Brand New Doodle Mom & Dad!!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Any pointers on in sight for new parents to a lovely doodle will be grateful!! Bella is amazing!! She attached herself to my husband right off the bat and he is leaving for deployment in 2wks, How do we handle that? And we believe is already potty trained, but is she just being good for us for the first day or so? Any pointers on anything or insight about doodles will be helpful. Thanks!

[LINDA & TEDDY]

Congrats on your new furbaby! Bella is absolutely adorable. My only advice is to enjoy her and makes sure she gets lots of daddy cuddling these next two weeks. After that mom can hog the baby and dad be safe LOL!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Our dog potty trained very quickly too. One day I was talking on the phone to a trainer that we were thinking of hiring for future training classes. I told her that Thomas was potty trained and she replied"no he's not-YOU are the one who is trained". I ended the conversation and never called her again. Our dog would sit at the back door to go outside and from then on NEVER had an accident in the house. To me this is good enuf to call potty trained! I think Bella is just smart like our pup-they learn things like this quickly. I'm so sorry that your husband has to leave in two weeks, that will be so hard for you to have him leave especially with a new puppy. Good luck-you will gets tons of great advice here and anytime you have an issue-just ask. Our pup is 6 months old now and the members of doodle kisses have helped us so much!

[Janie]

Good luck on your new puppy. Sorry, husband has to leave....tell him prayers go with him.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Just make sure you keep in your sights while potty training. The only accidents Samantha had was when I was cooking and not paying attention to where she was. They were my fault.
The best thing you could do with Bella now is have fun and takes lots of pictures and videos!! They change so fast it is amazing.
Do you have her signed up for puppy kindergarten? You will learn so much in those classes that will make her a well trained pup you will enjoy. We had so much fun together and we both learned to work together. A time that can never be replaced. Have fun!!!!!

[Deena Womack]

What a cutie!!! Congratulations on your new Bella!!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Daddy is going to send t-shirts home that he has worn for her so she will be around his smell while he gone. She has done so good today and she is the laziest puppy I have ever seen. But something perks our interest. She barks at the kitchen in gneral, isnt that odd??

[Kim Williams]

Your Bella is beautiful. So sorry Eric has to deploy. You will have the BEST companion ever with your doodle while waiting on your husband to return.

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

How are they around toddlers? Usually! She was around a 2yr old at teh place that we got her for a few minutes and seemed to be just fine. I have a 4yr old and a 2 yr old.

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

We are a very PROUD Mom and Dad right now! Bella made it through the night without going potty or whining. We are just amazed. She is such a good pup!

[Bella & her Mom & Dad]

Bella has decided to be bad today for some reason. Potty 3 times in the house and wont go for dad outside on the leash and she is also having issues with her harness. We have a harness on her instead of a collar because we live in a apt complex its safer that way I believe, just in case. How do we punish her. Dad doesnt want to make her go to crate when she is in trouble because he doesnt want it hellish to make her go to bed at night. Any good pointers on how to get the point across to her. Our way seems to not be working. Oh and we are walking her ever hr during the day.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Ignore bad behaviour, praise good behaviour. I went through this-I think everyone does. My pup is still only six months old and sometimes it is hard to ignore their bad habits-and believe me I am no expert-just following our trainers advice plus all the advice I've received on this site. But when you make a big deal out of something-they think you are giving them attention which of course they love. Make a huge deal when she pees or poops outside-good girl!!! If she has an accident inside-simply say in a very sad voice"bad dog" and clean it up. Our pup was trained in two weeks, but we did have a backyard to take him out in-although it was soooo cold. She will get this "drill" soon and they "just know" that they have to do this outside. Re the harness-the first time, I leashed up my pup-he screamed like someone was killing him. We just kept on walking him ignoring the bad and praising the good. Now he never pulls on his leash and walks like a real gentleman. He does other things that can be annoying, but he walks on his leash very nicely.

[Adina P]

You won't get the point across to a pup this young. You don't need to. NO punishment is necessary because at this point she'll only be afraid to pee in front of you rather than learn that indoors is bad.

Keep your eyes glued to her when she is loose in the house and if you can't do that then put her in her crate.

Puppies need to pee LOTS: after naps, after and during playing, after eating, after drinking, after chewing, etc.
So take her out LOTS when she is loose in the house -- every 15-20 minutes.
Praise her TONS for going outside and give her a yummy treat so she sees how rewarding potty outside can be.
Don't worry about accidents for now...just usher her outside if you catch her in the act so she can finish outside. she really can't help it and until she feels like your whole house is her 'home' she will have accidents.

Patience and consistency is best.