Upcoming litters and Dudley at stud

How we raise puppies

Health testing is the minimum, not the goal. We breed for temperament first.

Puppies are born and raised in our home in Manhattan. From day 3 to day 16, each puppy gets Early Neurological Stimulation, the short daily handling routine developed for the U.S. military's Bio Sensor program, along with early scent introduction. The research behind ENS is thinner than its reputation. We use it because it is low-risk and gives every puppy structured, individual handling from the first days.

From week 3, puppies meet the sounds and surfaces of city life: elevators, sirens, delivery carts, wheelchairs, walkers, and slick floors. We reward three kinds of motivation:

• Interest in people: eye contact and wanting to work with a person
• Food: the main reward in task training
• Toys and retrieving: the foundation of service retrieval and play

How we match puppies to homes

We do not use a pick order. At 49 days, every puppy takes the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test, which looks at social attraction, following, handling tolerance, startle recovery, and retrieve. We also watch how each puppy recovers from sudden noise and new surfaces, and how calmly it settles near a wheelchair or walker.

We then match puppies to homes:

• Service prospects to Gotham Paw
• Steady, people-focused puppies to therapy homes
• High-drive puppies to sport homes
• Everyone else to companion homes

You tell us what you need, and we tell you which puppy fits.