Spunky doodle!

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Ollie is quite the spunky doodle today.The name the breeder gave him is perfect for him during the day. He is 'Valiant' during the day and curious about everything. Nothing really scares him.He even does well in his crate when I go out without him. At night however, his bravado disappears and he is a whiny little baby who needs his human mom/dad. He is still whining and screaming his head off in the crate at night. I know all the experienced people here are saying this is normal but it is just so hard to remember that with 3 sleepless nights in a row. He is making up for my 2 kids who were pretty good sleepers as infants.

He has also been very nippy today. Especially with me and my 5 year old daughter. I didn't notice it as much with my husband or my 9 year old. I am trying the yelping 'no' but it does not deter him. He seems to think it is all part of the game. Finally I stopped playing and ignored him. He seems to have understood that. He came and gave me a little kiss. Hopefully this strategy will continue to work. He is also really smart. In just 3 days he has learned 'sit' and 'down'. 'Come' is still a work in progress.

Ollie really is such a fun character. He loves to run with his toys and pile them all up by the backyard door. If I bring them to the living room, he grabs them one by one and takes them back there. At least they are all in one place, unlike my kids' toys :-). While it looks funny to watch him running on the hardwood floor with all his toys, I hope it is safe for his joints. I don't know what I could do to prevent him from slipping...

Hedre is a dose of today's Ollie photos:

"Mommy! What is that big, black clicky thing you keep pointing at me? Can I please taste it?"

"yum! Cuddle pal...tastes goooood"

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I just talked to my neighbor about the biting. As you have already figured out, puppies have an overwhelming desire to chew and the nipping goes along with it. It has nothing to do with being mean or vicious. He is just being a puppy but the needle sharp teeth will rip your skin. Besides giving the pup a nyla bone or something to replace your finger with you need to let him know it is unacceptable behavior. My neighbor takes her hand/fingers in the look of a karate chop form and when the pup tries to bite she enters her flat fingers into the side of the mouth way in the back where the upper and lower lips connect. You would go back in where the molars will some day be but are not there yet. The pup does not like this because it causes a gagging type action. Understand, you are not chopping or forcefully doing this to the pup (I am afraid the word "karate chop" gives you a visual of a quick forceful action which is not correct). It works for her though I've never used this technique. Gracie Doodle would also nip at our ankles and toes when we would walk by. It is the quick action or motion that gets them excited. The biggest problem is going to be your 5 year old. Kids are fast action, loud, squeal and love to take their hands and wave them around puppies/dog faces and then retract back. This is a complete invitation to the pup/dog to react by lunging forward and trying to catch the hand or fingers. You need to teach your kids to be calm and sit quietly while the pup investigates and interacts with them. Yes, there is still going to be nipping because it is a pup. But, your kids have to understand that even a quick retraction and squeal is going to have a reverse action and the pup is going to want more. Not an easy thing to do though because you don't want them to get hurt and there will be little nicks and scratches for a few months. No really easy answer to the problem. I personally never had a dog when my kids were small so I am only now experiencing it a few times a year when my grandchildren come to visit. Every year they come there is another new human baby and we start all over again. Even getting a small child comfortable with a huge happy goofy Doodle is not easy. Only now do my 6 and 4 year old feel comfortable around Gracie Doodle. The 2 year old has to jump into your arms every time she walks in the room. It is only because she loves to come up and lick your face and when you are a tiny little guy on the floor or walking and something bigger than you comes running up with a tongue that looks like a huge waterfall, you have to cry and act scared. Soon there will be a 4th grandchild and it will start all over again next summer when they come out for a visit. Bottom line is that pups are pups and there is a huge desire to chew. Hands and fingers make a great toy. Loud voices, squealing are a stimulant. Quick lunges, hands and body motions toward a pup are an invitation to play. All of these things kids do so the pup reacts to them. Easier said than done though. I can not tell you how many times I have sat my 4 & 6 year old grandsons down and explained how to behave in front of a dog and I had also given them tips on how to meet a strange dog they don't know. Calm, quiet, let them sniff the back of your hand, no quick movements and never put your hand on the top of a dogs head to pat them until they have accepted you or know you. The hand/arm up over the head is a threat to the dog and they react out of an animal instinct. Your arm/hand goes up and out of they eye range and that is very uncomfortable for a dog when they don't know you. Hope some of this helps or give you some tools to work with. I think you do need to sit down with your kids and work on getting them to understand things from a pup's point of view. Good Luck.

