At Katalyst, we selectively breed 1-2 litters per year with the goal of producing the best working candidates possible. We have a personal stake in this venture, as we keep many of our puppies to raise and place as police detection K-9s. We start early neurological stimulation soon after the puppies are born, and have a variety of people handle the puppies daily.  By the time our puppies are old enough to be mobile, they begin working for their meals, which starts as "hunting" to find mom and progresses to puppies scaling various agility obstacles and other challenges in order to get their food. The puppy pen is always full of constantly changing objects and toys and desensitization to noises such as gunfire begins soon after birth. We keep careful notes about each puppies development and use those notes, combined with various benchmark tests, to place each puppy into a career they will thrive in.