My first doodle!!!!!

[Stephanie]

I have been looking to add a new member to the family since the beginning of the year, I finally found the ALD breed and fell in love. After researching daily, I found a reputable breeder that is part of ALAA and immediately signed a contract. So excited to meet my puppy, I am expecting pick up in about a month.

I heard that doodles can be mouthy so I bought a ton of freezable teething toys and bones. I'm wondering if I should also buy bitter apple? This would be my first time using it, my other dogs never needed it.

Also I'm thinking to switch the food around week 2, so it can be the same brand as my current dog. Any thoughts about the Wellness (dry & wet) foods?

And do you have any other suggestions before my puppy's arrival? 

Thanks :) 

[Dena Atchison]

The bitter apple is good but if you want to save some money my dog trainer suggested a spray bottle & mix it with 1/3 apple cider vinegar and the rest water.  It totally did the trick for us and we just got our second Doodle on Friday & I will be making myself a spray bottle tomorrow.  :-)  I don't know anything about the food but once we stop giving her puppy food we plan on transiting to the same food our other dog eats.  My only suggestion would be to rest up.  Hahahaha!  I feel like we have another newborn and I've only had this puppy for five days.....I'm exhausted.  lol  

[Stephanie]

Oh that's great, I will definitely have to try that. Yeah, it's much easier to have to buy one food instead of two. Plus, the one recommended by the breeder seems to be hard to find in store. Haha, I definitely remember the puppy nights with my current dog, two weeks straight without being able to sleep through the night. I saw the pictures that you posted of your new doodle, she is absolutely adorable! 

[Stephanie]

Yes I have everything ready for when I bring my puppy home, there are no shoes on the floor or anything that is chewable besides toys. With my other dog, when she was a puppy, she had nothing to chew of mine so she started biting the wood moldings. Once I saw that I just trained her that it was something not to do because I didn't know the bitter apple existed. Thanks for the advice! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Regarding food, we have a very large, very active Food Group here on DK with tons of information, recommendations, etc. Wellness is one of our recommended brands. However, you must not change the pup's diet in any way for at least two weeks after he/she comes home, for several reasons.  The Food Group.

It's been my experience that all puppies are mouthy. :)

[Stephanie]

Yes I was going through all the information there as well, I'm glad to hear its recommended. I was planning to change around week 2 because I know of all the possible issues when changing earlier. I agree that all of them can be mouthy, after reading everything, I just thought that many were saying doodles are a lot more than the average pup. But I also think it depends on the puppy. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I found the freezable bones stuffed with peanut butter, cheese, or even some liverwurst (probably not on the recommended foods list :)  were great. I also had one of those small interactive toys that you could fill with kibble and he'd roll it around to get one or two pieces at a time. It was called a "Busy Buddy Twist and Treat." Giving my ALD lots that he could chew on, kept most other things safe through puppyhood. He did chew through his dog beds, never happy until he got all the stuffing out and his stuffed toys had a very short lifespan. I was worried about him eating the stuffing so his bed became a crate pad (or my bed) and stuffed toys only under supervision. Yes, they do need lots of exercise as puppies :)  Finn ate Wellness for his first year and did great on it.