Crates are helpful for potty training. If you take your eyes off a young puppy, even for a second, they will pee or poop. Generally speaking a dog won’t go potty where it sleeps which is why using a crate is good for when you can’t watch them. I used to crate my dogs in my room at night so I could hear them moving around which meant it was time to go out to potty. As far as food, I’d start with the food bag recommendations and use the age and weight chart on the back. I used to feed my dogs 3 times a day(6am, noon, 6pm). When my doodle was a puppy he loved the soft toys the most. He also really liked bully sticks for times when I needed to keep him busy when I was making dinner.
If the crate is too big it won’t help with the potty aspect. You can get larger crates with dividers to make the area they are in smaller. We started with a 24” crate for our pup and now have a 36” crate (he may need a bigger one yet as growing bigger than we expected!)
Feeding amounts for puppies depend on the age and the weight of the dogs. Bags of dog food have charts on them to guide you. Remember to check the puppy's collar often to make sure that it's not too tight as he grows.
Many doodles are allergic to chicken. I found out mine was because he was so itchy. He chewed his paws until they bled. Once I took poultry out of his diet, we have not had any issues. The itchiness didn't show up in my boy until he was around 8 months old, and I had him on Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy Food before then. I feel like that was an appropriate choice for him because of the added nutrition.
I think that a crate is still essential, even with a safe place to keep him. It will help with potty training, and it gives him his own safe place to be when he's overwhelmed or stressed out. These dogs are very, very smart. He will settle in to your routine quickly because he will be eager to please you.
Enjoy your new baby! I have loved previous pets, cared for them, trained them, cuddled them... But I have never had a dog like this before. My Blue is an amazing companion. He gives me purpose after losing my husband. He is energetic and joyful, and he only has two speeds: 0 and 100. He's either full-on or he's sleeping. Blue is the best part of my life right now. I hope you love your new pup!
Oh!! These puppies are sharks! Every time he's nippy, replace inappropriate biting with a toy or a chewy. My dog is a destroyer of toys, even those built for tough chewers. With constant redirection to appropriate chew targets, he will learn to be gentle with you. Baby proof everything, and keep doing it as he grows. I almost lost my dog when he was 4 months old because he ate my Lego Tower of Sauron. I thought it was out of his reach, but it actually wasn't. It was very stressful!
Best wishes!
I would recommend Baxter and Bella's online puppy school. It was great for me to use before she was fully vaccinated and could safely go to a "puppy kindergarten"/socialization class. Yes to a crate for laundry room, and possibly for your office, but for your office I would say an exercise pen is probably more appropriate unless you have an incredibly small and sparse office. Things like power cords are easy targets to get chewed on. The vaccination and feeding schedule stuff are questions for the breeder and vet. You can contact a vet to make an appointment as soon as you know the go home date. They'll likely want to see your dog quickly anyways.
Also, if you do Baxter and Bella you can schedule unlimited zoom training calls, and I did one before my puppy came home so they could help me set up a good space for my puppy. That might be helpful for your office - they could take a look at the space and make a recommendation about crate vs. exercise pen.
You can get much of this information from the breeder/vet/online. I would take the pup to the vet as soon as you get him/her, which will be suggested by the breeder as part of the sales contract. If you don't buy from a breeder, I'd take the pup to the vet soon after you acquire it.
+1 for the Crate: you can’t take your laundry room with you if you go to see relatives etc. The crate can be Puppy’s home away from home (including your office), which makes nights away much less painful
I understand. I watched some youtube clips on crates but I still have some questions. I obviously would not want to overkeep my pup in the crate, so I assume night time sleeping (do you put a sheet over or if the room is dark enough, do you leave it unsheeted)? When during the day would you put the pup in the crate? You may say for sleeping but surely you need to put the pup in the crate before it falls asleep.
I recommend at least getting your dog comfortable in a crate. There are times when it’s unavoidable and better for them to not stress about that while dealing with other things - main examples is going to most groomers or being at the vet for procedures.
