RUBY DOODLES OF LOUISIANA
G O - H O M E S U P P L I E S & O P T I O N A L R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S :
Your puppy will go home with their kennel, a small bag of their current dog food, microchip and information on how to register it online, your purchase paperwork, veterinarian exam records, a toy or blanket with their littermates' scent, and their comfy bed. Below are our other favorite things for our dogs, and items we think are necessary as well.
POTTY AREA - Your new puppy will be used to pottying on their pee pad as well as in the grass. We get the pee pads with the pee pad holder so they don't chew them up. We teach them that there is a specific place to go to the bathroom, and this helps them become potty trained easier. When bringing home your new puppy, you can forego the pee pad and focus solely on bringing your puppy outside to potty as often as you can, or you can keep a pee pad next to the backdoor in case you can't get to your puppy in time to let him/her outside to potty. You can also use the pee pad at night for a few weeks in a playpen with their kennel (door left open) if you're not ready to jump into night time crate training right away. This system works well for those that work full time while their puppy is young too. All of these items will be linked below.
PLAY PEN - There are two options for play pens, one is a cheaper option, and one is a more sturdy expensive option. This is great for those that work full time, for all night use, or just general independent play time.
SNUGGLE PUPPY - Your puppy will have a hard time transitioning from our home to yours mainly at night time. The snuggle puppy works as a tool to help your puppy sleep at night, as if it were cuddled next to it's littermate. There is a battery operated heart beat box inside.
POTTY BELLS - Our past puppy owners highly recommend the potty bells. It's a great tool for teaching your dog how to communicate when they have to go. They are extremely smart dogs, so it's easy to do! One of the cons to this is that they'll ring the bells often even if they want to go play outside, and you have to be consistent and open the door every time if you want to be successful with this. The way that we recommend teaching them, is that you open the door to let them out every time they ring it, and only reward with a treat if they actually potty. The open door is the reward for ringing the bell, and the treat is the reward for pottying outside. They'll quickly catch on, so you won't be having to get up and open the door constantly forever! There is another version of the potty bells called Smart Bell, and its similar to a door bell that the dog pushes with his nose.
PROBIOTICS - These are great for when you bring your furbaby home. They usually get an upset stomach due to the stress of a new environment, and these help a ton. Also, anytime you change dog foods, it's best to give a few probiotics to help their stomach during the change. We like to give these anytime we see that our dogs have loose stool. Gut health is also important to reduce bad breath in dogs as well.
TREATS - We are very health conscience people and like our dogs to only have healthy, natural treats. The bully sticks and buffalo ears are all natural and one ingredient treats for chew time/bored pups. If your dog doesn't like the buffalo, you can try pig ears instead. We like the buffalo because it's healthier than the pig ears and has less calories. For an even healthier and non-smelly option, there's also cow ears, but my dog's won't eat the ones that don't stink (eyeroll). The freeze dried liver are healthy delicious treats for a quick bite, but they may be difficult for puppies to eat. We mainly give these to puppies over 6 months old. Under 6 months old, our puppies love the Fresh Pet small bites sold in the refrigerator section at Rouses or Target. These are great for quick training sessions.
TOYS - For playtime, the benebone is one of our favorite last lasting chew toys! And you can't go wrong with a squeaky tennis ball. These are always our dogs' favorites for fetch. Goldendoodles are natural retrievers and LOVE fetch. Another favorite in our house is anything from Playology. This chew ring is beef scented and my dog's go crazy over it.
SLOPPER STOPPER BOWL - This is a MUST once their beard is beginning to grow in. When their beard grows longer and they drink water, the water will drip all over your floor. A Slopper Stopper bowl helps cut down on the water drips by creating a vacuum suction in the center of the bowl, holding the water down while holding the fur up away from the water.
LARGE KENNEL - The one that I have linked below is perfect for adult size. The kennel they will go home with will last them a few more weeks, so you can wait to purchase a large one after they've grown out the first one. You can either increase their kennel size gradually by purchasing a medium size, then large, or you can purchase a large with a divider until they are crate trained without potty accidents. If a puppy that isn't crate trained has too much room in their crate, chances are they will potty in their crate.
