Puppy Tips

Thank you for choosing a puppy from us. All the puppies have been hand raised and are happy, healthy and ready to join their new families. Here are some things to know about your new puppy:

Sue and Blue

1. You have a new baby.  It has been sleeping, eating, and playing with it’s brothers and sisters and will now be depending on you for companionship, comfort and love.
3. If you have an existing dog(s) in your home do not leave them unattended until you know for sure they are reliable together and then keep an eye on them! A new puppy is sometimes a welcome new friend and sometimes not and will be much weaker than the older dog.
4. For people with small children, puppies bite and jump up and bite toes! They want to put everything in their mouths just like babies do. Have children wear long sleeves and pants and shoes until your puppy out grows these puppy behaviors. When the permanent teeth come in this usually stops. For jumping,  stepping back so they don’t have anything to jump on is very effective and when they are off gentle praise. Keeping your hand in their mouth until they forget about the puppy bites are usually effective. Petting them to get them to forget about it is also very good. Squatting to their level also discourages the jumping. Shouting is counter productive.
   

   It is important to teach children how to interact with the new puppy.

   Have his crate’s door open so he has a place to escape when he needs a break.
   Teach your children to never blow in the dogs face, never hit, kick, or throw objects at the dog.
   Teach your children not to run and scream around the puppy. This gets a puppy very excited and he will start to play with the children like he does his litter mates, with lots of nipping!
   Wake a puppy up slowly, no startling moves. Petting while eating is a good idea so the puppy learns that he does’t need to be protective of his food dish.

   Nipping is a natural way for puppies to play and they are not doing it to be aggressive or mean. But they need to be taught that it’s not ok to nip people. One of the biggest challenges you will have with young children is that puppies treat them like litter mates. Puppies nip each other in play, but they also teach each other when the nipping is too hard. Here is a natural way for you and your children to teach your puppy not to nip.

   If the puppy nips give a loud, very high pitched yelp and then turn away and stop playing with the puppy. This is how the puppies themselves teach each other what is too hard and undesirable. When your puppy starts mouthing give him or her a toy and praise her when she takes it. Your children can do this which will give them some control over a behavior that is troublesome and sometimes frightening to your child.

   Occasionally a puppy will be persistent with nipping. The adult (not children) should hold their muzzle firmly and tell him “NO” or “Hey!”. If he nips again repeat this over and over until he gets it. It’s not ok for a dog to nip people. Never leave a dog alone with a baby or child! Always supervise for the safety of both!!
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   Training.
   Obedience training (Puppy class) 12-16 weeks old. I would highly recommend that families go to classes, the classes are really teaching people how to raise the puppy correctly so bad habits don’t set in. It also is great for socializing the puppy and the teacher can answer questions on leash pulling, house breaking, nipping, jumping etc that comes with the first few challenging months.

   Presley and Madison graduate!

5. The puppies have been raised on Now Puppy dry food, made by Petcurian. As they get older you can give them some variety,  if you wish, there are many excellent foods for older puppies. They should have 3-meals a day. They have been eating at around 7, 2 and 7 with cookies or liver treats at bed time. This keeps them from throwing up yellow bile in the morning, indicating their stomach is empty and irritated and they need food!
6. I have been soaking the dry food with warm hot water until a little soft and mixing in some canned food to make it and easy to eat, some dry kibbles can go in as well to get them used to the crunchy food as well.  I like canned foods that has no rice in it if possible. Tripe is also  favorite, but a little smelly for us humans! Global Pets is a great place to buy quality foods. The only grocery store brand of canned food I like is from Super Store, Nutrition First Puppy, no meat by products.
   They like small cookies. Now and Northern Biscuits have very good treats that are small and easy for a puppy to eat. These little cookies are perfect for training your puppy to come and be where you need them to be. Treats to go in the crate or car are important. Dried liver bits are easy to have in your pocket and will teach your puppy to come, sit, go in the crate; rewards are everything! Steakhouse Beef strips are my all time favorite  training treats. Wal Mart, Target.
7. The puppies are pad trained and pretty reliable going out on the deck. Always put your puppy out often and in the same spot you want it to go in your yard. Praise for this!For crate training, put your crate beside your bed and when the puppy needs comfort they will know you are near by. As soon as you take the puppy out of the crate, take it to the spot out doors. Carry your puppy to the spot, by the time it runs to the door it’s too late! Bladder control is the last thing to develop, sadly!
8. Always put a treat and a toy in the crate. I like soft sided crates for by your bed or in the car. They are light weight and easy to assemble or pack up. You can have one in the car, by the bed. If your puppy is a chewer watch the sides for holes! Wire sided crates are fine too, not as easy to move around but more durable  as the puppy gets older and you can attach your exercise pen to it for a nice space when you are not home. You can leave food, water, toys pee pad in the ex pen.
9. Puppies like to be able to see what’s going on. Wire exercise pens are good to contain your puppy and available from most pet stores sell ex pens, and Toy’s R Us sells a very good play  yard pen that you can take apart and add to and they are the best place to buy the baby gates that fit into  doorways. Gates that are great and are pressure mounted  are great so you can move it.
10. Your puppy should be able to sleep from 10:00 to about 6:00.  Remember, puppies pee and poop after eating and sleeping, count on it! Getting up around 2:00 for a quick potty break can be a good idea for the first week or so.
11. Puppies are like children and like to be spoken to in a friendly, kind, voice, their name should always be a pleasant sound. To get your puppy’s attention a firm “Hey” is much more effective than shouting and using their name in a harsh tone.
12. They will need quiet times! They love to play for short stints and then sleep. They love to be cuddled and have their little tummies softly rubbed.
13. Always know where your puppy is. If your yard is not fenced you will need to be with them. Home Depot and Home Hardware building centers sell concrete re-enforcing mesh and wire and T-bars and you can put up a very inexpensive fence quickly. Always have protection for your puppy from the elements. Teach them to walk on a leash and if available enroll in puppy school around 3 months of age. Puppy classes should be fun and no stress for the puppy. Always have small yummy treats for training, they will watch you and be much more responsive. Treats should be fast to eat, little chewing required so that they get the treat and move onto the next thought with you. Steakhouse Beef Strips are my favorite training treats. Wal Mart or in bulk at Costco.ca