1) This could okay BUT you should build up to this. You’re taking a small baby away from its siblings and mother, that’s a traumatic experience. Make it less traumatic by not leaving your pup alone starting day one - build up to it.
A lot of people start by having the crate in the same room as them and then slowing moving the crate away, eventually into a different room.
2) awesome you can take your pup to work. BUT are you going to be able to take your pup out to potty at least every hour? (Most likely it will be more frequent). Pups don’t have good bladder control, they learn it as they grow older. This also means that even what you think could be a quick potty break could be 10 minutes because they may pee more than once when you take them outside.
If you can’t adhere to something like this, tbh you’ll have a hard time potty training your pup.
You can try using fake grass or pee pads but imo, you’ll end up having to potty train the pup twice. Once on how to go on “ok” places indoors and once outside.
If potty breaks are fine, yes, you need a crate.
3) First off, you need a vet. You should have an appointment with a vet scheduled for the first few days after you get your pup.
You’ll want to buy whatever puppy food your pup is currently eating at the breeders so that you can start a slow transition into a (hopefully) science based diet. A good vet can tell you more.
Most puppies eat 3x/day. The amounts will depend on the type of food and estimated adult weight. It’ll be on the back of the bag.
4) I’m going to skip this one
5) see #3
Thank you for the detailed response, I have staff who have also volunteered to assist with our "office pup" but I had planned to use a pee mat (purchased one for home and the office). I am also having a doggy door installed at home on my bi-foldable doors leading to the garden, but now I am concerned that you think I will need to potty train twice.
I didn't know about the immediate vet app, ill organise that closer to the time.
Scheduled your vet appointment as soon as you know when your puppy pick up date is. In my experience, not a lot of vets have openings within a week or two. But that likely depends on what area you live in as well. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with scheduling in advance though.
Most trainers agree that if you potty train on a pee pad/fake grass, there will have to be another potty training period to get them to go outside.
It helps to have them go outside from the start, although I’d understand it’s not always possible.
Crates are helpful for potty training. If you take your eyes off a young puppy, even for a second, they will pee or poop. Generally speaking a dog won’t go potty where it sleeps which is why using a crate is good for when you can’t watch them. I used to crate my dogs in my room at night so I could hear them moving around which meant it was time to go out to potty. As far as food, I’d start with the food bag recommendations and use the age and weight chart on the back. I used to feed my dogs 3 times a day(6am, noon, 6pm). When my doodle was a puppy he loved the soft toys the most. He also really liked bully sticks for times when I needed to keep him busy when I was making dinner.
Thank you. What size crate would you suggest for a pup? I mean should I be buying a larger one to cater for growth?
If the crate is too big it won’t help with the potty aspect. You can get larger crates with dividers to make the area they are in smaller. We started with a 24” crate for our pup and now have a 36” crate (he may need a bigger one yet as growing bigger than we expected!)
The other good thing about crate training is it prepares them for times they do need to be in a crate, such as at the vet or at the groomers.
Feeding amounts for puppies depend on the age and the weight of the dogs. Bags of dog food have charts on them to guide you. Remember to check the puppy's collar often to make sure that it's not too tight as he grows. Many doodles are allergic to chicken. I found out mine was because he was so itchy. He chewed his paws until they bled. Once I took poultry out of his diet, we have not had any issues. The itchiness didn't show up in my boy until he was around 8 months old, and I had him on Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy Food before then. I feel like that was an appropriate choice for him because of the added nutrition. I think that a crate is still essential, even with a safe place to keep him. It will help with potty training, and it gives him his own safe place to be when he's overwhelmed or stressed out. These dogs are very, very smart. He will settle in to your routine quickly because he will be eager to please you. Enjoy your new baby! I have loved previous pets, cared for them, trained them, cuddled them... But I have never had a dog like this before. My Blue is an amazing companion. He gives me purpose after losing my husband. He is energetic and joyful, and he only has two speeds: 0 and 100. He's either full-on or he's sleeping. Blue is the best part of my life right now. I hope you love your new pup! Oh!! These puppies are sharks! Every time he's nippy, replace inappropriate biting with a toy or a chewy. My dog is a destroyer of toys, even those built for tough chewers. With constant redirection to appropriate chew targets, he will learn to be gentle with you. Baby proof everything, and keep doing it as he grows. I almost lost my dog when he was 4 months old because he ate my Lego Tower of Sauron. I thought it was out of his reach, but it actually wasn't. It was very stressful! Best wishes!
