One week away!!!

[Janet and Guinness]

HI Everyone...we are one week away from the arrival of our new puppy!!  We are as green as green can be...never having had a dog myself, nor my husband, and our two children (14 and 11) have had limited exposure to dogs!!  I have been reading a lot  (books and the new puppy advice on this site) and feel somewhat prepared...but would welcome any tried and true puppy advice...even if it seems obvious to you, it will probably be news to me !!  Thx so much!

[Lucy & Ellie]

Good luck!  We are very green too and I am happy to have found this site!

[Bonnie and Kona]

You will learn as you go. Have you joined the Puppy Madness group? It's a great place to start. Do you plan to crate train the pup? I highly recommend it but nothing works for ever dog or every owner. You just do the best you can after reading all of the advice and you will be fine. Happily this is a great site to ask questions and get some really wise answers. Have fun. Remember the puppy stage doesn't last forever…the sweet parts or the challenges. ;o)

[Janet and Guinness]

Thanks so much Bonnie...sounds a lot like raising children!!haha  This site has been amazing!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Oh, your life is about to change!  Doodle puppies are about the cutest things in the world and you will be instantly "wrapped around his(her) paw".  We have had poodles and doodles for almost 40 years and have tons of experience.  We currently have a phantom goldendoodle and an ALD (Australian labradoodle).  You will love this site.  

BTW, Welcome to DoodleKisses.  Find some groups that share your interests and hop right in.  Of course, Puppy Madness comes to mind immediately, but there are probably many others.

[Janet and Guinness]

Thanks Lynda...I have jumped into the new puppies group and the ALD group...so much information out there but nothing beats experience so thanks so much!

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Puppies are awesome, but they are a lot of work! You have children the perfect age for accepting some joint-responsibility in the new puppy, which will be helpful. 

I would highly recommend a professional trainer. Puppies are sponges and between 8-16 weeks is a really critical time for imprinting your pup for its future. Search for trainers who do puppy imprinting. I would recommend working with a trainer rather than classes at a petstore for an hour or two every weekend. Not only will a trainer help your new puppy but will act as an additional resource for you and your family through all the fun puppy stages! 

I recommend crate training for puppies and for the whole family to be consistent with the words/commands you use for training! Don't overfeed puppies! Doodles have a lot of growing to do in their first year and too much weight can lead to health problems early on!  

Chew toys & safe bones such as nyla bones or antlers. Puppies can get into mischief when they don't have enough mental and physical stimulation! You are going to fall in love so quickly! 

[Janet and Guinness]

Thanks Emily...I did some asking in my area and have found a great trainer that comes highly recommended...I already feel a bit more at ease!  We are so excited here

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Excellent! We LOVE our trainer. Our puppy Maserati, is almost finished with his puppy imprinting. It is impressive what knowledge he already has acquired. 
I can't wait to see pictures of your new baby! 

[Alissa Edwards]

Did you end up using a professional trainer?

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Patience and consistency! Teaching the puppy to do what you want the first time you ask is essential in my experience. 

I have done bell training with all the puppies I've had growing up and it has made house-breaking a breeze. My doodle puppy, Ragley, has been ringing her bells to ask to go out since the third day after I brought her home. They are so smart! I'm sure there are plenty of youtube videos to help teach you the process, but basically you teach the puppy that ringing the bell means going outside. There is a company that makes fancy bells to hang from the door (poochie bells, I believe is the name), but I like to pinch pennies where I can so the bells I use are just dollar store jingle bells on some ribbon from around the house. I would think they would be easy to find this time of year. Good luck and enjoy!

[Janet and Guinness]

I went out and got the bells Stephanie...they make perfect sense...thanks for the suggestion...will implement f them from day one

[Julie and Max]

Good luck! Puppies are amazing! The puppy madness group is great, it has lots of excellent information. I would recommend reading some of the topics there now so you can get familiar with things your puppy might do which are adorable and things your puppy might do that are not so adorable and how to deal with them.