| Please scroll down to find "Puppy Care Tips", "Puppy Training Tips", a list of "Poisonous Foods for Dogs" and an article on training written by Pat Miller. Hopefully this information will assist you in preparing for and settling in your new puppy. |
PUPPY CARE TIPS
FEEDING - Your puppy has been used to having free access to dry puppy food 24 hours a day. It is now time for your
puppy to have regularly scheduled meals. You need to offer 4 meals a day for the first two weeks – breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and an evening snack. Your puppy may only nibble at these meals or may not be interested at all in some meals.
You should make the meal available for 15 minutes. If the bowl is emptied, offer more. It is best to feed these meals
inside the crate to help establish the crate as its den. In two weeks, eliminate the evening snack. In another two weeks,
eliminate lunch. Your puppy should be maintained on two meals for the rest of its life. Mini Goldendoodles should be
given regular puppy food. Standard Goldendoodles should be given puppy food formulated for large breed puppies.
TREATS/REWARDS – Buy a small bag of a different brand of dry puppy food and use the kibble as a reward. Your
puppy thinks everything other than its typical food is a treat. This way you can reward your puppy as often as you like
throughout its training and you haven’t spoiled its appetite with unhealthy or unbalanced treats. You can also use plain
Cheerios.
THE FIRST WEEK – Your puppy can sleep through the night, but will not because of the transition and separation
anxiety it will experience when going to a new home. Crate training is recommended and complete instructions can be
found on my website – www.Goldendoodles.net. The first night is typically the most difficult and you should see
improvement each night. You should walk your puppy as the last task before your bedtime. Make sure you give it ample
time to eliminate. Then place the puppy in its crate with a towel or blanket and some toys. The crate should be just large
enough for the puppy to stand up, turn around, and lay down. Let the puppy cry itself to sleep. It may wake up again
and cry, but you should not take the puppy out of the crate until at least 3 hours have passed. Do not wake a sleeping
puppy! Anytime after the 3 hour limit that the puppy wakes up crying, take it out to eliminate and then put the puppy
back in the crate and let it cry. If you are consistent with this method, your puppy should be sleeping through the night
within a week (7 to 9 hours).
CRATE CONFINEMENT – Your puppy should be placed in the crate during any unsupervised time. The crate is used
like a playpen for a human toddler. At 8 weeks of age, your puppy is on the same level as a one year old human
toddler. One would never allow a one year old human toddler to have free range of a house or be left unsupervised for
even a minute. If your puppy has an accident that you do not catch as it is happening, do not scold the puppy, but
instead, scold yourself. The puppy only associates the scolding with the act if it is caught in the act. Each accident that
happens in the house is a step backwards in the training and should be avoided. A puppy should not be played with on
the floor unless it has just eliminated outside. This will help to avoid the accident. If the playtime exceeds an hour, the
puppy should be taken outside to eliminate again. In the crate, the limit is 3 hours, but outside the crate, the limit is one
hour. Every month, the limit can be increased by one hour.
GROOMING – Your puppy should be brushed every day if possible. Even though you will not find tangles or mats until
the coat grows somewhat, you want your puppy to be used to being brushed. If you wait until the coat is tangled or
matted, the process will not be pleasant for your puppy and you want him/her to learn that grooming is a fun process. As
the coat grows longer and thicker, make sure you are brushing from the root out so you don’t leave mats close to the
skin. Brushes you will want to use are a slicker brush to separate the hairs and a rake when you are done as it will find
tangles you missed. Every day you should squeeze between the toes gently to desensitize your puppy to make clipping
nails easier. Nails should be clipped about once a month. When the adult coat is in (about 6-9 mos. of age), you will
want to brush your dog completely at least twice a week, but daily is preferred. At this time, many Goldendoodles need
their first trim. The dry, unhealthy looking puppy coat can be removed to reveal the healthy adult coat underneath. F1
Goldendoodles can be left full coated or can be clipped perhaps 4 times a year. F1B Goldendoodles typically need to be
clipped every 6-8 weeks.
