still feeling secure. Overnight, short, positive crate sessions with potty breaks help puppies learn routines and view the crate as a safe, comfortable environment rather than a restriction.

They are also introduced to collars and mild leash handling, climbing stairs, and learning to use a doggy door. This gives them independence while learning to potty outside. They meet people of all ages and we take advantage of any natural teachable moments that arise.

All of these experiences are thoughtfully incorporated into daily routines, giving each puppy a strong start and by eight weeks of age, the confidence and foundation needed to continue growing with love, consistency, and guidance once they are home.

In a sincere effort to provide our families with a great training option, we are thrilled to have officially teamed up with BAXTER & Bella, which is an online dog training school that provides a lifetime membership to amazing training resources, and also includes unlimited professional support from a team of incredibly talented dog trainers!

As a lifetime member not only will you have access to more than 25 individual CLASSES and over 35 weeks of training COURSES, but you can work through their signature STEP-BY-STEP PROGRAMS, which function like a recipe for integrating your dog into your life, family and home!

What's more, there are GAMES to play, ACTIVITIES for socialization, support forums, social groups, printable charts and checklists, in addition to the ability to ask the trainers, questions, join LIVE! Group Discussions multiple times a week, and PRIVATE ONE-ON-ONE Coaching help, and so much more as you and your dog work toward achieving better animal ownership and experiencing the very best in canine companionship! 

In short, our partnership with BAXTER and Bella provides our puppy families an instant 25% savings, which is the largest they offer!

Our unique discount code is: RockyRiver