Hello from Sunny Florida from me & my new Doodle -Stella!

[Michelle Modica]

Good Afternoon! 

My name is Michelle and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. Im a stay at home Mom and just purchased my first Mini Doodle named "Stella". Stella is 10 weeks old now, about 6 lbs and doing great! I am so in love with her its crazy! She follows me everywhere, sweet as can be..and is getting along fairly well with my 5 year old Beagle and 2 sweet kitties.

I have SOOO many questions about my new baby. I purchased a book on Amazon to learn about this breed some more ( Did lots of research prior to my purchase) but of course, word of mouth from

all you wonderful folks is always the best! 

Im going to poke around on here and find as many answers to my questions as possible however I will post here also what Id love to know from many of you, if your willing to share :)

~~1. First of all, what is the ONE thing you wish you would have done with your Doodle when they were a puppy?

~~2. Opinion on Bell training this breed?

~~3.  Favorite Shampoo? Do Doodles have dry skin? My baby seems to to bite and scratch a lot however no fleas or anything like that are present. We have never had a flea issue with any of our pets and they are all indoor fur babies :)

~~~4. Crate Training. We crate trained our Beagle, Lucy and it was the best thing I ever did. Made life SO much easier for everyone. My Stella is being quite the pistol with this. She cries and cries and is so attached to me its nuts! I tried the method recommended by a few to get her to like the crate. I put it in the middle of the room, leave both doors open and put a treat in it for her. She enters it, lays down, eats the treat then exits. I repeat this several times but each time I close one of the doors, then open, then close both. She's fine as long as Im there, but the minute i leave she looses her mind! LOL. She had herself so upset the other day ( only in there 15 minutes) that the hair around her mouth was soaking wet! I felt horrible!  Right now, she is sleeping with us ( I know I know, BAD IDEA) but she sleeps absolutely perfect! The minute I turn the light out? She lays down and sleeps the entire night. Doesnt wake us up for potty and doesnt have an accident. Im really quite amazed, however I know this sleeping with us can't go on forever. Any hints on this?

~~~5. Teeth cleaning ( I want to do this myself) any product recommendations?

~~~6. Potty Training: She is doing fantastic with very little accidents in the house, however she is not doing well with letting me know she has to go. I just time things like when she's done playing, eating, wakes up etc to take her out and she goes. But,, its the times when she's not done doing one of those things that she just goes. How do I teach her to let ME know? ( Hence my question above about Bell Training)

Thank you all for your help and to Lori for introducing me to this great site! Im going to spend the afternoon today in between cooking, cleaning & football to look for some great ideas from all you Doodle Mamas and Dads!  

Much love!

Michelle & Stella! 

[Sally M]

Welcome Michelle and Stella! I have no answers for you but when you get your answers, please pass them on to me. LOL! :-) We are Doodle newbies. This site has proven to be very valuable so far. I've learned so much. And it's fun to share stories and and photos.