FEEDING - Your puppy has been used to having free access to dry puppy food 24 hours a day. It is now time for your
puppy to have regularly scheduled meals. You need to offer 4 meals a day for the first two weeks – breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and an evening snack. Your puppy may only nibble at these meals or may not be interested at all in some meals.
You should make the meal available for 15 minutes. If the bowl is emptied, offer more. It is best to feed these meals
inside the crate to help establish the crate as its den. In two weeks, eliminate the evening snack. In another two weeks,
eliminate lunch. Your puppy should be maintained on two meals for the rest of its life. Mini Goldendoodles should be
given regular puppy food. Standard Goldendoodles should be given puppy food formulated for large breed puppies.
TREATS/REWARDS – Buy a small bag of a different brand of dry puppy food and use the kibble as a reward. Your
puppy thinks everything other than its typical food is a treat. This way you can reward your puppy as often as you like
throughout its training and you haven’t spoiled its appetite with unhealthy or unbalanced treats. You can also use plain
Cheerios.
THE FIRST WEEK – Your puppy can sleep through the night, but will not because of the transition and separation
anxiety it will experience when going to a new home. Crate training is recommended and complete instructions can be
found on my website – www.Goldendoodles.net. The first night is typically the most difficult and you should see
improvement each night. You should walk your puppy as the last task before your bedtime. Make sure you give it ample
time to eliminate. Then place the puppy in its crate with a towel or blanket and some toys. The crate should be just large
enough for the puppy to stand up, turn around, and lay down. Let the puppy cry itself to sleep. It may wake up again
and cry, but you should not take the puppy out of the crate until at least 3 hours have passed. Do not wake a sleeping
puppy! Anytime after the 3 hour limit that the puppy wakes up crying, take it out to eliminate and then put the puppy
back in the crate and let it cry. If you are consistent with this method, your puppy should be sleeping through the night
within a week (7 to 9 hours).
CRATE CONFINEMENT – Your puppy should be placed in the crate during any unsupervised time. The crate is used
like a playpen for a human toddler. At 8 weeks of age, your puppy is on the same level as a one year old human
toddler. One would never allow a one year old human toddler to have free range of a house or be left unsupervised for
even a minute. If your puppy has an accident that you do not catch as it is happening, do not scold the puppy, but
instead, scold yourself. The puppy only associates the scolding with the act if it is caught in the act. Each accident that
happens in the house is a step backwards in the training and should be avoided. A puppy should not be played with on
the floor unless it has just eliminated outside. This will help to avoid the accident. If the playtime exceeds an hour, the
puppy should be taken outside to eliminate again. In the crate, the limit is 3 hours, but outside the crate, the limit is one
hour. Every month, the limit can be increased by one hour.
GROOMING – Your puppy should be brushed every day if possible. Even though you will not find tangles or mats until
the coat grows somewhat, you want your puppy to be used to being brushed. If you wait until the coat is tangled or
matted, the process will not be pleasant for your puppy and you want him/her to learn that grooming is a fun process. As
the coat grows longer and thicker, make sure you are brushing from the root out so you don’t leave mats close to the
skin. Brushes you will want to use are a slicker brush to separate the hairs and a rake when you are done as it will find
tangles you missed. Every day you should squeeze between the toes gently to desensitize your puppy to make clipping
nails easier. Nails should be clipped about once a month. When the adult coat is in (about 6-9 mos. of age), you will
want to brush your dog completely at least twice a week, but daily is preferred. At this time, many Goldendoodles need
their first trim. The dry, unhealthy looking puppy coat can be removed to reveal the healthy adult coat underneath. F1
Goldendoodles can be left full coated or can be clipped perhaps 4 times a year. F1B Goldendoodles typically need to be
clipped every 6-8 weeks.
