Puppy Details

1. Food: Puppy NOW! made by Petcurean. It’s available at better pet stores, Global is always a good choice and Pet Valu, Good quality canned food with water to moisten. The only grocery store canned foods I like are from Super Store, Nutrition First. Purina Beyond is a good choice as well. Tripett is very good for digestion, stinky but good. The lamb is a favorite -Global and Pet Valu.
2. Acana is a very good second choice for kibble or Petcurean GO
3. The puppies are eating at 7:00, 2:00 and 7:00. You can make your own schedule that fits for you. They may eat more or less at a sitting. I leave the food out for about half and hour and then put the left overs in the fridge. You will see how much is the right amount to feed by what is gobbled up and what is left over. Start out with 3/4 of a cup softened with hot water and a quarter of a can of canned food mixed in. Boiled chicken thighs, liver, chicken livers are good on the food too. Hamburger is usually a hit! Eggs, any fruits and veggies they might like. Feed by hand often so puppy knows you are the source of its food. A little goat milk is still enjoyed.
4. Buy large water and food dishes., your puppy is not a cat or a gerbil.
5. Rice is pooped out! Mush it up or don’t feed at all.
6. Ears: always smell your puppy’s ears, if they smell a bit yeasty they need cleaning. It’s a good idea to clean every couple of weeks. I used the round cosmetic pads. When the puppies are little, soak the pad with a little Aveena cleaner, from the vet, or witch hazel of Apple Cider Vinegar. and clean the ear. As they get older you can put the cleaner in the ear and wipe out as needed, the Aveena wipes are perfect, just damp. You want to keep the ears clean and dry… Lots of brown and smelly, you need to treat and change the protein source of your food. Plucking hair from the ears is necessary for very hairy ears.
7. Have a groomer do it kindly and not too young, it hurts!
8. The puppies have always had a night light on.
9. Eyes: your puppy doesn’t tear but it will get little beads of dry eye mucous in the corners. When I am petting and playing I take a hold of it and pull it out quickly or brush it out quickly and the don’t even know they have had their eyes cleaned.
10. Teeth: you can teach your puppy to have its teeth cleaned but feeding good quality food and giving raw bones to chew on works well too.
11. Toe Nails: trim often to keep the vein or quick short. You can do this your self with good quality clippers. I like to have some one hold the puppy and then clip away. You may need treats to distract them but generally they do well with clipping if it’s done on a regular basis.
12. Grooming: you can comb and brush your puppy often so it likes it and doesn’t get matted. Use a wide tooth brush to start. A slicker brush with soft bristles for later as the coat matures. I cut the bangs straight across and angle down the sides and trim the ears and around the feet. The curved blade scissors are key. Keep the tail brushed out. This way when you go to the groomer they don’t have to cut or shave your dog’s head and tail so it looks like a poodle. Be insistent with the groomer, no poodle cut! There is info in your puppy pack about how to groom a labradoodle, take it to your groomer. Keep bums clean, poop gets dried on the anus and then they can’t poop!!!
13. Puppies sleep a lot! They like quiet times and play times. Often in the evenings they will get a sudden burst of crazy energy, the Zoomies! Let them roar and have fun, they will then be ready for a nice long sleep!
14. They hate the direct sun until they are much older.
15. Don’t over exercise on long walks. Carry up and down stairs for quite a while, a few stairs are ok but joints are affected by doing long flights often. After a week getting to know you, get to know the street and neighborhood and short walks.
16. Until your second set of shots at 12 weeks, socialize you puppy but not where there are a lot of “unknown” dogs. No puppy classes before 12 weeks.
17. Quality time is what will make your puppy the happiest! Toys don’t play with themselves. Spend lots of time on the floor on their level.
18. Keep you puppy’s sleeping area cushy and clean, with large stuffies to cuddle with.
19. Contact a vet you know or are referred to and you like and feel comfortable with. If you don’t get a good feeling from a vet, move on. In large clinics, ask for the same vet every time even if you have to wait a day, then you have a history with someone who knows you and your dog.
20. Have a collar and leash ready. Small collar for a small dog. Round leashes are much easier on your hands. They will not be used to a collar and may scratch at it. I put the leash on and let them drag it around for awhile, not getting caught on anything! to get used to it being attached. It will be a few lessons before walking well with you on a leash. Have a tag with your name and number and your microchip tag on the collar at all times.
21. Dog Proof your home! Put away things you don’t want the puppy to chew on, keep away unsafe items like electrical cords or cleaners and plants, see the room as your puppy will use it. Block off areas that you want to keep the puppy out of unless you are with it. Keeping the puppy out of an area that you are in will be stressful for it. Your puppy lives with you but must be safe and reliable. Check out plants that are not safe. Put shoes away!
22. Have lots of toys, chewys etc around for you puppy to have fun with and then they are more likely to chew on them rather than your furniture or you and children. Bully sticks, fish skinnies, raw hides etc.
23. Get a name tag made. Most pet stores make tags. Make sure you have your microchip tag on at all times! If you lose it, call and get a new one,
24. Make a schedule that works for your puppy and your family. Decide who will be responsible for feeding, clean water, house training, walking, clean up, grooming. Post the schedule so that everyone is a part of the puppy’s life.
25. Good books: The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell and Living with kids and dogs by Colleen Pelar. The Art of Raising a Puppy, by the Monks of New Skete. Pandemic Puppy. All on Amazon.
26. Have your stain and odor remover handy at all times for clean ups! I like one from Bissel, who knows carpets! It’s available at Pet Smart. Murphy’s Oil Soap is great for hard woods and then spray with the Bissel cleaner.
27. I don’t recommend classes for the first few weeks. You are strangers to your puppy and classes are stressful at first, it needs people it loves and trusts to take them to the classes. No visitors for the first few days! Let the puppy get to know you first.
28. Memorize and use the 50 tips and your puppy will be great! Your dog’s name is never a command or a correction! Always say it nicely with meaning, just like how you like to hear your name
29. No one comes over for the first few days, you are strangers and your home is strange. Your dog’s name is never a command or a correction. Use is nicely and use words that have meaning to ask your dog to do something.

Diarrhea happens…. Have pumpkin with vanilla yogurt, don’t let it go on. You can get Kaolin pectin products from better pet stores or the vet.

30. Think like the dog!! Not yourself. How would your dog perceive or understand a situation?
31. Don’t keep your puppy in a room by itself. They like to be where you are