SEAT BELT - This is very important! not just for accidents, but this also keeps your dog in place for your safety. We have a few dogs that like to try to get in our laps while we're driving. We like the ones linked because they're adjustable, come in multiple colors, have some stretch to it, and it comes in a 2 pack! We keep one in each vehicle so we don't lose them.
HARNESS - The wildone harness is perfect. The colors are beautiful, they're very well made, and they stretch a bit so you don't have to adjust it so much as your puppy grows. Definitely our favorite!
LEASH - The Sleepy Cotton rope leash is our favorite leash. Beautiful colors, upcycled materials, and very well made! This one is not only our favorite, but past puppy owner recommended as well.
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D O G F O O D :
Goldendoodles are known for their teddy bear like coats. Just like humans, eating processed foods and lacking proper nutrition will result in thin and dull hair and nails, as well as overall poor health. If you want your goldendoodle to have a beautiful coat and healthy skin, a good quality dog food is very important. Without quality ingredients in their food, their skin and coats will suffer. We've seen too many dogs on cheap popular brands with terrible coats. If you love your dog, a good quality dog food is absolutely necessary and is usually more expensive. If you cannot afford a quality dog food brand and have to settle for a cheaper brand, then you should not buy a goldendoodle. It's important for long term health, and will give you peace of mind that your dog is eating a healthy diet. Cheaper brands don't use quality ingredients, will usually lack the nutrients needed, and will cause issues down the road. Since they have more fillers, your dog will have to eat more of it to get the nutrients they need. Quality dog foods usually lasts a lot longer due to the nutrient dense formulas, because your dog doesn't have to eat a lot. Read about our favorite brands, why we love them, and where to buy them on our dog food page.
C O A T C H A N G E S :
Did you know that most red goldendoodles fade to light red over time? Actually, most goldendoodle colors fade, except for cream/white (obviously). Sometimes we have a dog that darkens over time, but this is very rare, and usually they end up lightening anyway.
There is a gene known as the “progressive greying” gene that is believed to come from poodles. It’s not something that we can test for, which makes it difficult to breed out of our bloodlines. Since we focus on health, temperament, coat, and structure, color is just a bonus and not that important to us to try to breed it out of our lines. It’s unknown whether this gene is dominant or recessive. Very few breeders claim they have “non-fading” lines.
Our hope is that each person falls in love with the temperament of each puppy and does not focus on picking the darkest red, because the darkest red could become the lightest in the litter in as little as two years.
If you have a red goldendoodle, you likely would’ve starting seeing “rings” in their coat as early as 6 weeks old. They generally go through lightening and darkening phases every few weeks, although some people don’t notice this at all. The “rings” are the lines of light and dark on the coat as the roots lighten and darken. Their official “lighten process” usually starts between 18-24 months, although it could be earlier or later in some cases. They gradually begin to lighten up and will usually be their “final” color by 3 years old.
Here is my Murphy girl now. She’s 3.5 years old and she’s done with her lightening process (she’s stayed the same color for months now). You can see in the second picture what her color was before she began lightening. Some reds may not end up this light, it just depends on the dog. She’s more beautiful to us now than she ever was. We love the golden red of her coat and the darker tips in her tail.
If you don’t like the faded red color, that’s completely OK!! But, definitely don’t buy a red dog. I’d suggest looking for a cream goldendoodle instead. There are other colors like cafe au lait, phantom (Doberman type markings), sable (gorgeous dark tips), brindles (tiger stripes!), and merle (random marble type spots). Sable, merle, and cafe au lait are some of my absolute favorite colors, and they DRASTICALLY lighten over time. They get even pretty with age. Google it, you’ll see!
That being said, we want you to choose your dog based on YOUR needs and wants. You’re spending a lot of money and making a big commitment, so it’s completely your decision. If you want the darkest red puppy, by all means, pick that one. Our goal is to make sure you’re aware of the fading gene before hand though.
