First Night...

[Adrienne]

My first night with Dougie was not bad...knock on wood!  I do not know if it was the long car ride, but he slept through the night, from 10:30 p.m. - 6:00 a.m.--Whoo hoo!!!!  Poor fella fell asleep on the central air vent, which seems to be his favorite place to snooze.  I also found out that he doesn't like ANY of the "comfy" crate blankets/pillows that I purchased for his crates.   I picked him up and put him in his crate--I camped out on the couch so that I could be close by if necessary.  He whimpered for a second.  I placed his "Snuggle Puppy" in with him and MAGIC...not another sound until 6 a.m.   Needless to say, I do not see an expensive dog bed in Dougie's future. Ditto for the toys.  I purchased a few new toys and his toy of preference is a "white hand towel".  

No accidents in the house yet.  However, I can not take credit for that.  I failed to take Dougie out after his morning nap and when I turned around to look for him, he was standing in the un-used "make-shift" litter box taking a potty break.  Pee on carpet averted, thanks to Dougie.  

Something tells me that he will have more energy today so I plan to be ready.  Here are a few more pics:

Dougie playing with my daughter

 Moving his buddy to the vent...(evidence of my couch slumber still present--Sorry about that.)

Dougie taking a nap with his buddy:)

[Adrienne]

Update on Dougie:

Mr. Dougie is a very curious fellow and has recently learned to climb the stairs.  I found him at the top of the stairs last night--which scared me to death--whimpering because he could not climb down.  I now have to buy some baby gates AND also tether him to me because he travels in "stealth" mode--doesn't make a sound until you hear him chewing on something, etc.  His potty training is still going well.  He had a minor set back the last night with his crate training--he kept waking up every 2-3 hrs to go outside.  I blame myself for forgetting to take his food/water up by 8 p.m.  His stool is also very soft--his fecal exams were negative but I think that he may have eaten something that upset his stomach.  He is constantly trying to eat the mulch, sticks and whatever else he can find outdoors.  He is getting bigger by the day and is being spoiled by the entire neighborhood.  Life is good for this Doodle :)))

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Sounds like things are going great....Dougie is a lucky guy.  Those baby gates saved my sanity!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Adrienne -- Sounds like things are going well.  AnnaBelle will get a little soft poo occasionally.  Particularly if she poos 2-3 times when she goes out, the last will be soft.  If I give her a little teaspoon or so of pumpkin by the next poo all is well.  Are you sure when he wakes up all those times at night he really has to go out.  I hear AnnaBelle moving around in her crate several times through out the night but I normally just say go back to sleep or put my fingers in her crate and she goes right back to sleep.  If I try this and it doesn't work, then I know she needs to go out.  I don't take her water up at all before bedtime.  She goes to bed around 9 and with the exception of maybe 3 nights has slept through till 6:30ish the next morning.  She has been here 7 weeks now.  We went through the out several times during the night with Lucy and Sophie for almost the first year and then one night I just said go back to sleep and they did so I knew they really didn't need to go out (I'm a slow learner).  lol.  If I took AnnaBelle out 3 times at night she would probably pee three times, but she can also hold it as well.

[Adrienne]

He actually pooped each time...this is when the loose stool began.  This was unusual because he has been sleeping through the night.  I usually know when he HAS to go because he gets REALLY loud and starts pawing the crate.  "So dramatic"  LOL!!  The breeder told me to take the water up by 8pm or else he would wake up to potty in the middle of the night.  I remember reading a post about adding pumpkin to his food.  I am going to try that to see if it works.  If it continues, I may have to take him back to the vet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Adrienne, suddenly waking in the night to go poop when he had been sleeping through the night, along with the loose poop, is a major sign of giardia. The incubation period is 10-14 days, and it doesn't show up in every fecal test. Your best bet is take several samples in. In the meantime, start cleaning it up as if it is giardia, you will save yourself a lot of aggravation down the road if it is. 

[Adrienne]

Thanks Karen.  Will do this ASAP!!

[Adrienne]

Thanks a million Karen for your advice.  I talked to the vet who felt that the heartworm medication may have upset Dougie's system.  I totally forgot about that dose of medication.  Anyway I have started giving him a teaspoon of pumpkin with his food and that seems to be doing the trick.  He is no longer waking up in the middle of the night to poo and the frequency is back to normal.  I thank you and so does Dougie :).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Glad to hear it! 

[Bob Johnston]

The giant in plumsteadville has organic canned pumpkin works great but seems to only be sold at that gant not the one by the Kmart.

[Adrienne]

Thanks Bob.  You must've read my mind because I was wondering where to find organic canned pumpkin.  How is Sophie?  I can't wait to meet her.

[Bonnie and Kona]

You can order organic pumpkin at Amazon.doodlekisses.com. If you use the Doodlekisses method to get into Amazon.com a portion of the proceeds goes to DK. 

[Bob Johnston]

She is getting better. She still doesn't play with any toys or run around in the yard. I"m not sure if its just because she is going to be 16 months old and she is past that stage or she is afraid to because last time she did she ended up in the hospital. The pumpkin we use is the farmers brand so if dougie like it they do have it on amazon.