Looking for some doodle friends!

[Lisa Koch]

We will be bringing Auggie Home the second week in December and are looking for some doodle friends. We want to get him socialized are there are puppy romps or play dates coming up? Place where we can take him for some puppy fun? If you and your doodle would like to meet/play please let me know. Here are a few pictures:) He's 4 weeks old right now still teeny tiny!!!

[Christina]

He is adorable! Our doodle would love to meet him, although at 5 years old we should wait a few months before introducing Polly to him. One thing we really enjoyed when she was a puppy was a play group on Saturdays mornings at the humane society in golden valley. They have a very safe and well run puppy play group, and their training programs are wonderful as well. Let us know once he is bigger and we would love to meet up.

[Lisa Koch]

Awesome Christina! I will be checking out those puppy play groups. Do they need to have all their shots or just be up to date for their age? I am planning on taking him to training classes at Petsmart once he is 10 weeks. I will for sure be in contact come spring/summer. Maybe we could check out a dog park or something. Thanks for the message.

[Gretchen Nastrom]

I'm not sure where you are, but we are up in the Anoka/Ramsey area, and we have a nice dog park that we like to go to.  There are several doodles who go there, and I found that Preston plays differently with the doodles than with other dogs, so I would love to get together with other doodle owners as well!  Preston just turned 1 so he still has lots of puppy left in him!

We did the training classes at Petsmart as well, and that seemed to help a lot.  One thing I've noticed is that the doodles are so smart so they have to be physically and mentally stimulated.  Last night since it was raining we couldn't get outside, so Preston was driving us CRAZY!  We finally started hiding toys from him and telling him to go find it which wore him out.

You will have so much fun with your new baby!  Be sure to keep us posted on how things are going!  Here is a picture of Preston and my brother's miniature goldendoodle, Maggie (he's the big goofy one on the left).

[Lisa Koch]

Adorable! We live in Coon Rapids so very close to you. Would love to get our boys together for a playdate once he gets a little bigger. I am sure I will be that crazy fur baby mommy posting lots of pictures:)

[Gretchen Nastrom]

I guess there is a dog park in Andover near Hanson, but we have not been there yet. When your baby gets bigger and ready to play, we will find a place to meet! When we first picked Preston out, he was only 3 weeks old and just learning how to walk. We brought him home at 8 weeks--I can't believe how fast the past year has gone with him! The first couple weeks were a little strange trying to figure out a new routine with a puppy, but overall the transition was really smooth. We bell trained him to let us know when he wants to go out, and I think we only had a handful of accidents in the house. Recently we went through some tummy issues, but thanks to the food group here on DK, we have the worked out now as well, and he is starting to fill out.

[Lisa Koch]

Can you recommend a good vet and groomer in the area? We are looking for someone who grooms a decent amount of doodles:) I've heard some awful stories from our breeder of fur parents getting their babies back and they were completely shaved and not at all how they wanted them to look. I've heard the first 3 months are like having a newborn again so we are trying to rest as much as possible.

[Gretchen Nastrom]

We go to the Andover Animal Clinic right on Hanson (kind of by Andover Elementary if you know where that is).  LOVE THEM!!!  And, we've been there quite a bit with Preston's stomach issues and then just all the shots with puppies.  They have a puppy package you can buy that will cover all the shots--I recommend that.

As far as groomers go, we go to Lotsa Luv in Ramsey--love them too!  We did go to Pine Ridge (I think that's the name) over in Andover by Target, because we heard they do a lot of doodles, and honestly, he came back looking the same as when he goes to Lotsa Luv (which is a lot cheaper).  Preston always comes back from the groomer looking like a big puffball because he goes under the dryers, but then in a couple days that settles down and his curly hair is back.  He's really curly like a poodle and doesn't shed at all.

The first 3 months are a bit challenging, but just make sure you keep boots and coats by the door when you let him out since you'll be buzzing in and out a lot those first few weeks.

[Jennifer / Matt]

We are new doodle owners of a little girl named Zoe (she is nine weeks), we live in the Blaine area and would love to meet up with you and Auggie once you guys are all settled in.

[Lisa Koch]

Jennifer/Matt how fun. We would love get together with other new puppy owners:) How are the the first few days/weeks going? We will be in touch once we feel settled with him. I'm expecting crazy for the first weeks and months.

[Lisa Koch]

Here are the newest pictures I got today. Such a cute little baby!

[Gretchen Nastrom]

Oh he is SO CUTE!!!  I bet you are just counting the days until you get him!  How big do you think he will get?  Preston's mom and dad are both right around 45 pounds with his mom having more of the golden retriever look and his dad having more of the poodle look.  Preston is now 45 pounds and starting to fill out more now that he is a year old.  He was the runt of the litter, so I wish I knew how big some of his brothers and sisters are because they were quite a bit bigger than he was (he was 8 pounds when we brought him home at 8 weeks).

Have you decided where this guy will sleep when you bring him home?  We were all set to have Preston sleep in his kennel and brought it into our bedroom the first night.  He slept for about an hour in it, woke up and cried until I brought him into bed with us where he has been ever since.  I know some people don't like to have their dogs in their beds, but we love it - he's a total snuggler and he keeps us nice and warm.

[Jennifer / Matt]

Zoe is settling in nicely, she was very shy when we first brought her home but the last week has really brought out her inquisitive side. She is teaching us how to play fetch, loves the snow, and is responding well to a few commands. She is really quite mouthy though and loves to try and get our attention with bites or play bite our feet, hands etc.

Your newest pictures of your little boy are so adorable. What size do you think he is going to be? His coloring is beautiful! Can't wait to see more pictures as you get them.