Their coat texture and curl will also change. The level of curl is always be different as a puppy, as the puppy coat is straighter and thinner than the final adult coat. Starting around 6 months old, your puppy's coat will begin to thicken up at the root. A good trim is recommended before your puppy turns 8 months old, because the puppy coat ends will dry out and wilt off as the adult coat grows in.
Starting around 12 months of age, you'll notice your dog's guard hairs as well. Guard hairs are the white wirey hairs that grow in with your dog's coat. They grow faster than your dog's coat, so if your dog is overdue for a groom, their coat will look coarse. If you want that velvety texture, you'll need to have your goldendoodle trimmed regularly.
Straight Coat
If a goldendoodle has a straight coat, this means they inherited a straight gene from each parent. This coat is only achievable when both parents are goldendoodles. A lot of people think "straight" means "flat", but that's just a misconception. A flat coat is when both parents carry an improper coat gene, and the puppy inherits one improper coat gene from each parent. In other words, they lack furnishings and don't have a beard or eyebrows just like a golden retriever. A flat coat can be straight, wavy, or curly. We won't ever have flat coats, but we'll have plenty of straight coats. As a puppy, a straight coat is pin-straight. When their adult coat comes in, they'll have loose waves to their coat.
Wavy Coat
A wavy coat occurs when a puppy inherits a curl gene from one parent and a straight gene from another. This will be slight waves as a puppy, but the adult wavy coat will bring loose curls and a thicker texture. As an adult, a wavy coat could resemble a straight coat or have slightly less curl compared to an actual curly coat. The amount of curl in a wavy coat will depend on how weak or strong the curl gene is, which can't be determined until the adult coat comes in. The average wavy coat has loose curls in the coat, and is our most popular coat.
Curly Coat
A curly coat occurs when a puppy inherits a curl gene from each parent. Curly coats will be loose curls with a soft texture as a puppy, but the adult curly coat brings in tighter curls and a thicker texture. Sometimes curly coats will have a wooly texture, while others will have a more silky texture. Most people who love the teddy bear look prefer the curly coats. Some people think that curly coats are more hypoallergenic, but that's a myth. The curls do catch the loose hairs that fall better than a straight or wavy coat, but overall shedding depends on the separate shedding and furnishing genes, not the curl genes.
C O A T M A I N T E N A N C E
Since a goldendoodle generally does not shed, their fur grows and grows, until it is cut. They are a high maintenance dog that requires grooming often. If you cannot afford to keep your dog groomed professionally, or don't have the income or time to learn how to groom them yourself, PLEASE DO NOT ADOPT A GOLDENDOODLE or any other poodle or poodle mix. We love each of our puppies that we produce, and want them to be well taken care of. Groomer's charge a lot more for doodles and poodles because their coats are longer and thicker than the average dog. Realistically, you can expect to pay $60 to $150 for a fullgroom every 6 to 8 weeks. The price varies with size and location. If you choose to have your groomer bathe and dry your dog between trims, you can expect to pay $40 to $60 for this service depending on size and location. If you choose to do all baths, drying, and grooming yourself, you can expect to invest $200 to $500 for supplies upfront, depending on quality of the products. Learning to groom a doodle at home is hard and time consuming, but worth it in the end if you have the knack for it and want to save money. Continue reading below for instructions on how to keep your dog's coat maintained, as well as what supplies to by in order to do so.
BRUSHES & TOOLS
If you like your dog's coat to stay long and shaggy, it needs to either be brushed at home or at the groomers often. A professionally dried goldendoodle coat will stay intact and knot free for 1-2 weeks if it's long. If you don't have time to brush them once every week or two, make sure you keep a standing appointment with a good groomer to get them bathed and fully dried every 1-3 weeks (depending on the length). If you want to save some money and don't have time to brush, have your groomer trim your dog to 1/2" (body and legs) every 4-6 weeks. This length is short enough that you can go a while without brushing. Every coat is different, but these time lines are consitenet with what we see in our grooming business. If you want to keep your dog brushed at home and/or groom them yourself, the best and ONLY way to brush is to "line brush" (see video linked below).
