Early stages of a dog's life are crucial for its physical, emotional, and behavioural development. One of the fascinating areas of research concerning puppies is the practice known as early scent introduction. This practice, also referred to as "early scent introduction" (ESI), involves systematically exposing puppies to different scents at a young age - between 3 and 16 days of life, when the puppy primarily relies on its sense of smell. Despite its simplicity, ESI demonstrates a range of benefits for the health and behaviour of dogs.

Benefits of Early Scent Introduction:
Stimulation of the Sense of Smell: Early scent introduction helps stimulate the development of a puppy's sense of smell, which is crucial for their understanding of the world around them and communication with their environment.
Reduction of Fear and Stress: Exposing puppies to a variety of scents at a young age can help reduce fear and stress responses later in life. This early exposure can contribute to a puppy's confidence and resilience in facing new or unfamiliar situations.
Enhanced Adaptability: Puppies exposed to a diverse range of scents early in life tend to adapt more easily to new environments and experiences. This increased adaptability can be beneficial for puppies who will encounter various environments throughout their lives.
Support in Scent Training: For dogs destined for scent detection training, such as police dogs, search and rescue dogs, or substance detection dogs, early exposure to scents provides a solid foundation for future training. Puppies that have had previous experience with various scents may learn more quickly and effectively during advanced scent tasks because they have been taught to consciously distinguish between scents from the outset.
Early exposure to scents in puppies is one of many practices worth incorporating into breeding for a better start for the puppies. Scientific research provides increasingly more evidence of the benefits of this method, confirming that stimulating the sense of smell in the early stages develops areas that can pay off later in life, such as increased confidence and conscious use of the nose.
If you're interested in the topic and the scientific research supporting these claims, I encourage you to watch a documentary that describes the principles and findings of nine years of research on puppy development using this method compared to standard development. The study involved 144 golden retrievers from 22 litters - half were stimulated using the ESI program, while the other half were not. Below, I'll present two of the most intriguing charts comparing the studied dogs.
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