~ Early Neurological Stimulation~
Each Puppy here at Ballyhara has had ~Early Neurological Stimulation ~
The U.S. Military in their canine program developed a method that serves as a guide for assisting development in dogs.
In an effort to improve the performance of canines used for military purposes, a program called "Bio Sensor" was developed. Later, it became known to the public as the "Super Dog" Program. This program is still being used today in Europe, Russia, and with Top Breeders in the US like the Monks of New Skete.
Based on years of research, the military learned that early neurological stimulation exercises could have important and lasting effects. Their studies confirmed that there are specific time periods early in life when neurological stimulation has optimum results.
The first period involves a window of time that begins at the third day of life and lasts until the sixteenth day. It is believed that because this interval of time is a period of rapid neurological growth and development, and therefore is of great importance to the individual.
The "Bio Sensor" program was also concerned with early neurological stimulation in order to give the dog a superior advantage. Its development utilized six exercises which were designed to stimulate the neurological system. Each workout involved handling puppies once each day. The workouts required handling them one at a time while performing a series of five exercises.
Listed in order of preference the handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup, once per day involves the following exercises: + Tactical stimulation (between toes) + Head held erect + Head pointed down + Supine position + Thermal stimulation.
These five exercises will produce neurological stimulation, none of which naturally occur during this early period of life. Experience shows that sometimes pups will resist these exercises, others will appear unconcerned. In either case a caution is offered to those who plan to use them.
These exercises impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected. The result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance. Those who play with their pups and routinely handle them should continue to do so because the neurological exercises are not substitutions for routine handling, play socialization or bonding.
The Benefits of Stimulation Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises.
The benefits noted were:
+ Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate) + Stronger heart beats + Stronger adrenal glands + More tolerance to stress and + Greater resistance to disease.
In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates over which they were dominant in competitive situations.
Secondary effects were also noted regarding test performance. In simple problem solving tests using detours in a maze, the non-stimulated pups became extremely aroused, wined a great deal, and made many errors. Their stimulated littermates were less disturbed or upset by test conditions and when comparisons were made, the stimulated littermates were calmer in the test environment, made fewer errors and gave only an occasional distress when stressed.
Ballyhara
Cambridge, MN 55008
(612) 306-8732