Why is brushing important? Some people may think that brushing sounds like a lot of work and effort, but as long as you keep it up, it won't be work. As soon as you stop maintaining their coat, then the knots will turn into matts, and it will be harder to brush out your dog's coat and cause them pain. When a dog has a matt, their matting is pulling at their skin and they usually lick at it or bite at it. In most circumstances, matting cannot be brushed out and your dog will have to be shaved. Some people will think that brushing out matting or tangles is a groomer's job, but it is the owner of the dog that is responsible for keeping their coat maintained. A groomer's job is to trim the dog, but that cannot be done if there is matting. If your groomer has to brush out matts (de-matt) just to be able to pass the clippers through it's coat, expect a huge grooming bill or a shave down instead. Grooming dogs is hard work, so any extra work you put onto your groomer will not foster a good professional relationship there. You'll be adding time to their work day, which pushes back other appointments and causes stress. Even if there is matting in just a few spots, a groomer has to go through the coat, find the matting, try to brush it out, and shave it out if its too deep. This will add a lot of time to their groom and leave your dog looking bald or botched in some spots. If the matting is at the skin all over (often referred to as "spider webbed"), there is no choice but to shave under the matting to get it off. No good groomer will attempt to brush out matting because of the pain it will cause the dog. My goal is to help guide my puppy owner's on how to properly maintain their goldendoodle at home, so they are loved by every groomer they meet and never have to be shaved down.
If you use a slicker brush, steel comb, and a de-matter comb, brushing your goldendoodle will be a breeze. A regular slicker brush will do the job, but a high quality slicker brush is by far the best. Higher quality brushes are designed to not hurt your dog and last a long time, and they go through those long, thick coats a lot easier than a cheaper brush. As a professional groomer, I would never recommend anything cheap. We like the Zolitta brand a lot, and it's very comparable to it's more expensive competitor by Chris Christensen. It's pricey, but worth it. You'll want to line brush with a slicker brush starting from the bottom, just as you would with long beautiful human hair. Line brushing is a technique that helps you get right to the skin, instead of just brushing the top coat. Hold your dog's fur up with one hand and brush down from your hand with the brush, while simultaneously moving up through the coat. I'll attach a video of exactly what I mean below. After you line brush with the slicker brush, go through with a metal comb to make sure there are no tangles. If you do snag on a tangle, use the de-matting comb to gently untangle, then use the slicker brush and metal comb to make sure its out.
BATH TIME
We recommend goldendoodles be bathed and fully dried every 2-3 weeks to keep their coats clean, straight, and knot free. When a goldendoodle has a dirty coat, it's easier to get tangles and harder to keep brushed. Brushing a dirty coat tends to hurt the dog more since you're also brushing dried saliva and dirt. This is also important because you can inspect their skin during blow drying for fleas, ticks, cuts, and other skin issues. A lot of goldendoodle owners will keep their dogs on a schedule with their groomer for a bath and a full blow out every 2-3 weeks in between trims every 6-8 weeks. If you choose to do bathing and drying at home, make sure you invest in the right products. There are many grooming products out there that are great for keeping your goldendoodle's hair shiny and soft, and less likely to be tangled.
1) Make sure you have a good shower head attachment for your tub. You can get away with bathing your goldendoodle without one, but it's a lot harder to get all the shampoo out using a cup and it takes forever.
2) Put cotton in their ears to avoid getting water in their ear canals, which can lead to yeast infections.
3) Wash with a good quality shampoo. We use quality because their coats are thick, and the goal is to really clean well and leave it nice and shiny. Our current favorite shampoo is the Lillian Ruff Berry, found on Amazon. Avoid using human grade shampoo because it can mess up their PH levels and irritate skin. If you have to use dawn to kill fleas, make sure to heavily dilute with water first. Get a good lather all over, including under their ears, paw pads, sanitary areas, and near their mouths. A good tip... use a loofa!! Rinse the shampoo completely out, squeeze excess water from their legs, tail, and ears, and let them shake before towel drying.
