ESI and ENS Days 1-4

On Monday February 22, the puppies’ 3rd day, we started both ESI – Early Scent Introduction – and ENS – Early Neurological Stimulation. For the ESI, I am introducing the puppies to a novel scent for 5 seconds to see how they react. I am following recommendations from the Avidog course Your Litter A to Z.

On February 22, the first day of both ESI and ENS, I used a small branch from last year’s Christmas tree. A few noticeably settled and scented, sniffing audibly. Here is a video of Day 1.

On the 2nd day, February 23 I used a handful of straw left over from a Barn Hunt trial in January. Most of the puppies were complaining about my waking them up, and there was a lot of hollering going on, but most of the puppies shut up and sniffed audibly when presented with the straw. It was quite a different result than Day 1. Here is a video of Day 2.

On February 24, the 3rd day of ESI and ENS, I used a thawed pigeon from my freezer storage. It did not elicit as much interest as the straw had. Here is a video of Day 3.

On Day 4, I used a cinnamon stick. Several of them seemed quite interested in it. Here is a video of Day 4.