About Us
Hello there!
We are Gio and Nicole, the breeders behind Barnwood Doodles. Our motto is: you get out what you put in. With that in mind, we have dedicated our lives to our dogs and pour ourselves into each litter that we raise.
What Makes Us Different?
Dedication defines our program. We are healthcare workers by trade: a nurse and a pharmacist. While working in healthcare is fulfilling, our true passion is working with dogs. We love training our parent dogs, teaching them new tricks, and hiking in the state forests near our home. All the work we do with our parent dogs sets us apart. Like other breeders, we start by health testing all of our dogs. Each parent is genetically tested through embark and is cleared through OFA for hip and elbow dysplasia. While health testing is important, we go a step further by focusing on the temperament of our parent dogs to determine if they will be a good match. We are consistently working and training our parent dogs on a daily basis. This gives us in-depth knowledge of their intelligence, personality traits and temperaments. We use this information to assure that they will produce puppies that are gentle, loving, and easy to train.
What Makes Our Puppies Different?
Here at Barnwood Doodles we take an extremely hands-on approach to raising our litters. We spend as much time with each litter as possible to ensure they properly develop. Over the years we have created a unique curriculum which focuses on human interaction and exposes our puppies to as many things as possible. Our goal is to develop their confidence and decrease reactivity. Starting on day 3 of life we begin Early Scent Introduction (ESI) and Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS). At 3 weeks of age we introduce dedicated potty spots for the puppies inside their whelping box. Week 3 also marks the beginning of increased stimulation for the puppies. Each day the puppies are exposed to a new texture, a new sound and a new item that is placed in their whelping box. We also begin putting them through a 10-step daily handling protocol which focuses sensitive areas such as mouth, ears and paws. Around 5 weeks of age the puppies will be introduced to the outdoors. We take them outside several times per day, rain or shine. This constant outdoor exposure in all elements serves to enhance their potty training, stimulate their senses with new sights and smells, and build their confidence in new environments. By the time our litters leave us at 8 weeks our puppies are comfortable pottying outside, enjoy being handled, and are seeking out human attention!