4) We don't like using conditioner in the bath because it tends to take forever washing out and leaves a weird texture on the coat. We prefer to use a leave in condition after the bath like Quicker Slicker. After their bath, towel dry as best as you can, spray Quicker Slicker throughout the coat, and brush through with a slicker brush before drying.
5) Put new cotton in your dog's ears to protect them from the loud noise and then blow dry. A high velocity hair dryer is a MUST! There's just no way you'll get that thick teddy bear coat dried completely to the root with a regular hair dryer, and you definitely don't want that wet dog smell and the knots that come with air drying. A high velocity dryer will blow out the excess dirt, dust, and loose hairs that were missed in the bath, and straighten out the fur to make brushing and detangling a breeze. We recommend moving the dryer slowly all over them as close to their skin as possible. The slower you go, the straighter the fur will be, and the closer to the skin you go, the faster the coat will dry. Air dried fur is okay if you wait until they're fully dried before line brushing, but it'll leave their coat flat, limp, and curlier, which tangles faster and is harder to brush. While you dry, inspect your dog's skin for issues such as cuts, ticks, fleas, or hot spots.
6) Once your dog is fully dried, line brush completely using the tools and how to video above. They high velocity dryer will loosen up any small knots and straighten out their fur, so you slicker brush so glide right through!
7) After you're finished bathing, drying, and your dog is brushed out, spritz once with our favorite perfume, Hydra Groomer's "Forever Winner", for a long lasting goodness!
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CLEAN UP THOSE EYES
The fur around a goldendoodle's eyes grows fast and covers their eyes so they can't see. When a goldendoodle cannot see due to the fur over their eyes, they appear dirty, unkempt, and overall not well taken care of. Their fur also pokes their eyes and causes them to tear up, which causes tear stains and eye boogies. Some people like the look of fur over their eyes and say it makes them look shaggy, but the truth is that a dog truly cannot see through hair and it only makes the owner look bad. A groomer will trim this area when they groom your dog, even if they're just there for a cleanup or mini-groom. However, if you choose to go to the groomer as little as possible and would like to take care of this yourself, it's easy to do if you have the tools and the time to learn. You'll comb the fur up over their eyes, then use thinning shears to trim as close to the eyes as possible at an 45 degree angle. Click the link below for an easy how to on how to trim around the eyes and the links to the tools you'll need as well.
FEET & FANNY TRIMS
Your goldendoodle will also need the fur under their paw pads trimmed and the fur around their privates trimmed (also called a "sanitary trim"). If your goldendoodle has fur under their paws, they'll have trouble walking and running with traction, and they'll get mud, sticks, and hitchhikers from outside stuck there. Often this will get matted because your dog will lick under their pads to get them clean again. Your groomer will do this for you, but if you want to stretch your grooming appointments longer than 4-6 weeks and want to learn to do this yourself, you'll need the right tools and a good instructional video. You can use a general beard trimmer for this, but we've found this hard to use when their adult coat comes in and their fur is thicker. We recommend a good Andis clipper to start with. There are different brands of Andis that will work. If you plan to just use this for feet and sanitary trims, you can get a cheaper Andis brand like the Andis Easy Clip. If you plan to eventually learn to do a full body trim on your dog yourself, you can invest in a more expensive Andis clipper like the Andis Ultra Edge. Again, the Easy Clip is ONLY for paw pad trims and sanitary trims. These two Andis clippers come with a #10 blade that is perfect for sanitary trims, but we recommend also purchasing a #30 blade separately if you want a closer trim under the paw pads, and if you want to eventually trim your goldendoodle's body. The Andis Ultra Edge is more expensive than the Andis Easy Clip and it will be a good clipper set for someone learning to groom. There are other more expensive clippers that you can invest in if you wanted to really get a good trim, like the Andis Excel 5 Speed or our favorite, the Heiniger Opal (from Petstore Direct). The clippers are all "detachable blade" clippers so you can swap out different blades easily. We like using the #30 wide blade for paw pads but a regular size will work too. TIP: If you want to eventually groom your goldendoodle yourself and want to use wide comb attachments for saving time, get the #30 wide blade to do paw pad trims.
