My new, 10wk old Aussiedoodle

[Jen Smith]

My family just welcomed a 10wk old Aussiedoodle into our family. He is awesomely loved by all 4 children, as well as my husband and I. He didn't have any papers, which doesn't matter to us because we just wanted a family pet, not any show dog, or one to be used for breeding. We call him Bo. :)
We have had him going on 3 days now. His whining as ceased, but seems somewhat withdrawn. I will sit down across from him, and tell him to come here or something, and he will just stare at me, then turn his head away, and lay down with his face covered and facing the opposite direction. Is this normal for a 10wk puppy that just came to their new home? Also, he is not house trained whatsoever. Everytime he pees or poop on the floor, I do what I've always known and stick his nose towards the accident, then immediately take him outside in the grass. Is this method efficient for this breed? This is our very first Aussiedoodle, and I have done quite a bit of research online about this breed. But it's always better to talk to people who actually have them as pets. My 4 children are young, and I want to make sure I train the puppy correctly to avoid any damaging effects he may do when he's full grown. Thank you all for your time in reading this.

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

I personally do not believe that it is effective or positive to stick your puppy's nose in/towards their accident. My advice is that you really need to be proactive and take him out regularly (even if that's ever 30 minutes to start with when he isn't crated).  He should be crated any time you can't keep an eye on him.  

Ludo (and I know lots of other dogs here) is trained to ring bells when they need to go out. Ludo doesn't always ring the bells now, but he goes and sits at the door and waits.  He's been potty trained since maybe a week after we brought him home and has had only 3 accidents since that time (he's 7 months) and those accidents were our fault and not his (when he had signaled but whoever was watching him didn't pay attention).  Even before he was "potty trained" he only had one  or two accidents in the house because I kept him with me nearly 100% of the time, and if I couldn't watch him, he was in his crate.  So, start a regular routine of taking him outside very frequently and reward and praise when he goes outside.  If you catch him in the act of an accident, make a noise to make them stop and take them outside to finish, then praise them for finishing in the right spot.  You never punish them after the fact, they won't be able to connect what they did wrong to your punishment, so it's not effective.  

Hope that helps and congratulations on bringing Bo home :)

[Laura and Angus]

Oops! I repeated what you said a bit (before I saw your post). Great thoughts!

[Laura and Angus]

A few thoughts:

1) I would make sure you take your pup to the vet to get a full check up to check for any kind of parasites and such.

2) Your pup has left his family and home, so I think the transition can be tough for some puppies - they are babies afterall, so it can be scary to leave the comfort of your parents and siblings to a place where you're the only puppy.

3) There is no need to stick your puppy's nose in the accident. If you catch your puppy in the midst of pottying in the house, you can say "No" or "eh eh!" and then you immediately whisk them outside to finish pottying. The key is to watch your puppy at all times and give them as many opportunities as you can to reward them for pottying outside. We took our new pup out every 30 minutes or so, after eating, and after vigorous play. We would say "good potty!" and gave him a treat each time he went outside. With consistency and positive reinforcement your pup will learn, but they are a baby and they need to be taught where is okay for pottying and where is not. Frankly, you could really just stick with the positive for pottying and high-value treats and they will just learn. The goal is your puppy goes 30 full days without an "accident" and then you can consider them trained. Of course there will still be accidents or setbacks because they are learning and that's okay. Doodles are very smart and should learn quickly with consistent reinforcement. 

Think about it this way..if your 10 week old puppy potties inside, you missed an opportunity for reward and perhaps missed their signals (sniffing around in circles). It would also be good to get your puppy on a consistent feeding schedule - 3 x daily and pay attention to how often they drink. Expect that they will need to potty shortly after eating and about every 30ish minutes in the beginning. 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Hi Jen,

Kaitlin gave great advice- the goal is to teach him where to potty before he even has a chance to do it inside. I would also suggest that you join the Puppy Madness Group. You will find lots of good info there regarding potty training, nipping, etc. and all of the other things that are needing in raising a puppy. It's a LOT of hard work raising a pup, but it's worth it in the long run! 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Jen - Welcome to DK.  Your puppy is so darn cute.  If you have had a puppy in some time, I can tell you from experience that positive obedience training has come a very long way and it will be your best friend.  Your puppy has just been removed from his siblings and it takes some time for them to figure out where there position is in the pack. Creating a bond with your new puppy is of utmost importance at this age in order to have that great family pet that will respond to your commands.  The old fashioned method of sticking your puppies nose in his accident will only make potty training take longer and because you are reprimanding him negatively it will not build trust.  There is a great little book you can get on Amazon (or even your local library) titled "The Puppy Listener" by Jan Fennell which is so great for those with new puppies.  Puppyhood can be so trying mainly because of potty training issues- but it is also a wonderful time to instill all the traits that makes a great family pet.  