[Dori & Rua]

Rua really thinks he is a little cutie patootie! I agree!

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Thank you all for your compliments to Ollie! We think he is a very beautiful puppy too (but we are biased). His coat is so incredibly soft that I have become addicted to cuddling him :-)
He was much better last night.Only woke up twice. Hopefully he is starting to feel more secure in his crate. During the day he loves his crate. He is still not thrilled when I close the door.He stands up and whines for a minute but he will go back to sleep if he is sleepy. Hopefully, it will continue to get better.
Carol, I never noticed how his nose is shaped like a heart until you mentioned it! Fancy that! :-)

[cheryl & oliver]

He is just precious....what a face and he has a gorgeous coat....He is certainly one handsome dood....Do you have his crate in your room at night? We had to do that, and the 1st time he was in our room, I just told him Mommy & Daddy were right here, it is time to go nite nite, and we never heard a peep out of him till 7 the next morning. He just needed to know that we were there with him. He is now 18 mos old, and he still goes in his crate in our room, with his night toys, everynight. And if you don't close the crate door, he will bark until u do. I would love him to not sleep in the crate, he is long housebroken, and our other one sleeps wherever he wants, but Oliver wants his crate at bedtime, so if thats what he wants, then ot is ok with me. It is really safer, considering they can get into trouble just by being curious, and we could be asleep..So this way I know where he is. He gave us a terrible time for about a month, before we put the crate in our room...Good lk, it will all work out and he is such a cutie..thanks for sharing the pictures...

[Carol and Banjo]

That little nose looks like a tiny pink heart! This pup is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That first picture is amazing. This puppy is so adorable! Having the crate right next to our bed really helped with both of our puppies. I think the fact that they could see us gave them a sense of security. Love every minute of this "puppy stage"....it goes by so fast.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We had the crate in our bedroom for both dogs. I placed it right next to my side of the bed and if the pup got up, I just put my fingers in the crate until she or he went back to sleep. We used a Snuggle Puppy too and I swear that is what made our transition so easy. Both of our dogs seemed to get really hot in the crate and I only crated Fudge for about 4 months at night and Vern was only a week. (it helped to have another dog) We did not have one accident at night. My dogs prefer to sleep on the cold, hard floor, even though I have two dog beds in our room. I think the key to our success was putting the crate where they could see us at night.

For the biting, bully sticks helped a lot with the chewing. Those bully sticks got me through the puppy stage. Fudge was a big puppy biter and it does hurt, but it is a stage and will get better. Vern did not seem to go through this stage at all or else saved his bites for Fudge. They just have such a powerful need to chew.

Enjoy every minute! He is adorable.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney has a snuggle puppy, his breeder likes them alot - I think they really help but at this point you are probably getting close to working through the night time crying so I don't think at this point that I'd spend the money. Rooney's breeder who is also a trainer says that once in his kennel that you MUST just leave him, otherwise he will see it as a reward if you go to comfort him. I'll be finding out how hard this is on Sat. night - lol. The ONLY exception is if there is barking in the night - which can be a sign of upset tummy. Be firm and enjoy. They grow up too fast.

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Thank you all. He is absolutely precious. I think I kiss him a million times every day :-)
Lynn, he has a cuddle pal and his heartbeat pillow. He likes his cuddle pal and wants nothing to do with the heartbeat pillow. Unfortunately I don't have anything with his mom's scent on it. Is the snuggle puppy worth buying you think?
For the biting, I am trying to be consistent. I have also told the kids never to play tug of war games with him and to give him a toy when he starts to get frisky. I know it is normal puppy behavior so I am not overly concerned. Just have to keep teaching him.He is a smart fellow so I know he will catch on quickly.

[Lynn D.]

He is cute!

Have you tried a Snuggle Puppy and something with the Mom scent on it in his crate at night?