Early Puppy Education

We are pleased to announce that the RBC Foundation has generously committed funding for the training and housing of up to 18 EPE puppies in 2008. The RBC Foundation is a long-time supporter of PADS, providing grants every year since 2002 to allow PADS to develop and expand the EPE program. To date (2008), 36 puppies have completed EPE training thanks to RBC's support.

What is Early Puppy Education (EPE)?
Early Puppy Education or EPE was pioneered by the Assistance Dogs Institute in California. PADS began experimenting with the program in late fall 2002. The purpose of the EPE program is to see if dogs taught advanced skills (light switch, tug, retrieves, automatic door buttons - all the things their adult PADS counterparts are learning) at an early age retain that training more consistently into old age, if it affects their temperament, if it makes them ready to start advanced training at an earlier age and if they require less time in advanced training than dogs that go through the conventional puppy-raising program. Early results are very promising that the EPE method of raising and training puppies does result in dogs that have learned to learn, retain knowledge better, are calmer as adolescent dogs and mature more quickly. Another positive by-product of the EPE is that dogs raised in this method are less dog-oriented and much more focussed on people.

EPE puppies, like most other puppies, enter training at eight (8) weeks of age. Instead of being placed directly into homes of puppy-raisers, they live in their own kennel building at the PADS facility Monday to Friday, and go home with volunteer puppy-sitters on weekends, rotating through different homes to get a variety of experiences. Volunteer "puppy-cuddlers" come in during the days to socialize with the puppies and provide them with human companionship.

In order to spread the benefits of EPE training more evenly across the program, PADS is reducing the time puppies spend in EPE to 2 - 3 months instead of the previous 4 month program. This will reduce the expenditure on each individual dog and allow PADS to put more puppies through EPE in a year, which will benefit puppy-raisers and clients alike by providing PADS dogs with a stronger foundation of training and should allow PADS to place a greater number of dogs per year.

Although the shortened term in EPE will mean that puppies learn less during their tenure, we feel that the primary benefit of the program is not how much puppies learn, but rather that they learn how to learn.

EPE vs. Conventional Puppy-Raising
During conventional puppy-raising, training is done through lure-reward training. Using a lure (food), we lead the dog into a command such as sit or down, which earns them the treat. However, much of the skills training done in advanced training focuses on shaping the dog's natural behaviour. To simplify, we wait for the dog to offer a behaviour that is close to the skill we want to teach, then reward them for using their own initiative.

Dogs who have only been exposed to lure-reward training tend to take time to make the adjustment to advanced training. When in doubt about what is expected of them, these dogs tend to offer a default behaviour - they sit or lie down rather than trying out new behaviours as they think that this is a safe behaviour to offer. It can take a long time to get the dog to start offering up behaviours that can be targeted and rewarded.

Puppies who have gone through EPE training, on the other hand, have been taught to think for themselves from a young age and will offer behaviours until they hit on one that gets a response from their handler. Rather than the focus on being obedience and potty training (which it needs to be in puppy raising), these are secondary considerations for puppies in EPE. The adjustment to advanced training seems to happen much more easily for EPE pups than for dogs that have gone through conventional puppy-raising.

These aren't the only benefits however. When a dog is released from training it is hard on everyone at PADS, not the least of which the puppy-raisers who have put their heart and soul into raising a puppy to benefit someone else. It is our hope that by putting more puppies through EPE, we will have more success stories overall which benefits everyone involved.

EPE Sponsorship Programs such as EPE are not possible without the generous support of organizations like the RBC Foundation. If you would like information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact us..