Brand New Doodle Mom & Dad!!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Any pointers on in sight for new parents to a lovely doodle will be grateful!! Bella is amazing!! She attached herself to my husband right off the bat and he is leaving for deployment in 2wks, How do we handle that? And we believe is already potty trained, but is she just being good for us for the first day or so? Any pointers on anything or insight about doodles will be helpful. Thanks!

[Diane]

Bella is precious! We had a similar situation years ago when we got our golden retriever puppy. My husband left for a three month submarine deployment very soon after. Things went well while he was gone, and they did eventually become great buddies, but "Mickie" was very jealous of him spending time with me when he came back from deployment. In hindsight I can see that there were a lot of things we could have done to make the transition go more smoothly for her. Just something to think about.

We are getting an Aussiedoodle on 4/19! It's very exciting!!

[Adina P]

Congratulations! She's a cutie. She may be one of those rare dogs who is potty trained FAST or not. Either way, treat her as if she's NOT potty trained just in case =)

Have fun, take LOTS of pictures, start training right away in little bursts of 5 min max. Be consistent and give lots of praise for good behavior. Don't worry over 'bad' behavior, just keep training away.

And start giving her practice with grooming even before she needs it.

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Bella takes to brushing just fine. I can already tell she has a stubborn streak in her. haha! Her first grooming is on the 15th, I will post pics as soon as she is home. haha! Thanks for all the advice, seems to me that there are new questions everyday.

(Haha, just made dad take Bella out in the rain for a walk! ) Poor dad!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Sad news! Bella has to go to the Vet today. She started having blood in her stools. We thought it could be worms so she is going to get de-wormed.

[Sharon Austin]

Welcome to Doodleville! My very best advise is to be very patient, and when it gets to be too much, put Bella in her crate for a time out . It's not a punishment just a break. I used to put a small treat in the crate with her, patted her on the head ,and took a minute to catch my breath. Otherwise it's very easy to lose your temper, yell, or even hit. Doodles are extremely smart and intuitive. They respond to love, patience and treats, treats, treats. We hung a bell from a ribbon on the doorknob. We taught Lucy to ring the bell every time she had to go pottie. We also have a designated pee/poop area out back so that front lawn is not an obstacle course. It seems to work well.
lucy is only 10 months old. i have several blogs on my page detailing her progress over the months. When you get a minute ,ethey may give you a laugh or two. Believe me, you won't go through anything that someone on this website hasn't gone through. My heartfelt thanks to you and your husband for the sacrifice you are making for us all. I am very grateful. You are in for a fun ,loving ride with your Bella!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Thanks! Bella did have her first time out today, haha! She passed right out in her crate. We had to get her dewormed today, she is feelin better. I am thinking about doing the clicker training with her. She seems to respond to me really well. Right now she will not go potty for daddy at all. It takes me to make her go potty. She is very smart. I take her out to the potty area and tell her to " Go Potty" and not a few minutes later he goes. We have even set bedtime and last walk time. I even pick up her water and food by a certian time so she wont go in her crate. We seem to be getting things in order now with her, I just have to keep it up. haha!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

how often should Bella have a bath?

[Leslie du Mont]

Hey, I was just wondering how did it work with your husband leaving? (I'm sure you were all sad for a few days regardless.) My family is getting a puppy and my husband will come back from deployment for a few months and then leave again 4 months later. I know that I will have to help keep my puppy socialized with men until he gets back and have already enlisted a few friends' husbands to play with our future pup from time to time. ...But, I did wonder how deployments will affect our little new puppy.

Anyone else out there deal with separation frequently with puppies?

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

He actually has not left yet. Its a long story, he is looking to leave this week though, like monday or tuesday. You never know what to expect and i have learned that you dont believe it till you see it with the Navy. We were blessed that he came home this weekend unexpectedly, and its been a priceless weekend, with me and my daughters and him, and of course lil Bella. When he was gone for a few weeks, bella was still so excited and knew who he was when he got home. I keep his scent around her all the time. She owns a couple of his shirts and a towel of his. haha! He is going send some old undershirts home from time to time so I can give them to her. So when he gets home she hasnt forgotten his scent. But the one problem we did have with her, was that she did not listen to him at all. To sit and stuff like that. I had to pipe in and tell her what to do, he got frustrated at that. Bella has gotten closer to me then him, i do see that. But thats okay, she is meant to do that, he bought her for me while is gone. :)

Well I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

[Michele Barton]

I can't give any advice because I won't have my puppies home until May 27th, but I would imagine that Bella will be a great comfort to you and your children while your husband is away. My heartfelt thanks and deep admiration to you and all the military families out there. God bless you all!!!!!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

More advice of the same. Because it is good advice. Leave the harness on except when she is crated. Then she must wear harness to come out of crate. Or switch to a collar. Ignore the bad do not use crate as time out! Reward the good heavily, lot of treats and praise. Dogs do not understand punishment even as well as your two year old. They do understand consequences. Pee outside with someone watching = good. All rewards must come immediately after good action. Finish pee = good, middle of pee = reward means you will get lots of little pees which will drive you nuts. Bella's "badness" just means she is feeling more comfortable in her new environment, so you are doing well. Just keep on with the potty training, going out every half hour or so that she is not crated and as soon as she leaves the crate. You certainly have your work cut out for you with two year old and a four year old and a puppy and a husband leaving! hope you are on the first floor! Enjoy the time, it will never come again, even if it sometimes seems like it will never end, make it full of fun and laughter.

[Lynne B]

Socialization! As soon as your pup has been vaccinated so it's safe for her to be in public places introduce her to everything that you can, people of all sizes, shapes, colors, hats, glasses, fat, skinny etc. Encourage strangers to interact with her. Get her socialized around dogs, I am leery of dog parks with a puppy because I have run into mean dogs with bad owners and it could traumatize a puppy, so I take Beck to doggy day care every Saturday for a full day of fun with other puppies, he loves it and is doing so well that they are letting him play with the adult dogs.

A poorly socialized dog can become a fear /aggressive dog and that is very hard to deal with- so now is the time to just have fun and introduce everything fo your baby.