Please reach out to me if you need more guidance or have any questions!
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DO IT YOURSELF GROOMING
If you want to clip your goldendoodle's body yourself, you'll need to purchase steel comb attachments (NOT PLASTIC). These fit right onto a #30 blade so that you can trim your dog's coat to your desired length. If you have a regular size #30 blade, you'll get the regular size comb attachments. If you have the wide #30 blade, you'll need the wide comb attachments. The wide blade and wide comb attachments are all that we use professionally because it cuts down the time tremendously. However, they are more expensive than the regular size so keep this in mind.
After you bathe and fully dry your goldendoodle, line brush through and make sure there are ZERO knots. Then use your clippers with the #30 blade and desired length comb attachment and begin trimming. There are many YouTube videos on how to groom your goldendoodle at home. You'll want to trim with the direction of the coat, from the head to tail. I like to use my slicker brush and back-brush the coat and go over it with the clippers again for an even look.
If you have a matted dog and want to shave them yourself, or if you want a very short trim for summer time, you can get a 7FC blade to attach onto your clippers. The 7FC will leave their coat 1/8" long. With matted coats, this is usually the length that will fit right under those matts but wont be too close to the skin. You can get a 7FC blade in regular or wide.
The only easy way to do this by yourself is to get a good grooming table. There is really no way around it! You can get one that folds up easily for easy pick up when not in use. Or, you can keep it set up in an office or laundry room if you'll use it regularly for brushing. We recommend getting the large 48" table. This one is long enough that your dog will feel steadier on. The smaller options (30" and 36") are too small for a medium to standard size dog to fit comfortably on.
E A R C L E A N I N G :
This can be a big deal in the doodle world, but it doesn't have to be. Ear mites, yeasts, and ear infections love those furry ears when wet. The best way to avoid this is to clean your goldendoodle's ears every 2 weeks, especially after your dog's once a month bath. If your dog has chronic ear issues, once a week if preferred. Click the links below to see how to keep your goldendoodle's ears clean and what products to use. The key is to keep the ears dry. Don't blow dry the inside of the ears because this can cause damage to their ear canal. Some groomers will put cotton balls in the ears to make sure they don't blow dry down the ear canal and cause damage. If your goldendoodle still has ear issues even after cleaning twice a month, we suggest keeping the hair in his/her ears plucked. Sometimes their hair will hold moisture and it can be harder to keep the ear canal dry. We use a hemostat or our fingers for this. If you put some Groomer's Ear Powder on your fingers, you can easily grip and pull the hair out and they will barely feel the pain. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, you can have your groomer do this. We suggest not putting the powder directly in the ear canal, as it is abrasive and can open those pores to bacteria. You also don't have to pull all of the hair, but pull the hair that is long, thick, and holding onto that moisture and wax. There is a how-to video and the tools needed for this linked below. This may seem like a lot of work, but we promise it won't be, as long as you keep the ears clean. Keeping the inside of your dog's ears dry and plucked will be part of your dog's hygiene care. We do this for our puppies, so they are some what used to this when they go home to you. I can show you how we do this on puppy pickup day. Sometimes chronic ear yeasts can be a sign of a food allergy, so a change in dog food would be necessary. Fish oil also helps with chronic ear yeasts as well.
