Questions from a first time doodle owner

[Daniel Benjamin]

Hey Guys,

So glad I got to be a part of this community. You guys seem really great and knowledgable. So I just got my first ever dog (my wonderful goldendoodle cooper!) last week. He is now 9 weeks old and I have a ton of questions! Maybe you guys can help? I feel so lost! I want to be the best doodle owner I can be! 

1. Cooper seems to be biting a TON. (sometimes even breaking skin!). My girlfriend and I are concerned about this behavior. Did you guys also experience this with your baby doodles? Did this behavior subside over time? What can we do without scolding him? We definitely favor the idea of positive reinforcement over negative reinforcement.

2. My girlfriend and I have been taking turns waking up every 3 hours at night to take Coop out to pee. We live in an apartment and we are afraid that if we leave him in his crate for the duration of the night that he will either pee his crate or hold it in too much and have a bladder infection. Did you guys also have to wake up in the middle of the night to take your doodle out to pee? If so, until what age do you think this will be necessary to do. It's so hard for us to wake up in the middle of the night every single night! 

3. We would like to start leash training Cooper soon! At what age did you guys start leash training your doodle? Is 9 weeks too early?

4. Cooper can sometimes be quite anti-social with me and my girlfriend. We thought that since we are his parents that he would be very loving and constantly affectionate with us, but we are finding that sometimes he just doesn't care about us at all. I would almost use the word apathetic. Like we'll call him and he just looks at us and doesn't care. Is this antisocial behavior normal for a 9 week old pup? Sometimes we feel like we don't really have a great loving bond with Cooper yet. How long did it take you guys to bond with your doodle? Did it take time or was it pretty instantaneous? I know he is only 9 weeks old but I'm slightly concerned since I had thought that puppies would be super loving and affectionate with their owners. Does this take time to develop?

Thank you guys for all of your help. This message board is a life saver for me!

Daniel

FYI, I accidentally posted this as a blog post as well. Sorry for the overload.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi Daniel, everyone has covered great territory here, I would just re-iterate looking into Doggy Dan The Online Dog Trainer as for me, pulling up a vid I had a question about, was huge. Also get enrolled into a good puppy kindergarten class - they drain pup's energy, socialize him, and help you with questions. Just make sure they are cleaning and check records. About the bond, I felt the same. I was all business and it took time for this little guy to win me over - at least a few weeks for me to let down my barrier and then a few more to really melt for him. It is hard to believe now, cause he is the most loved pup, ever! They really win/earn you over eventually. You will have more and more bonding experiences and the learning and trust happens quickly in both directions. Keep up the training and have fun! Best,