Goldendoodle Puppy Pick Up Day Letter

The First Days at Home

Puppy pick up day is very exciting! I talk to my customers before they go home and give many suggestions. Puppy take home day is not only a big day for you, but an extremely big day for your puppy. Remember your Goldendoodle puppy is still in its infant stage. Puppies just like babies love to be held, but remember their little bodies can get sore when they are held too much.

Step 1: Before bringing him in the house, take him to the designated potty area in your yard and spend a few minutes there. If he goes, praise him. Be sure to take him to this spot each time he potties.

Step 2: Take him to the room with his crate. This area will serve as his new "den" for several days. Put bedding and chew toys in the crate, leave the door open, and use a towel as bedding. Let him investigate the crate and the room. Sit in the floor and acclimate him to his new home. Give him opportunities to go in and out of the crate. Remember with crate training if he chews or urinates on his bedding, permanently remove it from the crate.

Step 3: Observe and interact with your puppy while he's getting used to his new home. This will help forge a sense of "pack" and establish you as the pack leader.

Special Puppy Concerns

Don't treat a puppy as young as 8 to 12 weeks like an adult dog. Treat him the same way you would an infant, with patience, constant supervision, and a gentle touch. The way you interact with your puppy at this age is critical to his socialization. Use these tips:

· Supervise your puppy at all times and interact with him regularly.

· Be alert for signs (sniffing and circling) that he has to go to the bathroom, and take him outside immediately.

· A young puppy has no bladder control, and will need to urinate immediately after eating, drinking, sleeping, or playing. At night, he will may need to relieve himself at least every three hours. Goldendoodlelou puppies may sleep through the night on day one, and are all usually sleeping through the night by the end of the first week. Call me if you have questions. I also have an article on potty training on my goldendoodlelou.com webpage.

· Don't punish an accident. Never push his nose in the waste or scold him. He won't understand, and may learn to go to the bathroom when you're out of sight.

· Praise your puppy every time he goes to the bathroom outside.

· Feed your puppy Purina Focus Lamb and Rice Puppy Food for the first year. If you have another food you want to feed you can transition after 3 months. Please remember grain free kibble sounds great however the research is suggesting it could give Goldendoodles and other breeds DCM. According to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration released in 2019, grain-free food might be giving dogs a life-threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM. The science is still preliminary, so we can continue to watch. Cooking fresh meals does not seem to be associated with DCM, and your vet can give you recipes on how to prepare fresh meals for you puppy which are nutritionally balanced. (AKC.org)

Family Meeting

Before you bring your puppy home have a family meeting to discuss some of the important issues of raising your new family member.

· Decide on common vocabulary and when it will be used. Will off be used when your puppy jumps on you, or will you use the word down. What word will you use when you want your goldendoodle to go in the crate? What word will you use when you want your puppy to go to the bathroom?

· House Rules: Remember it is important to be consistent on rules when your puppy is young. As your puppy grows they start earning privileges, and some of the rules can be changed. One example, we do not let our puppies have the privilege of going in our basement until they are a year old. Why? We do this because I always want to know where my puppy is, and it keeps him safe. Remember puppies need to know their rules, boundaries and limitations. Where will your puppy sleep at night? Who will take your puppy for walks? Who will feed your puppy? When your puppy comes in from outside, does everyone know it must get a treat? Yes, it is important to instill the come command from day one. Every time your puppy comes it deserves a treat. This is a process called shaping, and is one of the most important commands you can teach and reward. Will your puppy be allowed on the furniture? Lots of questions to discuss.

· Routine: Set up your routine and realize you will have to adjust as your puppy grows. Puppies need to know they will be fed at a certain time every day. Your puppy will need to eat as much as it wants three times a day. I leave the food down for 15 minutes and let it eat as much as it wants. I then pull the food until the next feeding. Water is also monitored during the first 4 to 5 months so I can help with the potty- training process. I will give you the feeding schedule on pick up day.

· Exercise: Your Goldendoodle will not be ready for long walks and runs until your vet approves. Their bones are growing and the repetitive motion of running or walking on a leash is much different than running and playing in the yard. Leash walks which are short and can be given multiple times a day are perfect. A ten week old puppy might only walk 200 yards on a leash before becoming tired. Every puppy is different so observe your puppy and make walks a pleasant experience. Always take a treat on your walks and practice basic commands. Walks should be fun for you and your puppy.

Children and Pets

When you bring him home, don't let them play with him constantly. Puppies need a lot of rest, just like a growing child. Limit puppy-children play sessions.

· Young children might be tempted to shout at a puppy if they think he's doing something wrong. Be sure kids understand that puppies and dogs can be easily upset and startled by loud noises.

· No teasing. Keeping a toy just out of reach will reinforce bad habits such as jumping up and excessive barking.

· Wagging tails and play biting can be too rough for young children. Supervise puppy-child interactions and separate them if the play is too rough.

· Teach kids to care for a dog by showing them how to feed and groom him.

LASTLY: Call me if you have any questions, and I can help problem solve with you. Your puppy has had excellent care, and the way your puppy is shaped in the next three to eight months will determine most of the behavior for the rest of its life. Reinforce the wanted behavior and reflect on what you are doing if you are getting unwanted behavior. Make sure you are showing and telling your puppy what you want it to do. Example. If your puppy is chewing on the baseboard say no and then give it a hard bone to chew on. Always redirect and show your puppy what you expect and then reward. Goldendoodles want to please their families.