Hayley Belle/Casey pups!

[Anita Lee]

Just learned that June 20/21 is the pick-up weekend.

Does anyone know what the parents are like - or have a Hayley Belle/Casey pup and can describe their temperament? What # pick were you and what was it like the first two months?

Thank you! I'm so excited to welcome him/her into our home.

[DJ & Chance]

Congratulations!.  I have a very sweet, playful, friendly, a bit stubborn and very smart doodle--Casey was one of the parents.

[Raj and Teddy]

Hi Anita,

We also learned that June 20/21 will be the pick-up weekend for us for the Hayley Belle/Casey pups. I had similar questions for anyone out there that can share their experience and provide any insights into the temperament. 

I got to start putting a list of things to get ready before the pup arrives. If anyone has a list of things that they can share, that will be awesome.

Still deciding between getting a play pen or a expandable crate. 

How was the experience in bringing the pup home, holding him in your lap or travel crate? It will be a 2 hr ride back home for us.

Thanks

Raj

[Jen Raimondi]

Hi Anita and Raj, 

We are picking up our puppy tomorrow! Can't wait!! 

I did have a question about nighttime crate training. From the Monks training books they recommend not having the puppy in a crate at night - doesn't establish a warm relationship with the owner? They recommended putting the puppy in a bed or blanket located close to the owners bed with the puppy tethered so they don't roam? From the instructions from the ABD, they said crate at night? 

Thanks!

Jen

[Raj and Teddy]

Hi Jen,

We kept the puppy in the crate downstairs in the family room from day 1. We all sleep upstairs and he was fine. We got a snuggle puppy from Almond blossoms and we would place that in his crate. We would put him in the crate around 11pm and then get up at 5am to take him out for pee. 

We still leave Teddy in Richell playpen whenever we have to leave the house as its much safer. We have baby gates and have blocked the kitchen, breakfast and family room area for him to play and let me stay in the area for most of the time. When we are home, we let him room around freely in the house. He can still get into trouble and will gladly get into chewing a pillow etc so for peace of mind he stays in playpen when we are not home.

Good luck, its very exciting time for you and your family. Take lot of pictures as you will be surprise how quickly they grow up.

Raj

[Jen Raimondi]

Hello Anita, Raj and Teddy, 

We will be picking up our new puppy in January - I can't wait! Parents are also Haylee Belle/Casey. Curious to see if you have any input? 

Thanks!

Jen

[Raj and Teddy]

Hi Jen,

Congratulations, you will really be very happy that you went with AB. We have an awesome puppy from them, very friendly, playful and smart. He got potty trained pretty fast and so far been healthy. You will have to be diligent in following a schedule when you bring your puppy home and try to keep him/her on same food and not introduce too many new items. Do join the food group as I learned a lot of them, they are very helpful and their suggestions were helpful.  We were one of the first in the list and got to spend time with all the puppies before picking up Teddy. He has brought so much joy to our family. He is almost 7 months and we getting ready to get him neutered coming Friday.

I have seen puppies from other breeders and somehow they don't have the same cheerful, friendly and smart personality. 

My only thing would be that January will be tough time to bring a puppy home with cold weather and rain (El Nino year) as first few weeks you will be taking your puppy out every hour unless you want to train the puppy on pee pads, which I would not recommend. We never used them and glad we did not try them out. 

Raj

[Jen Raimondi]

Thanks Raj very much!! Did you find a schedule, or did they provide you with a good potty training schedule? What type of food do you use? I will join the food group, thanks for suggesting! Very excited! ;) 

Best, 

Jen

[Anita Lee]

Congrats, Jen!

On choosing day, Zoe seemed most interested in us out of all the other pups. She followed us to our car when we clapped our hands, while the other pups were more interested in sleeping (triple digit temps when we were there, so it was hard to evaluate their personalities) or playing with each other. I wouldn't say she picked us necessarily, since she loves all people. As it turns out, she also loves other dogs. She likes to get into mischief every once in a while but also likes to sleep by our feet. Zoe is definitely a cuddle bug and it's one of our favorite things about her.

She's been easy to housebreak. We kept an eye on her 24/7 when she wasn't in the crate to prevent any slip ups and she's been perfect the last 3 months. Some things I've learned: Chris Christensen pin brushes and Earthbath shampoo are the only grooming tool you'll need for the first 6 months (and possibly beyond.. tbd). A crate is essential. We had a pen as well but Zoe jumped over it within a month. Foodwise, we had her on Orijen but it made her stools extremely soft. Acana is not as rich and has been much better for her.

Puppy classes are great if you agree with the trainer's philosophy. Most of the training needs to be done at home, but it starts with the humans learning the techniques. To better understand dog behavior, Patricia McConnell's books and those by The Monks of New Skete are helpful.

[Jen Raimondi]

Thanks Anita! We are so excited! I will definitely check out the food and will get the crate and grooming tools you suggested. I really appreciate it!!! 

Best, 

Jen

[Jen Raimondi]

Also, one more question for you both :) Did you get an exercise pen in addition to the crate? Any puppy toys that you recommend? Thanks so very much!! 

Best, 

Jen

[Raj and Teddy]

Hi Jen,

1. For Schedule: AB will give you one and then you will have to modify it for what works best for your family. Couple of things that we focussed were dinner @ 5pm, last water @7pm and that helped a lot. A nice walk in the backyard in the morning as you won't be able to take your puppy out. We would feed breakfast after the walk and lunch around 12pm.

2. For toys I got few Zogoflex toys and they were great. An empty plastic water bottle (please remove the cap and plastic ring) is also a great toy. A kitchen towel soaked in water and frozen in freezer is another great thing. I would recommend not buying too many toys upfront. Once the puppy grows, antlers and later beef femur bones are great as helps them with urge to chew.

3. Bitter Apple spray is great, we ended up making a solution of red wine vinegar, white vinegar and water all equal parts and would spray on stuff that we did not want the puppy to chew. 

4. As Anita mentioned the above books are also great to read. We subscribed to Doggy Dan video for couple of months and they have some great videos and advice.

5. For food we have TOTW prairie for first couple of months and then switched to Orijen Puppy . One advice would be to introduce a teaspoon of Lactose free low fat yogurt every other day, it helps with their gut becoming stronger. Only give Lactose free.

6. For our setup we had a midwest lifestage crate that we put inside the playpen. Once Teddy was 5 months old we took out the crate as he had outgrown it, now we have his bed inside the playpen. We got Richell's playpen and its great because we leave him inside the playpen when we need to be out of the house for couple of hours to run errand. See attached picture.

We just got Teddy neutered today so he is all sleepy and drugged up.

Raj

[Jen Raimondi]

Thanks Raj! I really appreciate the picture. Curious, what height is the exercise pen? I've seen with many reviews that the puppies can jump out quickly? So just want to make sure we get the right size exercise pen and crate. Also did you find that Richell playpen online? Is it the expandable one? 

Thanks again! 

Jen