​Here are some basic things to know when caring for your puppy: ​

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1. Exercise. Extensive running and jumping or stair climbing can damage still developing joints--especially for our standard sized doodles.  Standards will continue to grow and fill out until around 2 years old.  Miniatures and mediums will usually be done growing before a year old. Playing in the yard, playing with kids and going on walks are all great activities for puppies! Many of our adult mini and medium dogs are avid running/jogging partners.  Until your puppy is fully immunized after 16 weeks of age avoid areas of high dog concentration where you don't know the dogs--so avoid dog parks, pet stores, busy rest stop areas or busy walkways.  

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2.  Vaccines. Our puppies receive passive immunity when they nurse from mom but Mom's antibodies wear off somewhere between 6 and 15 weeks of age.  There is no way to tell for sure when a vaccine is effective so we vaccinate in a series to maximize immunity and reduce risk of rampant dog disease.   Ideally we would vaccinate just after mom's immunity has worn off but before the puppy is exposed to disease.  There is only one vaccine called Neopar that can provide immunity against parvo even in the presence of mom's antibodies.  We give our puppies Neopar at 5 weeks old.  Most vets will not accept full vaccinations done by a breeder because they don't know if we have transported, stored and delivered vaccines correctly.  We totally understand.  In order to expose your baby to the minimum amount of vaccines but get the maximum effect, we only vaccinate against Parvo (the most common and dangerous puppy disease) and we allow our vet to administer the full vaccines at 7-8 weeks when they are more likely to be effective. You will need to schedule an appointment with your vet when your puppy is 11 and again at 16 weeks old to have their boosters administered. We promise you do not want to have a dog with parvo.  Don't skip your vaccines!

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3. First day Home: First thing at home, take your puppy out to the potty area to let them get used to their new surroundings and hopefully go potty right away! Sometimes you might have to ignore your puppy for a minute and slowly walk away from them if they are too excited to go potty. Once they go, treat with food and attention! 

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Puppies need to go potty about every 2 hours or after they wake up, eat, drink or play.  You want them to go potty in front of you so that you can reward that behavior liberally.  Trust us on this!  The more often your puppy is treated for going potty outside the more intentional the behavior (potty-ing) will become.  

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4. Feeding: We give our puppies free access to water all the time during the day.  Take water up a couple of hours before bedtime. Dry food should be served in two to three smaller servings. Puppies tend to use the bathroom right after they eat so regularly scheduled meals will help with potty training.  Don't leave food out for more than 15 minutes with each meal.  If your puppy doesn't eat when you put the food down then offer it again at the next meal time. Many babies will go off their food for a day or two when they get to their new home. Give them a little time to adjust and they will get back to a regular eating schedule.  Many will naturally start to "back off" or not finish the mid-day meal at about 3-6 months of age.  This is fine, and this is a good time to go down to 2 meals a day- if you haven't already done so. Just distribute the same amount into 2 meals.  A similar thing can happen at about 8 months to a year when some puppies naturally go down to 1 meal a day. Some dogs do better with morning and night feedings and some will naturally prefer just to eat at night or in the morning. We never recommend free feeding.  Take up any unfinished food after about 15 minutes. 

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Petite (expected weight 10-20 lbs) doodles are eating about 1/4. to 1/2  cup of food total divided 2-3 times a day.

Miniature (expected weight 20-30 lbs) doodles are eating about 1/2 to 3/4 cup  cup of total food divided 2-3 times a day.

Medium (expected weight 35-50 lbs) doodles are eating about 3/4 cup of food total divided 2-3 times a day.

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We generally feed outside to help with potty training. If your puppy is older than 9 weeks of age we will sometimes begin to feed them in their crate to help encourage positive association with their crate experience so that they can learn to love being in their crate.  Puppies will usually need to go to the bathroom within a few minutes of eating and drinking.  Always offer water with each feeding.  You may want to monitor drinking times while you are potty training but otherwise water should be available at all times. 

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*If your puppy has diarrhea you are probably feeding too much.  Cut back and see if that helps.  If it doesn't clear up within a day or two then a vet check may be in order.*

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4. Bedtime--choose a late bedtime and follow the instructions for sleeping. 

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5. Sleeping. Crate training. Your puppy has been sleeping in a crate but he/she hasn't always been sleeping alone in a crate.  The transition of learning to sleep alone can be a little stressful for a puppy and may take a few nights of crying if he/she is not already acclimated to this.  Here are some suggestions to make things easier:

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1. Take up food and water a couple of hours before bedtime. 

2. Choose a late bedtime. 

3. Take your puppy potty just before you go to bed. 

4. Hold, pet, soothe your puppy with you until he/she is dozing off to sleep.  Once he/she is sleepy put them in the crate with their blanket from their litter and shut the door.  If they whine or cry give them a few minutes to settle down on their own. If they continue to cry you can open the door and put your hand inside with them until they settle down.  Sometimes it can help to put the crate next to you in your room for the first few nights. It's okay if your puppy cries a bit.  It's not going to hurt them! A full panicked scream needs your attention.  If your puppy seems to be truly panicked you may need to take them out and help them calm down and re-introduce to the crate once the pup is asleep. Sometimes it can help to offer all meals/food in the crate to help create a positive association.

