New Puppy Questions!!

[Puppy Madness]

Hey! I am a brand new Doodle Kisses owner, and we are picking up our chocolate goldendoodle puppy the weekend of  Halloween!! So exciting!!! Are there any tips you have for my family (potty training, crate training, etc.?) Thanks so much!!!

[Anne G.]

Congratulation!! That was us 6 months ago and I remember how exciting yet nervous we were. There's a wealth of information on this site. Just go the the forum and search by topic and you'll see many good discussions. I also recommend the following website for some good basic information: http://www.idog.biz/NewPuppySupport.html

[Amber (with Maggie)]

Congratulations! You will love your puppy!

This may not happen to you becaus eyou are getting a golden doodle, but I have a 1 year 3 month year old chocolate australian labradoodle. She started off a beautiful chocolate brown and when she was around 7 months it started turning silver. She is now a chocolate brown/silver mix. She is still a darling and we love her :)

 

When maggie first came home, I would pick her up every few hours and take her outside to potty. I also trained her on puppy pads (which I hear you aren't supposed to do, but she never made a mistake on an area rug and when she fully transitioned to going outside, it was seemless for me). We socialized her with other dogs who had all of their shots after her first round of shots and started taking her out to the dog park (with very, very careful supervision after her 3rd round of shots).

 

We bought a moveable playpen for the backyard at first and brought it inside when we were in the house but unable to watch her closely. We placed her crate inside of the moveable playpen. This allowed her to feel safe.

 

When I went on business trips or to visit a friend, I brought a bag of her favorite toys, water, treats and puppy food in a carrying bag. I found the toys she was familiar with helped with any anxiety she had with new places.

 

We started taking her for rides in the car early. She was and still is very easy in the car and mostly sleeps.

 

I hope this helps?

 

 

[Anne G.]

We had a car crate in the back seat but my husband sat back there with her and we had the crate open. He gave her a bully stick but basically just sat there with her to react to whatever made her comfortable. She was half in the crate and half out just by his side. It was a 2 hour drive but it went very well.

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Brady was 7 weeks when we picked him up.   I took a soft doggy bed and a towel (in case he was sick) and my daughter to hold (cuddle) him for the 1 hour ride home.  Might as well start the bonding thing a.s.a.p.  You can take a toy as well but chances are that he will fall asleep quite quickly.   Hope it goes well for you - I'm sure it will be very exciting!   Brady had a very uneventful and quiet ride home   -  SOUND  ASLEEP IN MY DAUGHTER"S  ARMS!

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

That was me today lol. I was so excited still am. I took her a toy and some treats and hung out for like 45 min before we left in the car. She was awesome in her crate I just kept talking to her I haven't had any problems so far.

Rhonda and Marabelle

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

If your pup has not been in a crate before the best thing I did (with advice from DK) was introduce it  very GRADUALLY.  I lured Brady in by placing a treat at the back and left door open.   Good experience for him!   The first time I actually closed the door, I put in a treat, filled a kong with peanut butter (froze it first).   I wandered around the house within sight and so that he could hear me (turn on water tap,  hummed, coughed, used sewing machine just out of his sight ... after about 15 minutes but BEFORE he might have started to cry or whimper I simply opened the door (saying nothing) and he wandered out.     The other thing I did (just to ensure I got my sleep was put him on a soft doggy bed on the floor beside our bed, and when I awoke to take him out (4 a.m.'ish - I DID  NOT  SPEAK with him .... carried him down the stairs, walked outside put him in the area I wanted him to pee/poop saying only "Peepee", then huge praise when he finished and right back up the stairs to bed (again  NO  SPEAKING AT ALL).   Brady is now 6 mos and we find that at night and in the morning he doesn't 'ENGAGE' until we start off the talking with him.   It's wonderful as he will sleep in until we get up - sometimes 10 a.m.      Also try brushing him every day - short stints -  at first with the back side of the brush - fake him out and gradually,  using treats for no fussing,  do the real thing.   You must be soooo excited - you'll be in DOODLE love the second you have him!!!

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

Well if you decide to Crate then what you do is every time he comes out of the crate you take him outside, come back in play for a while put him back in crate for a bit.  He will probabaly take a nap, then when he wakes up directly out side again, repeating process over and over. The older he gets the more and more time he spends out of the crate with family. Generaly if he is not in a crate you should be taking him outside once every half hour to 40 min. Also after feeding about 1/2 hour or so you should take him for a poop.

If he has an accident clean it up quickly with out fuss no talking to him about it, nothing you don't want to acknowledge it as even if you say "oh poor little guy it's ok " thats attention he might confuse good, bad, You only want to show any kind of responce when he goes out side and then make a verry big deal about it lots of praise have a treat ready.

Puppys do not like to potty where they sleep thats why the crate is awesome, because eventually the house becomes another form of the crate. I hope this helps I am not an expert by any means, this is what I learned by reading on doodle kisses and from my breeder. I am new as well I have only had Marabelle for 4 days but so far with using the crate training I have only had 2 accidents. Hope it helps it works for me.

 

Rhonda & Marabelle

 

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

the puppys this young need the crate it is safety, its like a cave for them, they dont have to be alone. I have Marrabelle in the crate for a while and we are all in the same room. she can see us we talk to her. While I make dinner she is in her crate, while I have a shower she's in her crate, any time she can't have my sole attention, I crate her even if its only for half hour then I take her out side for quite a bit when I can bring her in play lots and then crate her again when she starts to get tired.

I was lucky because my breeder already had done this, she also sleeps through the night from 11:00 to 7:00 with no problems no messes, she likes her crate. I don't want you to get the wrong idea she's not in there as a puppy sitter we only put her in there when she's tired or for her own safety. a pen probably works good for when you've just taken her outside and you want to pre pare dinner and she is playing with toys etc. That would probably work at keeping her safe. I use the crate because, she likes it and for house training. Correct me if I'm wrong any one. this is how I understood the Crate.

 

Rhonda