My husband Ray and I (Chris) live in a lovely peaceful area of Mt Barker after moving from a 4 acre piece of paradise in the Adelaide Hills where we had a mixed menagerie of animals including an emu, two kangaroo boys, 2 fat sheep, 14 alpacas, ducks, geese, chickens, guinea fowl and dogs.
We have spent 10 years running a small breed dog rescue – and have seen the landscape change significantly over this time. Thankfully, puppy mills are not as prevalent as they once were, and people have become far more educated about where their puppies may have come from. More people are also welcoming dogs into their homes and into their families and recognising them as valued family members – rather than a dog we have that lives in a kennel in the garden.
What this has meant though – is that in South Australia in particular – there is a shortage of small companion dogs that are affordable for the average family. This is one of the reasons I have started breeding Maltaliers – a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Maltese. Both breeds are excellent companion dogs, sweet, friendly and affectionate.
Now that I’ve had the opportunity to retire from full time work – I want to expand our pet therapy program – Cuddles and Co – and I see Maltaliers as the perfect dog for this important role – as they are gentle, patient and loving.
We procured our foundation puppies nearly three years ago and started breeding with them in 2024. Having seen the puppies with problems that come out of puppy farms, and when people indiscriminately breed from home – our primary priority is to ensure that the dogs we breed from are happy, healthy and live their best lives as important and valued family members in a home – and that we health test and breed for temperament to ensure the best, bounciest, happiest well adjusted puppies possible.
Health Testing
It is our intention to test our breeding dogs for any genetic and known health conditions in both the Maltese and Cavalier breed and to ensure that our breeding dogs are free of any health issues.
Puppy Culture Program
We also plan to use the Puppy Culture Program to raise sound, healthy, balanced, well adjusted and socialised puppies.
The brains of young puppies are like sponges and they will process and absorb information faster than older dogs. The information they learn when young will remain with them for a very long time.
Young puppies also have very little fear in their first few weeks and welcome all new experiences with curiosity. This makes it a perfect time to introduce them to different objects, places and experiences they may encounter throughout their lives in a positive way.
Puppy culture encourages owners and breeders to bring a new experience or object to their puppies every day starting at 10 days of age. This might include new surfaces, textures, toys or household items – different rooms, new sounds, experiencing water, exploring outside or taking a car ride.
It is also a prime time for socialisation. Poorly socialised puppies will be fearful and aggressive toward new dogs and people. They will most likely be afraid of dogs and people if they don’t meet a number in their first 12 weeks. This can create serious lifelong problems for both the dog and their owners. Puppies should be exposed to a wide range of people, including men and women, people with long hair, beards, coats, heels and glasses.
We will commence crate training and toilet training before puppies go to their new homes and encourage new families to continue puppy’s education by taking them to puppy school and at least basic obedience.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)
Puppies are born completely helpless – they can’t see, hear, maintain their own body temperature or even eliminate on their own at birth. They can only crawl a short distance looking for Mum and her milk. This continues up to 2-3 weeks. They will then start to be able to see and hear, move more freely and eliminate by themselves. That first 2-3 week period is crucial though.
ENS is a method of stimulating the nervous systems of puppies to have them experience ‘eustress’ – a short period of good stress that causes strength and resilience. Its like a gym workout for the puppies nervous systems.
How we integrate ENS into our puppy-rearing practices
We will start introducing our puppies to positive touch before they are even born by rubbing on Mum’s side during late pregnancy. Puppies are capable of sensing and responding to touch even in the womb. Research shows this touch results in the birth of more docile pups than the pups of Mum’s who don’t get the extra loving. The ENS program involves a lot more than we can cover here, so we will just cover what we will focus on with our puppies in the first two weeks of their lives.
When the puppies are three days old, we will start doing five different exercises with each puppy once a day. Puppies are tickled on the bottom of their paws and between their toes. They’re held straight with their tails down, held upside down with their tails up, laid on their backs, and placed on a cold washcloth. The program recommends staying in each position for 3-5 seconds. This is so the brief changes are enough to stimulate the puppies’ brains but not enough to stress them out too much. We want to produce enough eustress so that their neurological development is stimulated. But we don’t want to overdo it and cross into creating distress for the puppies.
Using the ENS method developed by Dr. Battaglia helps produce dogs who have greater tolerance for stress throughout their lives. They also have more resistance to disease, a more responsive adrenal system, and a stronger heart rate and heartbeat. Using these methods has been proven by both science and experience to promote the best outcomes for puppies.
We are passionate about producing puppies who have the best chance at the best life, and we believe the ENS program is critical for this process.
Early Scent Introduction (ESI)
ESI is done in conjunction with ENS training. It is designed to enhance a puppy’s ability to identify and react to specific scents. This is done by introducing a new scent each day starting at Day 3 and ending on Day 16 of puppy’s life. Items might include grass, bark, dirt, pine cones, fruit, herbs, leather, wood, tennis balls, cats, birds, and essential oils. We watch to see if puppy engages with the smell and for long – it’s that simple! Doing ESI can improve a dogs abilities as a service or therapy dog. Pet dogs benefit from this stimulation with improved confidence and stability. they have a more optimistic attitude and fewer behavioural issues.