Training Starts at Birth for Tacoma Dog Trainer Johansson

New! Puppies in training!


Pups shown here are Joanie & Litter Mates. Our pups are less than two weeks old as of this posting. Watch for new pics as they grow!

Joanie, our five year old black Lab, AKC SH (Senior hunter)
blessed us with a rainbow litter on December 13th, 2009. Joanie was bred to Max, a Master Hunter (AKC) who is also the chief duck dog for a hunting club on Sauvie Island outside of Portland.

There are two chocolate females, a chocolate male, a black female and black male and a yellow female. The dogs were born in our guest bedroom and spent the first three days snuggled with Mom on blankets in a small plastic wading pool. Then they were transferred to the whelping box in the garage under a heat lamp.

The pups are handled by Kate on a daily basis, even when first born--without eyes open. Today, Christmas day, the pups' eyes are starting to open. By next week, we will be spending more time playing and interacting with them. They have already started riding in the truck inside a crate. As they grow, we will be putting them through tests to see how they react to challenges of problem solving. We will be introducing them to toys, balls, bird feathers, and even birds as they get a little older. They will be exposed to loud noises and introduced to far-off gun fire and duck calls. By the time they are ready to go to their new homes, they will be crate conditioned and used to sleeping through the night in their crate.

They will be ready to go to their new homes between 7 & 8 weeks of age. One or two will be staying on to be trained as gun dogs by Kate. The pups who stay on will begin their obedience training between 7 & 8 weeks old. They will first learn to sit and wait patiently for their food. (The pups will be at the bottom of the pack and will get their food after everyone else has been released to theirs.) They will start learning to sit, stay and come. They will learn the "place" command by age 3 months. They will also be introduced to marking and retrieving birds and bumpers.