02/11/2025
Early Neurological Stimulation and Early Scent Introduction (ENS and ESI) are a very important part of our puppy raising program!
The US Military developed the ENS method designed to improve the performance of future military working dogs, developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia.
ENS requires handling the puppies one at a time while performing a series of seven exercises. Listed in order of preference, the handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the seven exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once to twice per day.
When performed correctly, ENS impacts the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected, the result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance. ENS is time sensitive and must be performed from the 3rd to the 16th days of a puppy’s life.
The exercises are not a substitution for daily handling and stroking of young puppies.
Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to ENS, including improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate); stronger heart beats; stronger adrenal glands; more tolerance to stress; and greater resistance to disease.
In tests of learning, ENS stimulated pups were more active and exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates.
ESI is done from days 3 through 16, right along with ENS. It is done once daily for about 5 seconds a day, for a total commitment of 1 minute per puppy. On each of these days, we present each pup with a new scent, one that it’s never smelled before that we have near at hand. We head outside to get natural items such as grass, dirt, leaves, bark, moss, flowers and more. We then hit the kitchen to find other items such as pungent fruits, herbs, and spices including orange, banana, lemon, apple, lime, rosemary and mint, cloves, cinnamon and even anise. We dig through our gear to find items, such as tennis balls, wood and leather. Finally, if we have them available, we offer the pups miscellaneous items such as other tolerant pets like cats and rabbits, and since the advent of nose work sports we include essential oils.
However, there are some things we just don’t use. We never offer meat or other food items to our pups, since we want to focus specifically on scenting, not eating. In addition, we are very cautious about presenting potentially hazardous objects, so we use no chemicals and very few unnatural or manufactured items – aside from the aforementioned tennis balls, of course.
One pup at a time we hold these scents just in front of – but not touching – its nose, allowing it to sniff them for 5 seconds. We are looking for one of three common reactions. Some items they love, some items they hate, and some they just don’t care about.
