Goldendoodle joining our family!

[Megan5]

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Hello everyone,

After a long time searching for the right puppy for us, we have finally found Teddy who will be joining us on the 8th December. He is an f1b goldendoodle. I have spent the last week or so getting the house prepared for him (his home is going to be under the stairs which is currently having new flooring etc fitted ready for his arrival) and buying lots of new things for him.

I am just wondering if anyone else in here has a goldendoodle and has any advice? Or just puppy advice in general would be amazing! I'm feeling very anxious, I know it is going to be a crazy few months but atleast I am mentally preparing myself for it now

Megan

 

[Kara 1]

Can i ask what you mean his home is going to be under the stairs ...

 

[JoanneF]

Can i ask what you mean his home is going to be under the stairs ...

and (sorry) whether his name will be Harry Potter ...

 

[Megan5]

We have a large what used to be cupboard under the stairs, which the door has been removed etc. Like the photo I have attached to this comment. Just without the actual house decor.

 

[JudyN]

He's a lucky dog! I did a homecheck at a house once where their current dog had a very secluded den under the stairs - it was her safe place during fireworks, when too many people for her stress levels were round, and so on. But do introduce it gradually, and don't expect her to love it straight away.

I really like Patricia McConnell's book The Puppy Primer - it goes into a lot of detail.

 

[Kara 1]

I always use a large crate in our bedroom for pups to sleep for the first 6 mths ...get one big enough for when he grows ....take him outside to the garden after every meal and at least every hour or so whilst he is awake. ...i always say pee pee and when they pee or poo lots of praise and a treat. ...
Look for a good high quality dog food , i feed raw but its not for everyone .....
My friend has a goldendoodle and he is a lovely dog

 

[Megan5]

I just want somewhere he can go to have peace if he should want it, somewhere if I say bed he will know where to go. I don't doubt he will probably end up in our bedroom most nights but it would just be nice for him to have somewhere to associate with bed. I shall take a look at the book you recommended thankyou, try and do lots more homework before we bring him home. I've been in contact with a couple of puppy training classes also, some of which will be starting when it is safe for her to go out after immunisations. Thanks for your help with the toilet training, sounds good to me. I had also planned to get up every couple of hours in the night, so he can go to the toilet. However, a lady at work didn't recommend this and said he would expect this treatment all the time, even as an adult. But I don't see how a puppy can hold it in for 8+ hours a night?

I am really torn on the food front, I don't know what is best. What do you feed your dog on a raw diet? I have looked at butternut and tails box's also but my husband doesn't think they are worth the money.

 

[JudyN]

I think the trick to taking him out at night is to make it really boring - take him out on lead, give a bit of praise when he performs, then take him back in and put him back to bed. Then he won't whine to go out just because he wants to have fun.

I feed raw - my dog has assorted minces (mostly chicken mixed with something else - duck, liver, hearts, rabbit, oily fish, tripe...) and chicken carcasses. I also give him a raw quail egg (he's not posh, but chicken eggs upset his tum) and a blended mix of veg. Others add natural yoghurt, goat milk, fish oils... The jury's out, IMO, on how useful these additives are, but many dogs do really well on raw. Just today someone commented on how mine was quite young... he'll be 10 next month! Pricewise, it's probably comparable to a good-quality kibble, depending on your supplier, but many people can do it for a lot less, particularly if they know a friendly butcher or gamekeeper

 

[JoanneF]

However, a lady at work didn't recommend this and said he would expect this treatment all the time, even as an adult. But I don't see how a puppy can hold it in for 8+ hours a ni

She is talking nonsense I'm afraid. Your puppy is a baby, he simply won't have the muscle control to hold for any length of time. As his muscles develop, he will happily hold overnight (possibly from about 4 months old provided he has a late night toilet and an early morning one).

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want him to not be in a position where he needs to toilet before you have him outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set him up to succeed by taking him out even more than he needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. The time between a puppy realising they need to toilet, and being unable to hold that toilet, is zero. So your aim is to have him outside before he can't help himself. When he toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward him with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make him come to you for the treat so he is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that he eventually wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until he is outside - once he is physically able to control his toileting obviously. As he is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words he can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when he is reliably trained you can use these to tell him when you want him to toilet.

If you take him out and he doesn't toilet after five minutes, bring him in but don't take your eyes off him. Any hint of a toilet inside, scoop him up and get him out fast. If he doesn't try to toilet indoors (great!) take him out a second time and repeat until you do get outside toilets. You need the outside toilet to happen SO that you can reward SO that he learns.

If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Dogs cant make the distinction between you being annoyed at him TOILETING, as opposed to toileting INDOORS. Take a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not having taken him outside in time. Not when he is there though in case you scare him. Then clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot.

Indoors if you see him circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get him out fast.

Overnight at first of course he is unlikely to be able to control his toilet as his little bladder and bowel are underdeveloped and not strong enough to hold all night so set your alarm to take him out at least once if not twice during the night.

I don't know if you were planning on using them but I really don't like puppy pads - they give mixed messages about whether it's ok to toilet indoors and confuse the puppy.

 

[niamh123]

I would sleep downstairs with your puppy when you bring her home she s going to be unsettled without you being there with her as she has left her littermates and everything she knows
As you are bringing her home on Dec 8th good luck with your Xmas tree staying in one piece