Bio Sensor / Super Dog Program

[Joel]

Ok, so I've been reading about the Bio Sensor program after stumbling onto a video about it on youtube and was wondering whether anybody here had employed it in their breeding program or heard of it being done here?

For those who dont know what it is, heres a rundown:

In the 70s, the U.S. Military developed a program called the Bio Sensor program to improve the performance of dogs used for military purposes. The basic premise of the program is that early neurological stimulation (from between the 3rd and 16th day of life) increased the dogs performance later in life through the stimulation and support of the rapid neurological growth and development in these early stages.

The program consists of five exercises that are performed in this thirteen day period. They are as follows:

Tactile stimulation (between the toes) - Holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip (3-5 secs)

Head held erect - Using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail (3-5) secs

Head pointed down - Holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground (3-5 secs)

Supine position - The pup is held so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep struggle (3-5 secs)

Thermal stimulation - Using a damp cloth that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes, the pup is places feet down on the towel. It is not restrained from moving (3-5 secs)

These are not substitutions for routine handling, play socialization or bonding, but are used in conjunction.

The exercises are designed to put the pups under small amounts of stress. This kicks in to action the neurological system before than would normally be expected.

Beneficial effects of these exercises include:

Improved cardiovascular performance (heart rate)

Stronger heart beats

Stronger adrenal glands

Greater tolerance to stress

Greater resistance to disease

Faster mental maturity

Greater problem solving abilities

When a comparison was made between stimulated pups and non stimulated pups (from the same litter), it was observed that the stimulated pups were more adventurous, active, less disturbed by stressful conditions, calm and easier to train in later life.

However, adverse effects were observed when pups were overstimulated - too much stress could retard development.

After this stage comes two more - socialization (which happens between 4 and 16 weeks) and enrichment (which has no time limit and by comparison covers a very long peroid of time). I wont go in to detail about these stages, because I was mainly just interested in what happens on the breeder side of things (which, although socialization falls in that time frame, I think that most breeders socialize their pups as much as possible anyway, and either way, the owner still has the opportunity to do it themselves).

If you'd like to find out more:

Google - Early Neurological Stimulation

"Developing High Achievers" - Paper written on the subject by Carmen L. Battaglia

So... thoughts?

EDITED TO ADD:

Although I am interested in what breeders here do, I'd also like to know whether everyone else would approve (or disprove) of their breeder using this program?

Edited August 12, 2010 by Joel

[persephone]

Makes sense to me.

Puppies these days are usually born on flat surfaces- they often do not even have to struggle to help free themselves for that first breath- someone does it for them they are in a constant temperature -on a soft flat bedding.... no challenges at all . I believe these sort of 'challenges' are a good idea!

Farm pups born 'rough' have these sort of stimulating challenges every day - changing surfaces- coping with cold /movement, etc... They are often very active , strong and good at solving problems early on- IMO :D

I wonder if there has been any comparisons done?

[Joel]

I don't know about comparisons done between being born 'rough' or not (because you would have to compare different litters, which would make the pups used in comparison be less similar anyway), but there have definately been comparisons between pups being part of the Bio Sensor program and ones that haven't (from the same litter). The results were quite pronounced from my understanding.

It was an interesting idea to me too, as I think that challenges help to build anything (pup, kitten, baby etc) into a stronger being through necessity. Some people may think its cruel to put something under stress deliberately (although, its only very mild), but I think its part of life and the sooner they are introduced to it, the better they are able to cope with it in the future.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Joel

[corvus]

I would love to find a breeder that does this in an organised fashion. I would if I were a breeder.

[Joel]

I would love to find a breeder that does this in an organised fashion. I would if I were a breeder.

+1

I just dont think theres been much publicity (not the word I was looking for, but if i think of it later i'll edit ) about it here. I dont know whether there has or not in the breeder circles, but I'd only heard about it last week or so. I'd love to get a puppy which had gone through this program.

[toshman]

I would love to find a breeder that does this in an organised fashion. I would if I were a breeder.

+1

I just dont think theres been much publicity (not the word I was looking for, but if i think of it later i'll edit ) about it here. I dont know whether there has or not in the breeder circles, but I'd only heard about it last week or so. I'd love to get a puppy which had gone through this program.

I'm not a breeder, but my bitch was leased to her breeder for a litter of pups which were born in my house, and I did this program with the pups. It was very easy and a nice way to interact with the babies each day and "get the feel of them" so to speak!

So I have nothing to compare them with, but I do know that the whole litter were wonderfully confident, adventurous pups, and if I ever had another litter one day I would definitely do the same thing.

[Joel]

Hmm... I wonder whether its just a case of people not knowing about it? o_O

If thats the case, then perhaps theres a possibility that we could make it a little more common practice if theres breeders out there that are willing to do it and buyers who want it? I'd definitely love it if I found that a breeder that I was going to buy a pup from was doing this.

[Bisart Dobes]

We do this with all of our litters and I believe that it does work to develop better dogs in the long term. I only have our original dogs to compare to ofcourse who didnt' receive this as babies but response times, learning ability, desire to please, desire to work, ability to cope with stresses in general, social skills - all are vastly improved on generation to generation. It is really interesting to see each litter develop and see their achievements in life (and I am not just talking ankc titles etc etc).

I love to do this also because it helps you to understand each puppy alot better as it shows up behaviour traits as you go along (even at day 1 actually) and these are consistently providing an excellent guide to each dogs temperament later in life.

We also socialise (safely) from 4 weeks and to back this up we hold our own weekly puppy classes from 8 to 16 weeks for our puppy owners (if they wish to attend ) as a part of our 'puppy pac ' in which we go over all the basic good behaviour training, obedience training and socialisation (& tracking, showing & anything else they are interested in).

The studies on this are very interesting, however I couldn't bring myself to exclude say 3 puppies from a litter from this program for the sake of comparison - I believe in it too much to gamble the future of one of our dogs. I believe in giving them every chance to fulfill their genetic potential and with this I can give them the best start.

I have given this to alot of breeders for interest sake but don't think that any of them have taken it up with any consistency if at all .

[Joel]

Wow, it sounds like you do a lot with your pups - which is great

I think that every dog has the same mental possibilities (generally speaking), but that perhaps this program kicks the brain in to thinking that perhaps it should use a little more of the potential that it has because (like pups that are born in the wild or on a farm or similar) it will be facing greater challenges in its life and without tapping further into its reserves it wont survive. Of course, this probably isn't the case (that they need it to help them survive), but surely doing exercises to prepare the brain (and the body) to be able to handle more cant be a bad thing?

[Remarkabull]

This is the first I've heard of it but I would definately do it if I were a breeder. I think anything that is possibly going to produce dogs with better social and behavioural skills is a good thing worth trying, right?

Something for me to research when looking for our next puppy!

[Staff'n'Toller]

I know that the breeders of one of my dogs did some of this stuff (not sure if they followed the program strictly) she was born in 1999.

I'm pretty certain that Guide Dogs Vic use a program like this or this program. I have heard a puppy walker talk about it.

[Joel]

Hmm... thats interesting to hear about Guide Dogs Vic...

I'd really like to know what system they use and its similarities to this program are - it would be quite interesting I think

So, if anyone knows, post it here

[Jigsaw]

I recall from some reading that there a number of assistance dog programs in the States that do a program along these lines and also initiate some training as well. Found one site here Like others I would love to find a breeder that does this.

[Baby Dragon]

I was reading about a Labrador breeder that does something similar to this. I think it was Tapua?