New puppy Opinions - Many topics

[John Caulfield]

Hello All,

I am new to the community and still waiting two weeks until I can pick up my doodle puppies. We got a boy and girl that are six weeks old.

I had a few questions I was hoping to get some input on:

1. I have heard that you are not supposed to walk the puppies around where other dogs have been until they get all 5 booster shots. How are you supposed to walk and potty train them around the neighborhood? We have other dog in the neighborhood, but obviously wouldnt walk them to parks etc.

2. Do you feel that feeding them organic food like Orijen or Buffalo is important? I have been reading the post about it, but our breeder feeds them Purina. I am aware that other big dogs have increased their lifespan drammaically with organic food and was wondering if this is the case with doodles?

3. Any opinion on which dog food to start with? We have a few pet stores the carry Orijen, TOTW and Buffalo to name a few, but there are so many option I dont know where to start.

4. Also what is the appropriate age to start obediance classes? My wife is an Occuaptional Therapist and our goal is to train them as Therapy Dogs down the road.

Thank you all!

[Lynn Stoops]

Hi

I would suggest joining the Food Group ~ great advice on foods and all other doodle things!  Feeding the BEST food possible is always important!  You can review the list of recommended foods on the food group list.  You do NOT want to feed Purina.

[Katie & Charlie]

Hi John and welcome!

I'm relatively new around here as well but have a long history with dogs.  I fed my last dog, a Golden Retriever, Iams his whole life.  When I made arrangements to get our doodle, I decided to research dog food and was surprised to find that Iams is not considered to be a quality food.  After looking into many different brands and opinions from other Doodle owners, I went with Acana (from the makers of Orijen).  It's a little cheaper than Orijen -- slightly lower protein, etc.  I don't know if my Charlie will do well on it yet.  The breeder had him on Iams Puppy so I am keeping him on that for the next few weeks and then will start transitioning to the Acana.  I found it interesting that my breeder had a dog food rating test/guide posted on her site and according to that test, the Iams she feeds her dogs rates VERY poorly.  ??? There's a great food recommendation thread on this site that I found extremely helpful.  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

I've heard the same thing about not walking your puppy in areas that other dogs frequent until they're up to date on shots.  We're just keeping Charlie in our yard until he's had all of his boosters.

As for obedience classes, I'm not too sure on that one.  I was thinking of starting ours when he's about 12-14 weeks, but I haven't decided yet.  I'm interested to see what others have to say. 

Good luck with your new puppies!  You'll certainly have your hands full, but they'll bring you so much joy! 

[Adina P]

1.  I'm guessing you don't have your own yard and that is why you are going on potty walks?  Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  Talk to your vet and find out if parvo or other major contagious diseases have been going around in your area, get your vet's advice for this.  But other than apartment dwellers who MUST take their dogs on a poo walk, you do NOT need to go 'on walks' with a new puppy.  They can get plenty of exercise playing in the house.  I would just go to places that are not frequented by dogs as best as you know. 

2.  I don't care about 'organic' but a quality food IS important.  I recommend you join our Food Group here on DK. Purina may have been a perfectly good food 20 years ago, but not today.  A large problem with the dog food supply is where ingredients are sourced.  The food might even be made here, but the ingredients are poorly regulated and often from China in the foods sold at big box stores.  Do join our food group for suggestions and the members there have created a nice list of good foods.

3.  See Food Group but wait a couple weeks before switching and switch slowly.

4.  Start obedience classes as early as they become available.  I would search for a class with an instructor that has a long track record for good obedience and has even put obedience titles on his/her dog.  Where do you live?

[Bonnie and Kona]

Welcome John and Congratulations on becoming a doodle owner times 2! That sounds like a big job but tons of fun. There is a group on DK called Puppy Madness. It is the best place to go for terrific puppy information! I see others have suggested that you join The Food Group, too. That is a must as you are clearly wanting your pups to get the best food available and Purina is not it. You will learn in those groups that you should continue feeding the puppies the same food they were getting at the breeder's for a few weeks and then slowly transition them to a more nutritious and less dangerous food. Puppies sometimes have delicate digestive systems and just the stress of the move could cause them some gastrointestinal distress, so getting them settled before changing foods is a good idea. 

I think I may have errored on the side of caution with Owen. He is a little over a year now. We didn't take him off the property until he had his last shots. I think we would have been far wiser to take him to out door coffee shops, Home Depot, anywhere that dogs might be allowed but not where they could pick up Parvo. Owen happens to be extremely extraverted so it worked out, but I would do it differently next time. As far as walking your pups in the neighborhood, I would ask my vet (you will see the vet within a few days of getting the puppies) what their opinion was as some places are more infested with Parvo than others. 

There should be puppy classes that you can enroll the doodles in starting pretty young. It would be for socialization. Then you can begin an obedience class at 12-14 weeks, I think. 

Good luck with all that puppy love! Glad you found DK for all of the great information and the great community of doodle lovers.