Puppy Recommendations & Resources
Dog Training: Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzFRKsgVMhGTxffpzgTJlQ
Crying the first few nights
Yes, your puppy will cry. Puppies are used to sleeping with their litter mates so they will cry at night for the first week. Placing a blanket over their crate may make them feel more secure. It is OK to let them cry it out. Hopefully they will get lots of playtime during the day and sleep well for you at night very quickly.
Potty Training
When potty training a puppy consistency is the key. We recommend crate training. It may be a good idea to contain puppies in hard floor surface areas such as a kitchen and mudroom with baby gates until the puppy is completely accident free. It would also be a good idea to place the puppy’s crate in the mudroom or kitchen close to the backdoor. It is important to use the same exit when potty training a puppy so that they know what exit to go to when they have to go to the bathroom. We have used a bell to potty train some of our dogs. By hanging a bell on the doorknob and having the dog hit the bell with their paw before going outside the dog can learn to associate hitting the bell with the door being opened for them.
You will want to use the crate divider to make sure the crate is just large enough for the puppy to stand up and turn around. You do not want the crate to be large enough to allow for a sleeping area and bathroom area. Puppies do not want to go potty in their bed or sleeping area. You will want to place newspaper in the crate until the puppy starts to wake up dry in the morning. When you get up in the morning take the puppy outside first thing. Don’t let the puppy step outside the crate or they will squat and go to the bathroom once they get outside the crate. Scoop the puppy up and carry them directly outside. When taking the puppy outside to go to the bathroom ignore the puppy. This is not playtime. This is time for them to focus on going the bathroom. You may have to wait 10 or 15 minutes for them to go. You will need to be consistent taking the puppy outside throughout the day. When no one is watching the puppy it is important to make sure the puppy is contained in a safe area such as their crate or hard surface area. The last thing you do at night before heading to bed is take the puppy outside for one last bathroom break.
Feeding
We do not recommend placing food and water in the puppy’s crate unless the puppy will be in the crate for an extended period of time during the day.
The puppy will leave us used to three meals a day at approximately 7:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 5:00 PM. Our adult dogs eat twice a day at 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM. 1 cup for minis and two cups for standards.
Please make sure your puppy has plenty of water especially during hot summer days.
Purina Puppy Chow- your puppy is used to eating Purina Puppy Chow so we ask that you at least get one bag of this dog food so that your puppy is not adjusting to their new home and new food.
Crate Sizes
Mini to Medium Australian Labradoodles
24 height X 22 wide X 36 depth
Standard Labradoodle or Goldendoodle
28 height X 26 wide X 42 depth
Dog Toys
Kong dog toys are the best because they are made of hard, durable plastic. They may cost more money up front, but they will save on expensive vet bills in the long run.
Gentle leader- teaches your dog to walk with you and not pull on you. We recommend size small for minis and size medium for standards.
www.Chewy.com-have your dog food and pet supplies delivered to your door. You can get a discount on dog food with autoship.
Flea and tick collar in the spring we order Seresto flea and tick collars for our dogs from Chewy.com
Dog Collars we like https://www.blueberrypet.com/ where you can have your dog’s name and your phone number embroidered right on the collar so that they don’t worry about losing their tags.
Next round of shots- some vets give puppy shots at 9 weeks and some at 12 weeks.