Soon to be a doodle parent

[Rosella T]

Hi Everyone!

I am brand new to this site. I happened to stumble upon it while searching for information about crating. In 4 weeks I am going to welcome a little 9 week-old mini golden doodle into my life. I can't wait!!!! This will be my first time owning a golden doodle but not my first experience with dog ownership.

I had a beloved schnoodle for 16 wonderful years. His name was Chico and he was my best friend. Chico was an amazingly smart dog. I loved him with all my heart and losing him 11 months ago was very very sad. I always knew that I wanted another dog after him and I think I will be as ready as I'll ever be next month. I did a lot of research to find a reputable breeder of golden doodles because I wanted another smart dog but not one who looked too much like my schnoodle so a mini goldendoodle seemed like a good choice. Plus I find them irresistibly cute!

I should mention that I also have a cat. She is a gorgeous 7-year-old grey tabby named Charlotte who we rescued from a shelter. She was very upset when Chico died as they were very close. Chico was blind for the last year and half of his life and Charlotte was his seeing eye cat. 

I have to say that I've read a few posts here in the forum and I am just blown away at how wonderful you all are! So nice to find such a lovely and positive corner of the internet. 

I have a question about crates. I plan on crating my puppy to facilitate house training and then when he is fully house trained I plan on weaning him off the crate. I am wondering what size crate to get. The breeder says he is a small F1B mini so will probably weigh from 20 to 30 pounds. The mother is 37 pounds and the sire is 14 pounds. I was thinking I should get the 24" by 18" crate like the one pictured here: http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Life-Stages-Double-Door-Folding/dp/B0...

As I said I don't plan on crating the pup past house training or until he is at least 7 months old. Any advice on crate size or any other tips you all think I should know would be greatly appreciated! My profile pic is of the little guy so you can see what he looks like.

THANK YOU, DOODLE LOVERS!

xo

[Miss Ellie]

A great big welcome to you Rosella...Congratulations on your newest addition...I bet you are getting so excited to bring him home.  I know how you are feeling about losing your precious Chico...we lost our beloved golden retriever, Jack last February...having our sweet Ellie has definitely helped to heal the hole that was left in my heart when we lost Jack.  I am sorry I can`t help you out with crate size as we don`t have a mini-goldendoodle, so I will leave that to the people who do. Can`t wait to see lots of pictures of your new bundle of joy:)

[Rosella T]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm happy to hear that your sweet Ellie has helped to heal the hole that was left by Jack. It is so hard to say good-bye to our fur babies when their time comes. If only they could live longer.

By the way, Ellie sure is cute in that picture.Very glam with her sunglasses. :)

[Julie and Max]

Welcome to this lovely site Rosella, and congrats on your new baby! I don't use a crate so I can't help you with that either, but I am sure someone will come along who can. I'm sorry about the loss of your beloved Chico, I know that's very hard. I bet you can't wait for your new precious new doodle to come home. 

[Rosella T]

Thank you so much, Julie. You're right, I can't wait to have a baby puppy in my arms! Your dog is absolutely adorable!

If you didn't crate train, may I ask how you handled house training with your dog?

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Hi Rosella and welcome! You're gonna love this place! Can't wait to see pics of your new baby!

[Rosella T]

Thank you, Rosemary. Your Enzo is super cute! I am very happy I found this site. :)

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Awwwww...thanks!

[Julie and Max]

Well I am home most of the time, and when I'm not one of my kids is usually home, so I just didn't see a need to be honest. I did gate off the kitchen and for the most part he stayed in the kitchen or in the basement with me (that's where my computer and stuff is) and he is allowed in the rest of the house under supervision. He is great now, but he does like to steal underwear when he gets the chance, and with two teenage daughters, well it's best to not give him free access to the underwear lol. As well my cats still don't like him much so the gates give them dog free zones if I cannot be watching him. 

I haven't had any problems with him except when he was really small he did chew up part of my kitchen floor but that was more my fault than his. I have a very old kitchen, and the linoleum is like 25 years old in there, I just haven't had the time/money to replace it, slowly working my way around the house and the kitchen is the last room which I'm redoing this summer. So there were warn spots in the floor, and he picked at that but he doesn't now. 

I do walk Max between four and six miles a day, and I think that helps so much with behaviour. He's just tired out a  lot of the time. I also spend about an hour (broken up into ten to fifteen minute sessions) training him every day, and we play games with him every day like fetch and find it, so that I think he just doesn't feel the need to get into too much trouble. I have noticed the last few days since he was neutered that he's a bit more of a handful because I can't walk him too much, I've only been taking him out for ten minute walks a few times a day until he's healed and no fetch because he likes to jump and pounce which he's not supposed to be doing. 

I think it's really just about how much time I have to spend with him, I do have a lot of time and that was why I chose not to crate and I think I am lucky that he's not been destructive. I guess for me, I just didn't really want to, my last dog which was over ten years ago, was not crated, and so that's a lot of where my decision came from. I really think it's a personal choice though, and that it also has to be based on the puppy's personality because they are all different.

Whatever you decide to do will of course be the right thing for you and your puppy. :)

[Rosella T]

Wow Julie that is so great that you get to spend so much time with your dog. I will be working from home for the first two months that I have my puppy but then I go back to working outside the home. My partner will be at home with the dog most days but dog training is certainly not her strong suit. She's definitely a cat person. ;) We're hoping that our cat embraces the puppy rather quickly. I think she will since she and Chico did become best of friends. I also have a wonderful dog walker that I employ.

You're so good about the walking! I have always preached that myself. I walked Chico 3 times a day: before work, after work, and just before bed and he almost always had an extra walk during the day either from a dog walker or my partner, or myself on the occasions that I could bring him to work with me. I am a freelancer and there are companies where I work that allow dogs in the office. I loved bringing Chico to work because everyone always complimented me on how well behaved he was. His only caprice was sticking his head in coworkers' waste paper baskets foraging for food. He was quite piggy.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Julie! I really appreciate the good advice you gave me!

:)

[Lauren and Kona]

Congratulations on your new puppy - how exciting! And I'm so sorry to hear about Chico, I lost my dog of 13 years last year and it's so very hard. I'm also getting ready to welcome a new family member, my Goldendoodle puppy comes home on March 1st. So happy for you and welcome!!

[Rosella T]

Oh I am so sorry about your dog. It really is rough losing a beloved pet. I'm still not over it but it has been almost a year now and I am doing better. I feel ready to embark on the adventure of a new puppy now! It will be a crazy ride I'm sure. Is that your puppy in your profile pic? If so, he is soooooo cute! I am getting mine on March 10th. You must be very excited just 3 more weeks until you get your pooch!

Thank you for the warm welcome! :)

[Sally S Miles]

Roselle, welcome and congratulations on your new addition. He is too cute! What is his name - or have you decided yet?

We went thgough crate - started small, got bigger, got bigger - ah well, now the crate size in question is what my mini fellow is in, but I like the plastic kind so I can travel with it.  Size sounds right to me.

My doodle filled a hole in my heart as well, left by our GSD and finally our Yorkie - - talk about different, not really.  Life without a dog just ain't right.