Adopting a 4 month old Goldendoodle this Friday

[Peter Romano]

I am excited about bringing home our 4 month Goldendoodle in two days.  We have prepared this week by purchasing supplies i.e. crate, chew toys.  We are waiting to hear from the breeder when we pick up our pup what food he likes.

 

My questions are, what treats do people use to train their dogs?  I am assuming we can use the puppy food that will be her main food, but are there other treats people can recommend?  Also, we will be home with our dog for 4 days before my wife and i go back to work.  We will crate train our pup, and will have a dog walker come for a midday walk.  My question is, since our dog will be in the crate for 4 hours prior to the dog walker coming, do people attach a small water bowl to the crate in the event the dog gets thirsty or will this promote accidents in the crate? What are good treats to leave with him in the crate?

 

Thank you all for your info!

 

Pete

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

We loved using zukes minis for Darwin's training. They are great quality, small so you can give a lot in a training session, and he is crazy for them.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Zukes-Mini-Naturals-Chicken/dp/B001M50LMO

[Kerri B. & Zoey]

I use these two...Zoey loves them.  Congrats on your new doodle!

[Jane Smith]

How exciting Pete!  Does this little guy have a name yet?

I use Wellness soft treats.  Because they are soft, they are very easy to tear into tiny pieces. 

I would certainly leave a small amount of water in the crate, but not enough for him to overdo it and need to go out sooner than the 4 hours. 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your new addition. 

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Hi.  Congrats on the new puppy!  We used freeze dried liver as training treats.  You can find it at most large pet stores and the best part is there is no preservatives, artificial ingredients or tons of sodium like a lot of dog treats.  It only has 1 ingredient-liver.  And our dogs love it!!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I agree - freeze dried liver teats worked great.  We also used some freeze dried chicken.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Congrats on the new puppy...you will have a busy but exciting weekend I am sure. 

We like to get the Natural Balance food rolls and then cut them up into tiny little chunks to use for training.  They are like doggie crack for Cubbie.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Congrats on your Goldendoodle Pete !  I have a goldendoodle Sasha that I got at 3 1/2 months old and she was a charm to crate train.  I get up very early in the morning (4:30am) and leave for work about 8 am so as soon as I got up I would feed her and let her drink as much water as she wanted.  About an hour before I left for work I would pick up the water and of course I would take her out many times during the morning and one last time right before I left for work.  I would come home on lunch around 12:30 and she was just fine.  NEVER any accidents what so ever.  I would do the same in the evening, as soon as I got home from work I would feed her and let her have as much water as she wanted but would pick it up at about 9 pm, again she never had a accident at night either.  This also worked for my Labradoodle Oliver as well.  The key is what goes in must come out !!!!   As far as training treats I used "Train Me" because they were tasty and very smelly which dogs like, the smellier the better.  Good luck and please take lots of pictures for us to see.

[Peter Romano]

Thank you Barbara, and to everyone else for your responses, they are very helpful!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

we also use Zuke's Chicken Mini's - they are the size of a pencil eraser and can be broken into smaller pieces with your thumbnail. they do stink but the girls will do flips when they see me going to the drawer where I keep them.

check out this site - I found the best price, quick shipping and free shipping if you order $49.99 which is easy to do.

 

doggiefood.com

 

[Peter Romano]

Thank you for the info!

 

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Zukes minis were our training treat choice and we left a Kong w/peanut butter when we left. We did one 5 hour stint and then a four hour stint. She was fine....Mommy not so much, the guilt killed me. I couldn't wait for her to be 4 months so I could take her to daycare and to work with me.

[Carol Brand]

Yes you should keep water in the crate during the day (take it up at night).  At 16 weeks, this puppy can cut back to 2 meals a day.  I would not keep food in the crate but would feed in the morning and at 6:00p.m.

 

As far as training goes, regular puppy food doesn't cut it.  You want high value treats such as hot dogs, cheese, or those previously mentioned.  I personally like to have a treat that is human grade since I like to put the treats in my mouth and deliver them from there. (Great method for teaching attention and getting a dog to look at you in the face!)  I'm not shy about putting dog food in my mouth, but some of them are down right yucky and you may not want to.  I can tell you from experience that the Natural Balance rolls, while excellent training treats, are salty, smokey and unpleasantly gritty.