When you get a chance be sure to check out the groups section on the main page and join as many as you like.  Many new puppy owners join the Puppy Madness group.  Also check out the grooming group and Food groups - there is a ton of very helpful info on this site  Again welcome and best of luck with your new puppy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In addition to the excellent advice the others have given, I'd add that you need to use a good odor neutralizer like Nature's Miracle on the spots where he has had an accident. Just cleaning it up isn't enough; you may not smell anything, but trust me, he can, and he will return to those spots. 

The best thing you can do for housebreaking is to never give him a chance to make a mistake. You cannot "correct" a mistake after the fact. If you don't catch him in the act, all you can do is clean it up and move on. Tethering the puppy to you is a good way to keep an eye on him when you are busy in the house. 

There are two parts to housebreaking: helping the dog to understand where it is okay to go, and where it is not okay. Put some treats in your coat pocket so that you always have them handy when you take the pup outside (and it must be an adult who takes the pup outside, every single time, so that you can monitor what he is doing and praise/reward him when he goes outside. Have a huge party, and use the words "Good Potty!" "Good pee-pee" or whatever terms you choose. When you do catch him in the middle of having an accident indoors, make a loud noise ("Eh-Eh!"), scoop him up, and get him outside. If he finishes what he started out there, celebrate with him. 

Under no circumstance should you punish him in any way, and that includes the outdated and illogical practice of putting his nose in it, near it, or whatever. That practice went out with my parents' generation, and I'm in my 60s. 

Aussiedoodles, like all doodles, are not a "breed"; they are a mix, and as such, there is no consistency from one to another. (There would also not be any "papers", ever, which means nothing anyway.)  Australian Shepherds are herding dogs, and herding breeds need a lot of exercise and a lot of leadership; they tend to be somewhat independent, which is a requirement for working herding dogs. How much of the Poodle and how much of the Aussie any given mix will express is totally a spin of the genetic wheel. However, I can tell you that Aussiedoodles sometimes have a tendency to nip and herd small children, so you will want to supervise closely and start basic behavioral training early. 

[Patty, Duffy & Oliver]

Haha! Karen, my hubby uses "quick quack" as "eh eh" because that is what his mom used to say to him when she wanted him to stop something.  I'm still trying to figure out why "quick quack" but it works! LOL! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, I like it! I think probably any meaningless sharp staccato sound would work. :)

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Patty - I love this!

[Kamela & Beckett]

Wanted to weigh in on the Aussiedoodle temperment as we have an 8 month old. Ours has the Poodle coat but a lot of the Aussie tendencies. He likes to herd our mini Schnauzer. He's pretty good about not herding the people but it's all adults in our house and we don't allow it. From the get go, our Beckett has needed A LOT of exercise and physical activity. But along with that he needs mental stimulation so think about ways you can challenge his mind (we use food puzzles, training class, etc.). Beckett is loving and people oriented, but not at all snuggly. He wants to be near us and in same room, but is in no way a lap dog. He often prefer the fireplace hearth to his dog bed because he's super hot natured. He has furniture privileges but almost never chooses to get on couch with us or on his own.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, that's an Aussie. They are independent, and they are bred to think on their feet, so your point about keeping them mentally stimulated is a very good one. Either you give them a task to do or they will find their own, lol. 

[Patty, Duffy & Oliver]

Even a semi-house trained puppy can only hold his bladder so long.  I think the rule of thumb is one hour for every month of age, plus how much they are drinking at the time factors into that. So a 10 month old puppy can hold his bladder about 2 1/2 hours. Duffy just turned 4 months old today and I still make sure he goes out every few hours just to be on the safe side.  I'm retired, so I am lucky enough to be home most of the time.  I do remember when I used to work that training a puppy took a little longer, although I was lucky enough to have a friend that helped puppy sit through the house training while I was at work.