N A I L T R I M M I N G :
Keeping your dog's nail trimmed every 2 weeks is essential for grooming maintenance, reduces the chances of your dog scratching someone by accident (ouch!), and actually affects the way your dog stands. If their nails are too long, they will stand in a way that will compensate for those long nails, and this could eventually cause joint issues and muscle soreness. If you make it a positive experience from the day you bring home your puppy, and continue to touch their paws when you hold them, they'll remain used to this and shouldn't fight you about it. Click the pictures below to order our favorite products from Amazon. We like to clip the tip of the nail and then file it down smooth so we don't accidentally clip the quick. If you clip the quick, your dog's nail will bleed and they may not be so quick to let you trim their nails again. If you do accidentally clip their nail quick, you can use the Kwik Stop below to stop the bleeding. You can use the nail grinder if you want, or a normal nail file. We will go over how to trim nails with you on Puppy Pick Up Day, so try not to stress about it!!
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H I P D Y S P L A S I A :
As a big dog and a golden retriever mix, goldendoodles can suffer from hip or elbow dysplasia. This can be caused by environmental factors, as well as genetics. Researched shows that the greatest risk for hip dysplasia comes within the first 18 months of your puppy's life. There are simple things you can do to avoid this. When it comes to exercise, studies show that daily low impact exercise in the third month of life is a great way to reduce the risks of hip dysplasia by keeping the hip joints moving and muscles strong and healthy. Daily walks on leash or letting your puppy run free is one of the best ways to reduce hip dysplasia. High impact exercise, such as forced runs on leash, stairs, jumping and agility, should be avoided until the dog is at least 12 months as this has been known to cause hip dysplasia. For more information about the benefits of low impact exercise, read more HERE. Other ways to avoid hip dysplasia include making sure they don't gain too much weight too fast, as this puts pressure on their hips, and letting them sleep on a comfortable bed at night instead of a hard surface. Research also shows that getting your dog spayed or neutered before they are full grown also can cause hip or elbow dysplasia and other joint issues. Dogs need those hormones to help them finish growing efficiently. Spaying or neutering before they are full grown could cause your dog to have poor structure, which in turn can cause arthritis and hip and/or elbow dysplasia. There is a very small risk of cancerous mammary tumors for females if spayed after their first heat cycle (between 10 and 12 months), but the risk of other cancers and joint issues increases with spay and neutering before your dog is full grown. It's best to do research, talk to your vet, and go with your gut. If you spay before her first heat, your chance of cancerous mammary tumors is .5%. If you spay her after her first heat cycle, that chance goes up to 4%. However, this 4% is a small risk compared to the increased chances of a worse cancer or joint disease. We believe that the benefits of waiting to spay a female and neuter a male until they are full grown outweigh the risk of cancer, and many veterinarians will agree. If your vet does not agree, feel free to share this article HERE with them as some veterinarians do not keep up with recent research. HERE is another good article that is easy to understand.
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P U P P Y D A Y S & T R A I N I N G T I P S :
Puppies are a lot of work. We do our best to prepare them for their new home with training and socialization, but at the end of the day they are still puppies, and how they end up will ultimately depend on YOU. Our parent dogs could be the most well behaved and easily trained dogs you've ever met, but they had to go through training to get there. On Puppy Pick-UP day, you may have chosen a calm puppy that is sitting on command already, but you bring him home to find out that his excitement took a little while to show through and he is no longer shy or calm, or that he forgets to sit in the presence of new people. Good temperament is important, and most people think that temperament at 8 weeks is the true temperament of a dog. In our experience, this is not always true. We do have professional trainers perform temperament evaluations on our puppies, but it's just used as an extra tool to help our puppy owners pick out the right puppy for their family. There is a study here that talks about temperament being an unreliable prediction at 8 weeks old in comparison to a full grown dog, so take temperament evaluations with a grain of salt. Some dogs are naturally calm, and some dogs need to be shaped and trained to be calm (yes, being calm can ABSOLUTELY be taught as a behavior). Both are completely OK. Puppies are unpredictable, so if you are afraid of the normal puppy development stages and don't think you can get through them, we recommend looking for an older dog instead.
