About Us
Welcome to Langlois Goldens and Berners. We are located in the country in Allegan, Michigan. 30 minutes between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. We have been breeding Golden Retrievers since 2008 and Bernese Mountain Dogs since 2017.
We live on 80 acres surrounded by woods, fields, ponds and our cows!
I am a member of the AKC Bred with H.E.A.R.T. Program and pledge to uphold the program values of Health, Education, Accountability, Responsibility, and Tradition.
I continue Education by taking courses through AKC Canine College and Good Dog so that we stay educated on the best breeding practices, including advances in canine health.
Early Neurological Stimulation
Developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia, a breeder, AKC judge, researcher, and writer.
We include Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) exercises, on our puppies from days 3-16 to help aid their development, resilience, and coping mechanism. This is a period of time of rapid neurological growth and development.
ENS requires handling the puppies one at a time while performing five exercises once daily for 3-5 seconds per stimulation.
- Tactile Stimulation– gently tickling the puppy’s toes with a Q-tip
- Head Held Erect– holding the puppy so its head is directly above its tail.
- Head Pointed Down– holding the puppy so its tail is above its head
- Supine Position– holding the puppy on its back
- Thermal Stimulation– placing the puppy on a cool, damp washcloth
Benefits of ENS include boosting brain development, improving circulation and immune system, stimulates the neurological system, and improve puppies’ stress responses.
For more information on ENS, please click HERE
The Rule of 7’s
We have also implemented The Rule of 7’s developed by Pat Schaap.
By the time a puppy is 7 weeks old, they should have:
- Been on 7 different surfaces: concrete, wood, tarp, carpet, gravel, stone, grass
- Played with 7 different types of objects: balls, fabric toys, fluffy toys, squeaky toys, rope toys, metal items, plastic water bottles, etc.
- Been in 7 different locations: front yard, back yard, garage, car, kitchen, living room, barn
- Met and played with 7 new people: children and older adults
- Been exposed to 7 challenges: climb steps, go down steps, climb on a box, climb on a wobble board, go through a tunnel, in and out of a doorway, run around a fence
- Eaten from 7 different containers: stainless steel saucer, metal bowl, plastic, pie pan, fun feeder/interactive bowl, frying pan, paper
- Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, front yard, back yard, garage, barn, living room, kitchen
The items listed above are what our puppies are exposed to here. When the weather permits, our puppies start to go outside around 4-5 weeks of age.
As soon as our puppies are whelped, they are handled to make sure they are healthy. Once puppies eyes and ears are open, we increase the noise level and add different sounds: thunder, sirens, fireworks, vacuum, etc.
Our puppies are whelped in our home in my office and moved to a bigger puppy room around 3 weeks of age. Our puppy room has heated floors, AC, and heat.
When puppies are old enough to be separated from mom after their eyes and ears have opened, we enjoy snuggling with them on the couch while watching TV. Rotating them so everyone gets 1-1 attention. It’s very important for the puppies to have time away from their mom and littermates. Our entire family plays a huge roll in socializing the puppies.