    Eaten socks mean surgery!!

14. Pick up your puppy carefully and always hold the bum close to protect the hips. Your puppy should not be allowed to climb more that a few stairs until after they are 4 months old. Avoid long flights of stair until 6 months. Tile and wood floors are slippery so watch those hips! Your puppy will enjoy your yard and walks that are not too long, up to six months. Too much exercise will stress joints and muscles and a young nervous system.  If your puppy jumps just gently set it back down or take a step back so there isn’t anything to jump on.  Learn to make eye contact with it so it is tuned into what you want. Reward the eye contact with praise and/or a treat.
15. If your puppies should get diarrhea try pumpkin with yogurt and if they should be constipated use pumpkin. Also pepto tablets in little canned food help a lot. I like Kaopectate a lot. 3 cc in a syringe on the side of the mouth, yummy! Try this  twice a cay and  if it continues for more than a day or so, see the vet!
16. Clean water should always be available.
17. Get your puppy used to having its ears cleaned with a soft cloth or the round cosmetic pads and a solution from your vet. Their ears will be quite hairy as they get older and this can be gently pulled out by hand by your groomer and if they are quite waxy (brown) a little Panalog ointment or Surluan is a good idea. (from the vet)
18. Your puppy’s coat will get very long. Try to keep it from matting with gently combing and grooming. A steel comb with fairly wide teeth will keep the mats out but around a year you may have to scissor or shave that baby coat. It’s always nice to keep their face long so you recognize your dog! You can trim the bangs, bears and ears by just cutting straight across. Comb out the matts.
19. Toys!A large stuffed animal that lies fairly flat is a great companion for your puppy to curl up with to have where he is going for naps, sleeps and needs a cuddle. Egg cartons, card board boxes, milk jugs, pop bottles without the labels make great toys.  Check out Frenchie’s for good toys! Watch hard eyes and noses, they can be ingested. Also, no toys with the little beads in the feet! Dollarama, great toys.
20. Your puppy has had it’s first shots at 7.5 weeks and will be ready the second set at round 12 and 16 weeks. These should be repeated at one year and then again every three years. They have been dewormed 3 x with stongid and will be ready to be done again when you visit your vet. They have also had Safe Guard, panacure, for giardia and Bacox or Marquis for coccidia. Spring will be flea and tick season your vet will have good products for this.
21. Visit my website for an informative look at puppy development stages. www.labradoodlesbydesign.com  refer to this often it explains why your puppy is doing what it does at certain stages.
22. Some things that are dangerous for your puppy are sugarless gum, (xylotol sweetener, deadly) chocolate, anti freeze, onions.
23. Some treats your puppy will like, boiled eggs, broccoli( small amounts), small pieces of carrot (cooked is best) and apples, cheese, cottage cheese, peas in the shell. Pieces of raw hide, raw marrow bones, rawhide sticks, without dyes or glue.
24. Bully sticks are pricey but appreciated! Watch raw hide, it can bloat inside the puppy. Use bigger pieces just for chew on, not eating. Always read ingredients on treats, no propylene glycol or dies.
25. Your puppy’s health  is guaranteed against any heritable traits.  Health takes constant care and attention.  The coat is guaranteed to be non-shedding.
26. Please keep in touch on your puppy’s progress. If for any reason you are no long able to keep you puppy from Labradoodles by Design please contact me first, this is in your contract. I will always have any contact information on my website.

Enjoy your puppy! It is smart and full of love! Care, consistency and kisses make a puppy your best friend for life! Thank you so much for choosing one of our puppies!

For some more reading, you can also check out Vandoodles great page on puppy training here.
I have been your puppy’s whole world and now it is trusting you to take my place.