The most formative time in a dog’s life begins at conception and ends by sixteen weeks of age. This early period sets each dog’s life-course trajectory for lifetime health and temperament. Under-rearing during this time results in anxious, hyper-active dogs that are prone to disease and over-rearing can cause confusion, poor problem-solving skills and developmental health issues for dogs. Optimal rearing enables each puppy to develop to the best of its ability, both mentally and physically. Research has given us good information describing optimal rearing—what and how much we should do when for sires, dams and puppies. This session will discuss what makes up under-, over- and optimal rearing. We will progress through each stage in your dog’s early development, highlighting the action steps that you should take in each to enable your puppy to develop fully, applying key principles of breeding stock care, epigenetics, nutrition, canine development and socialization. You will leave with hundreds of simple yet scientifically sound ideas for creating an optimal rearing program for every dog, regardless of breed or background. This seminar has broad appeal to dog breeders, owners, competitors and trainers, as well as service, guide and working dog organizations.

Sponsor:Guide Dogs for the Blind
Speaker(s):Gayle Watkins

Contact: Jenna Bullis
 Email: jbullis@guidedogs.com
 Web: http://welcome.guidedogs.com/events/canine-fitness-and-puppy-rearing-seminars