RESEARCH Evaluating the effect of early neurological stimulation on the development and training of mine detection do Adee Schoon a , Terje Groth Berntsen b a ADConsultancy/Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; and b Global Training Centre, Norwegian People’s Aid, Vogo sca,Bosnia and Herzegovina. KEYWORDS: early neurological stimulation; socialization; puppies; test; working dogs; training AbstractEarly neurological stimulation (ENS) has been proposed to enhance the natural ab dogs. This kind of stimulation involves subjecting pups aged between 3 and 16 days to mi stimulation leading to ‘‘stress,’’ and is said to lead to faster maturation and better problem ities later in life. ENS resulted from a U.S. Military program called Bio Sensor, and is curren used in some other working dog programs. It has been part of the breeding program for m dogs at the Global Training Centre (GTC, part of Norwegian People’s Aid) for 4 years. To investigate the effects of ENS on the basis of a previous study (Battaglia, 2009, J. Vet.Behav.: Clin. Appl. Res. 4, 203-210), 10 litters born since the spring of 2008 at the GTC were rando into the following 2 groups: (1) those receiving ENS, and (2) those receiving the same amo man attention without being subjected to the ENS exercises. Developmental parameters were moni- tored by the kennel staff. The pups were subjected to testing at approximately 10 weeks of ag investigators who were blinded to treatment. Their careers as working dogs were monitored. There was no observed effect of ENS on either the development of the pups when comp those who were exposed to the standard GTC stimulation program within the same age ra the later training results of the dogs in their careers as mine detection dogs. This lack of e well be the result of the very rich standards of the GTC socialization program that is given dogs. Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction In both popular and scientific literature, the necessity of adequate socialization for the development of puppies into ‘‘successful’’ adults has been well described. Many of these studiescan be tracedbackto the fundamental study conducted by Scottand Fuller in 1965, which stressed on the importance of the socialization period. This period starts at around 3 weeks of age, and is usually thought to last until around 12 weeks of age. It is clear that this pe is important for developing behaviors that are essential developing social relationships during the later life of the dog. In a study on different socialization programs, Seksel et al.(1999) found no significant differences between pr grams that focused on both training and socialization, o only training, or only socialization, even after comparing Address for reprint requests and correspondence: Adee Schoon, PhD, Leiden University, PO box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Tel: 131 578631683. E-mail: animaldetectionconsultancy@gmail.com 1558-7878/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2010.09.017 Journal of Veterinary Behavior (2011) 6, 150-157