05/30/2026
Freya and Takaya’s little duo are a week old! Their official names are Joni and Nelly, after Canadian singing legends!
The girls are thriving and doubled their birth weights by day 5-6. Usually we like to see them double by 10days. Freya is a loving attentive mama, a natural.
They are currently in the neonatal phase and are getting daily Early Neurological Stimulation - ENS, what’s that all about?
Early Neurological Stimulation is a specialized program originally developed by the U.S. military for its “Super Dog” project, designed to improve the performance and trainability of military working dogs.
As part of the Puppy Culture socialization program, breeders all over the world use ENS to give puppies the best possible neurological and emotional foundation in their first few weeks of life.
Between 3 and 16 days after birth, a puppy’s brain and nervous system are in a critical phase of development. During this window, controlled and gentle forms of mild stress, when applied correctly, can influence lifelong health and behavior. ENS gently activates the neurological pathways responsible for adaptability, stress response, and learning.
The concept of ENS is rooted in neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt, form new connections, and strengthen pathways through experiences. When puppies experience mild, positive stress early in life, their bodies respond by improving vital physiological functions.
Research and decades of breeder experience suggest ENS can lead to:
-Improved cardiovascular performance
-Stronger heartbeats and adrenal glands
-Greater resistance to disease
-Enhanced stress tolerance
-Increased learning capacity and focus
In essence, ENS doesn’t just create calm, confident puppies; it builds better dogs from the inside out.
So what do we do?
ENS involves five carefully designed exercises, each lasting just a few seconds. When done once daily with gentle precision, they stimulate a puppy’s developing nervous system and prepare them for future challenges.
- Head Held Erect – The puppy is held with its head gently pointed upward. This stimulates balance and neurological coordination while encouraging the brain to adjust to positional changes.
- Head Pointed Down – Holding the puppy with its head toward the ground helps the nervous system adapt to mild, controlled stress. This fosters calmness under new or slightly uncomfortable situations.
- Supine Position – The puppy is laid on its back in the palm of the handler’s hand, an instinctively vulnerable position. Learning to stay relaxed during this exercise helps build emotional stability and trust in human interaction.
- Tactile Stimulation – Each puppy’s toes are gently tickled using a soft cotton swab. This helps desensitize nerve endings, building tolerance and awareness to touch, which is important for future grooming, handling, and veterinary care.
- Thermal Stimulation – The puppy is briefly placed on a cool, damp towel. This mild temperature change promotes improved blood flow and resilience to environmental variation.
Each exercise lasts only 3–5 seconds, short enough to be safe and gentle, yet powerful enough to shape a more robust and responsive nervous system.
It’s important to note that ENS is not socialization. ENS focuses on neurological development, while socialization, which begins around 3 weeks of age, focuses on exposure to the world.
Once puppy’s eyes and ears open, they begin discovering their surroundings. This is when we introduce them to new textures, sounds, people, and safe play environments. Socialization builds confidence in daily life, but ENS lays the groundwork that makes that confidence possible.
Without ENS, puppies may still develop well, but with ENS, they gain a measurable head start in adaptability, emotional control, and physical health. Together, ENS and socialization form the two pillars of well-rounded development in every Scallywag puppy.