 

If your puppy wakes up in the middle of the night and cries then take them out to your designated potty spot quickly and without making too much fuss.  Puppies will often potty as soon as their feet hit the floor so it helps to pick them up and carry them to the potty spot.  Remember that this  is just potty time not play time.  You can give a small treat and then right back to the crate.  Follow the same procedure as at bedtime. An 8 week old puppy should be able to go 5-8 hours in a crate at night without needing to go out.  Some can go all night.  One hour in a crate per month of age is a general rule for daytime crating. 

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6. Start training right away!  You should already have completed your first two preparation units (Prep and Intro) from Bella and Baxter.  Puppy brains are fully ready for training at 7 weeks of age.  Remember that the most basic principle of training is that puppies will do whatever brings them rewards.  If they get treats and attention when they lay down next to the couch they are more likely to lay by the couch.  If they get treats and attention when they jump up and put their feet on you they will jump up and put their feet on you. Be careful not to reward 'cute' puppy behaviors that will be problematic in adults (ex: mouthing hands, putting feet up on you, barking for attention etc.) 

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7.  Basic grooming: All goldendoodles need to be groomed so it's important to get them accustomed to being brushed and handled every day.  Play with every part of your puppy and use your slicker brush to keep coats smooth and tangle free.  If your puppy tries to bite the brush or dislikes grooming time then keep the sessions short and offer a chew toy or other treat to distract during brushing. Your puppy will need to have a hair cut every 6-8 weeks.  You shouldn't need to give bathes too often in between grooming--over bathing can strip oils from the  coat and cause overproduction of oil to compensate.  

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8.  Diarrhea.  Loose stools are a common problem with puppies.  The first and most common problem is switching foods quickly.  Feed PawTree food during the initial adjustment to a new home and transition gradually if you want to use a different food.  Using the Gastro Pro Plus probiotic from PawTree will help during the transition of food if you wish to do so.

 

The second most common problem is over feeding.  If your puppy has soft squishy poop you may need to cut back on volume a little bit.  Poop consistency should be like a soft tootsie roll.

 

Another common cause of  of diarrhea are parasitic infections like giardia or coccidiosis.  Both of these can be passed form mother to puppy and can also be picked up from ground and water contamination or other adult dogs.  Adults can carry both giardia and coccidosis without having any symptoms.  Both of these things are common in nursing moms and puppies that have weakened immune systems. We treat mom and babies for both of these conditions preventatively along with standard de-worming treatments.  If diarrhea is watery or has mucous or if it continues more than two days then he/she needs to be seen by your veterinarian.  If your puppy is diagnosed with Coccidia please call us right away and we can get you medicine that the vets here in the United States don't have access to but is super quick and effective at eliminating coccidia. 

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9. Chewing.  When teeth are emerging, gums are sore and chewing can relieve the discomfort.  It's almost impossible to eliminate the urge to chew--the most successful management is to provide acceptable chewing resources.  Bully sticks, a Kong stuffed with food or small treats, frozen chew toys can all be great options.  We try to keep chew toys all around the house so that we can trade toys for shoes (or whatever) at any time.  Once the adult teeth are all in and set chewing will get much better.  Be diligent watching and you will survive the chewing stage of life! 

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10. Adolescence.  Just when you think your dog has settled down and is a the perfect pet you imagined, adolescence will set in and it will feel like you are starting over from scratch. This usually hits around 10 months and can last 4-6 months.  Don't despair.  This "relapse" is temporary. Continue with schedules, walks and training and your puppy will return to his baseline within a few months.  

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11. Spaying/neutering.  There is a lot of debate about this in the dog world right now.  The current trend is to leave dogs intact until they are 2 years old or older before spaying or neutering. The theory with this is that bone and body structure will be healthier if all adolescent hormones are present.  There are mixed reviews about this in the literature.  There are some cancers that have a reduced rate with sex altering procedures and some that are reduced by leaving dogs intact.  

 

Our experience is that most people ARE NOT PREPARED to handle a sexually mature dog. We have had more than one panicked phone call (not for our puppies thankfully!) because a 'puppy' mated with another dog before the owner even realized they were capable of mating. The behavior of un-fixed dogs can lead to unwanted pregnancy, lost pets, traffic accidents, digging, barking and all sorts of difficult behavior.  Overall the risks of not fixing outweigh the benefits. Dogs have been altered before puberty for generations and have lived long healthy happy lives. We recommend that you spay/neuter before puberty, at around six months of age or by 12 months old at the latest. We are passionate that puppies should only be created with intention and purpose.  Never as an accident.  

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There are really only a few Must Haves for a puppy.

Basic Supplies:

1. Collar and leash (start with size 'small' collar and a plain lightweight flat leash)

2. Crate and bed

3. Food 

4. Chew toys. 

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