Meet Remington!

[Allison & Remington]

Hi everyone! I'm a new mom to 10 week old Remington! I could not be more excited to have welcomed this little boy into our home just yesterday!! Remi is an F1 goldendoodle, although he looks much less like the doodles I've seen. I've been actively researching puppy to adult pictures and stories and have come to the conclusion that only time will tell!
Remington will be the first dog that my boyfriend and I have parented. Each of us has grown up around dogs but since Remi is the first little guy we we will have raised on our own, we will have lots of questions (actually I already do!) I was so excited to see such an engaged forum all about doodles!

My biggest question that I have after having Remi for 30 hrs now, is if there are any tips to help Remington while we aren't in the house. We are crate training him and so far, the longest he has been alone in a room was when we put him in the crate and stood hidden outside the room for all of 5 minutes. Last night, he slept OK in the crate, but we laid next to it until he shut his little eyes and we snuck into his bed. When he woke up (longest streak was 3.5 hrs) and saw we weren't laying there he started whining and getting worked up. So what I am asking is if there are any tips or suggestions that anyone has found that make sleeping alone for Remi a little less scary. Anything will help!

Thank you, thank you!!! Can't wait to learn all that current, former, and soon to be owners have to offer!

Allison & Remington

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

My suggestion would be to prop the crate up onto a chest or a couple of chairs so that it is about the same height as your bed.  Place it right beside your side of the bed.  What I did was at night I put AnnaBelle into her crate, she got about 5-6 pieces of kibble which she quickly learned she would get and waited for them.  Turn off all the lights and just put your fingers in the crate and rub her a little and shhhhhhhh her calmly until she calmed down.  During the night if she woke up I would try the fingers and shhhh again.  If it didn't work then I would get up and as quietly as possible, turning on as few lights as possible take her outside to potty.  She didn't get to play or anything, just potty and then right back to bed.  Normally she would just go right back to sleep if she woke up.  I think there were probably less than 5 nights that I had to take her out to potty in the middle of the night.    We also had a snuggle puppy which mimics the Mother's heartbeat.  Also, make sure you don't have too much stuff in the crate as they do tend to get a little hot if there is too much in there. 

[Allison & Remington]

Thank you! I'm going to try propping the crate up tonight!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I agree with everything that was just recommended, and second the idea of getting a Snuggle Puppy. Try covering the crate on all sides with a sheet, except for the one that's facing you. This will make the crate space seem more like a den, while letting the air circulate. We still give our dogs a snack when they go to bed at night, even though they've been out of their crates for years. Remi is adorable :o)

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Remington, what a cutie you are....

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Hi Alison ~ Remington is a real cutie.  I love the name you chose.  When you get a chance be sure to check out the groups section on the main page and join as many as you like.  There is a terrific Puppy Madness group that many new puppy owners join.  Welcome to Doodle Kisses!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

OMD He's cute! Welcome to DK, Alison and Remington.  I hope you don't mind. I just uploaded your photo.  you can do it clicking the second button on the left and dragging your photo in.  Sheri's got you covered on helping him sleep through the night.  Usually if Finn started to whine, I'd try the finger trick and he'd go back to sleep.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Remi-you sweetie!  Welcome.  Good advice already given! 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Welcome Allison and Remi, what a sweet picture of him. Good luck and enjoy your new doodle-baby

[Ginny Nightingale]

He sure is cute! I agree with the advice, but also will add that this week is not normal behavior--he will improve so much in a short time if you are patient--he needs to adjust and will quickly learn his routine and will sleep better--he misses his litter mates to snuggle against...it is a big change for him. Do whatever you can to make him comfortable at night and after a few days, increase the distance a bit each day between you and the pup--eventually, he will know you are around without you having to comfort him.

By the way, you might want to visit the group "Where's the poodle in my doodle" --looks to me like Remington has what they call an open face--which means he will have more of a golden retriever look around his mouth and eyes--but the rest of him might "fluff out" quite a bit. You can see other doodles with this look if you go to that group.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

What an adorable face. Best of luck with Remington and welcome to DK :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Welcome to DoodleKisses. Enjoy Remington.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Welcome to DK! Remington is such a cutie!