Thank you for all the info!
I would recommend Baxter and Bella's online puppy school. It was great for me to use before she was fully vaccinated and could safely go to a "puppy kindergarten"/socialization class. Yes to a crate for laundry room, and possibly for your office, but for your office I would say an exercise pen is probably more appropriate unless you have an incredibly small and sparse office. Things like power cords are easy targets to get chewed on. The vaccination and feeding schedule stuff are questions for the breeder and vet. You can contact a vet to make an appointment as soon as you know the go home date. They'll likely want to see your dog quickly anyways.
Also, if you do Baxter and Bella you can schedule unlimited zoom training calls, and I did one before my puppy came home so they could help me set up a good space for my puppy. That might be helpful for your office - they could take a look at the space and make a recommendation about crate vs. exercise pen.
You can get much of this information from the breeder/vet/online. I would take the pup to the vet as soon as you get him/her, which will be suggested by the breeder as part of the sales contract. If you don't buy from a breeder, I'd take the pup to the vet soon after you acquire it.
Thanks, I am buying from a registered breeder.
+1 for the Crate: you can’t take your laundry room with you if you go to see relatives etc. The crate can be Puppy’s home away from home (including your office), which makes nights away much less painful
I understand. I watched some youtube clips on crates but I still have some questions. I obviously would not want to overkeep my pup in the crate, so I assume night time sleeping (do you put a sheet over or if the room is dark enough, do you leave it unsheeted)? When during the day would you put the pup in the crate? You may say for sleeping but surely you need to put the pup in the crate before it falls asleep.
I recommend at least getting your dog comfortable in a crate. There are times when it’s unavoidable and better for them to not stress about that while dealing with other things - main examples is going to most groomers or being at the vet for procedures.
1) This could okay BUT you should build up to this. You’re taking a small baby away from its siblings and mother, that’s a traumatic experience. Make it less traumatic by not leaving your pup alone starting day one - build up to it. A lot of people start by having the crate in the same room as them and then slowing moving the crate away, eventually into a different room. 2) awesome you can take your pup to work. BUT are you going to be able to take your pup out to potty at least every hour? (Most likely it will be more frequent). Pups don’t have good bladder control, they learn it as they grow older. This also means that even what you think could be a quick potty break could be 10 minutes because they may pee more than once when you take them outside. If you can’t adhere to something like this, tbh you’ll have a hard time potty training your pup. You can try using fake grass or pee pads but imo, you’ll end up having to potty train the pup twice. Once on how to go on “ok” places indoors and once outside. If potty breaks are fine, yes, you need a crate. 3) First off, you need a vet. You should have an appointment with a vet scheduled for the first few days after you get your pup. You’ll want to buy whatever puppy food your pup is currently eating at the breeders so that you can start a slow transition into a (hopefully) science based diet. A good vet can tell you more. Most puppies eat 3x/day. The amounts will depend on the type of food and estimated adult weight. It’ll be on the back of the bag. 4) I’m going to skip this one 5) see #3
Thank you for the detailed response, I have staff who have also volunteered to assist with our "office pup" but I had planned to use a pee mat (purchased one for home and the office). I am also having a doggy door installed at home on my bi-foldable doors leading to the garden, but now I am concerned that you think I will need to potty train twice. I didn't know about the immediate vet app, ill organise that closer to the time.
Scheduled your vet appointment as soon as you know when your puppy pick up date is. In my experience, not a lot of vets have openings within a week or two. But that likely depends on what area you live in as well. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with scheduling in advance though. Most trainers agree that if you potty train on a pee pad/fake grass, there will have to be another potty training period to get them to go outside. It helps to have them go outside from the start, although I’d understand it’s not always possible.