Stay & Play Program
Helping Puppies
Transition to Family Life
Our Stay & Play program is designed for puppies recently weaned from their litters, to provide them with a supportive transition to family life. This program offers an especially gentle transition from litter to family life, because we often have other puppies around the same age for them to socialize and play with.
We love helping young puppies establish the foundational confidence, skills, and good habits they need to grow into a well-behaved, well-balanced dog.
By working with only a few puppies at a time, we are able to provide dedicated care and attention to each puppy in our home environment. During their stay with us, your puppy will learn obedience basics, become comfortable sleeping in a crate, and begin establishing good potty habits – all while enjoying a nurturing introduction to family living.
We keep you connected through regular updates and photos. When your puppy is ready to join your family, we'll demonstrate everything they've learned and ensure you have the knowledge to continue building on their progress, including discounted lesson packages if you’d like to continue your learning alongside your pup.
Start your puppy's journey with us to set them up for a lifetime of joy and success!
What We Offer
Daily Training Sessions
Your puppy will get daily one-on-one training sessions. The longer they stay with us the farther they’ll get. We’ll work on things like walking comfortably on a leash, obedience basics, and one or two fun tricks. We prioritize creating positive experiences and building confidence and understanding over quick results.
Teaching these basics early not only creates helpful tools for you to communicate with your dog, but it also helps to build focus and impulse control early in life.
Crate & Potty Training
Your puppy will learn to peacefully and happily sleep through the night and take naps in a crate. This establishes a sense of comfort and security that they can always return to, and encourages independence so that they learn to relax when they’re alone.
They’ll also begin potty training with us. We don’t use potty pads, and start by taking puppies outside every hour to establish good potty habits.
Exercise & Exposure
We live on 20 acres in beautiful Conifer, Colorado with our dogs, several horses, a flock of chickens, two barn cats, and various wildlife. Your puppy will get to experience all of these exciting sights, sounds, and smells (as well as those from the local town and parks) as they explore the mountains with us.
In addition to leashed walks around our acreage, we have a large fenced yard for plenty of supervised off-leash play.
A Comfortable Home Environment
Your puppy will live in our home with our family, including our older dogs who set gentle boundaries and demonstrate good behavior.
This also means that even outside of their daily sessions, your puppy will learn to be around people and dogs, and have relaxed time being pet, playing, snuggling, or napping on a comfy dog bed of their choice.
Regular Updates & Photos
We’ll send you weekly emails with photos of your adorable new puppy and notes on how they’re progressing. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have along the way.
A Supportive Handoff
At the end of their time with us, your dog will still be a puppy! You will need to put in time and effort to provide consistency and continue to build on the foundation we’ve started with them. We’ll take time to show you what they’ve learned so far, and make sure you know how to keep building on it at home.
We’re happy to answer follow-up questions, and you can always come back with your puppy for discounted lessons together, if you’d like.
Rates & Details
We require a minimum stay of 2 weeks, and typically recommend stays of at least 4-6 weeks (sometimes longer, depending on your goals and situation) to establish a solid foundation that moves beyond supporting the puppy’s first experiences away from the litter. While the pace of each puppy’s progress is personal to them, a longer stay allows us to help them establish more good habits, and a solid understanding of basic commands.
Because we work with only a few puppies at a time, space is limited. If you’re interested in this program, we recommend getting in touch right away. We’ll be happy to chat and answer any questions, so you can decide if our program is a good fit for you and your dog.
Our rates for this program are:
$850 per week for the first 3 weeks (minimum of 2 weeks).
$750 per week for weeks 4-8.
$700 per week thereafter.
50% deposit required to reserve dates.
Typical Progress
Every puppy is different, and we adapt to each individual rather than following rigid timelines. That said, here's a general sense of what we often see at various stages:
2-3 weeks: Your puppy is adjusting to life away from their litter, sleeping through most of the night, and learning the basics: Name recognition, "touch," "sit," and getting comfortable on a leash. They're going outside regularly and starting to connect that with potty time. They've met our dogs and have started building confidence around our horses, livestock, and barn cats.
4-6 weeks: Commands are becoming more reliable. Walks on our 20-acre property are getting longer, and we're starting to introduce busier environments like our local mountain towns. They're more confident, more playful, and settling well for alone time. Potty habits are improving, though accidents still happen. They may be learning to ring a bell, which they can later use to ask to go outside. Some regression is normal around this age as puppies test boundaries - consistent training helps them work through it.
7-8 weeks: Puppy adolescence is in full swing - boundary-testing, selective listening, and "forgetting" commands they knew last week are all normal at this age. This is why consistent, structured training through this phase is so valuable – it helps early learning stick. We're working on longer "stay," more reliable recall, and continued socialization. By now, vaccinations are typically complete, opening up more public spaces to explore.
9-12 weeks: Your puppy is having fun learning new commands and tricks, and their focus in distracting environments is improving. The chaos of adolescence is starting to settle into a calmer rhythm, though you may still see occasional regression, especially with new challenges or environments. They've had extensive socialization and are well-equipped to handle new experiences. They may start ringing the bell to ask to go outside.
Beyond 12 weeks with us: For families who want to skip more of the puppy chaos, longer stays mean more training, more socialization, and stronger potty habits. Your puppy comes home as a more settled young dog, with the hardest work behind you (which is still not to say it will be effortless!).
Important notes:
Potty training takes time. Small breeds like Havanese are often not reliable until 6 months or older. Plan to keep your puppy contained or supervised for several months after they come home, and expect some accidents – especially as they adjust to a new environment.
The transition home: Even a well-trained puppy needs patience as they settle in. It's normal for them to cry when alone in a new place, and for some skills to wobble before they stabilize. This kind of regression is temporary, and we’ll give you the support you need to stay consistent as they get through it.
Some clients like to continue lessons with us and their puppy once their pup is home. We offer discounted lesson packages for Stay & Play families, and are happy to work with you to decide on a plan that makes sense for your situation.
Want more detail? See our complete guide to what puppies typically learn at each stage and what to expect when they come home.
Contact Us
Tell us a bit about your puppy and what you’re looking for, and ask us any questions you might have. We’ll get back to you soon!