From birth to 12 weeks old, a puppy's brain is like a sponge. They learn quickly during this age. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND each person to take advantage of weeks 8 through 12 and continue the training and advice from Puppy Culture. This time is critical because bad habits can stick for life, or at least be hard to reverse later on. Since we teach them manding before they go home with you, they sit down to ask permission to be held or pet, or they will sit if they want a snack. However, we've seen the difference in our puppies once they go home and know which puppies continued with Puppy Culture and which ones did not. We work with them as much as we can while they are with us, but what they learn can be reversed if their new owners aren't careful with training (or lack of). We use a clicker (purchase HERE or click on the picture below) for training each puppy, and we'll show you how to use this before you bring your puppy home. They learn from us that when they hear the "click", they just did something good. Watching Puppy Culture's "The Powerful First 12 Weeks" and reading Jane Killion's book, "When Pigs Fly" will help each new owner prepare in the BEST way possible for their new puppy. Knowledge is power, and you'll learn how your dog sees things and how they learn, making training 100x easier. To purchase "The Powerful First 12 Weeks" and "When Pigs Fly", click on the icon below. McCann Dog Training videos on You Tube are also really great when you need to find solutions for specific problems. We also like ZenDog in Lafayette, Louisiana, for puppy training courses in person. The biggest thing to know: socialize, socialize, socialize. some dogs are prone to fearfulness, some are prone to submissive urination, and some are prone to shyness. These things are all fairly common and normal. However, socializing your dog from a young age by introducing them to as many things, places, and people as possible will keep these behaviors at bay, and most people never even realize their dog was prone to those behaviors.
Here are some things to expect from your new puppy:
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They will potty in your house. Puppies have very small bladders, and potty training takes time. Even when you think your puppy is finally trained, they will regress and seem to forget their training. Stay consistent, and know that you WILL have a puppy that is potty trained in time. We work with our puppies before they go home, but they are not able to fully be house trained until around 12 weeks. We bring our puppies outside often and use the word "potty" when going outside, and we use lots of praise. Usually, we have a few puppies going to the back door on their own to let me know they have to go outside before they go home with their new owners. We also litter box train them before they go home, so they have a place to go if I can't get to them in time. However, even with working on potty training before our puppies go home, they will still have accidents in their new homes. Our training gives them a foundation of learning, and it's up to you to continue their potty training. OUR TIPS: When you're home and awake with your new puppy, keep a litter box (supplies listed above) by the back door where you'll be letting your puppy outside to potty. This way, if you see the puppy walking to the litterbox, you know he has to go and you can easily open the back door and let him outside instead. Having a litterbox also helps them transition to a new environment with something familiar. It gives them a safe place to potty if you can't get to them in time, instead of having to clean pee from your rug. Let your puppy out every 20 to 30 minutes. If your puppy is taking a nap, no need to wake him, but make sure you bring him outside as soon as they wake up. Bringing them outside to potty AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE and praising them when they do is key to potty training. If you leave the house for work or to run errands, put the puppy in their kennel. They will hardly ever potty in their kennel, since its a natural instinct for dogs to keep their sleeping area clean. This will help them learn to hold their bladder longer. Please keep in mind that a puppy can only go about 4 hours without relieving himself until they are about 12 weeks old when they are able to hold it up to 8 hours. At night, we suggest keeping a set up similar to what they have when they're with us. a playpen with their kennel (door open), comfy bed in their kennel, and their litterbox. This will help them sleep comfortably through the night while also giving them a place to potty during the night if they have to. Once they are waking up with a dry litter box around 12 weeks, you'll know its time to upgrade to a larger kennel and close it's door at not, foregoing the litterbox. Some people choose to forego the litterbox altogether and strictly bring outside during the day and throughout the night, and this is OK too. The key is to be patient and understand that potty training can be difficult. If you prepare yourself beforehand and avoid setting your expectations too high, you'll get through it just fine!
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They will cry at night. Puppies do great sleeping next to their littermates, but sleeping alone is an adjustment. Some puppies take WEEKS to finally be OK without their littermates. We recommend getting a snuggle puppy (linked above) to help them transition. Some puppies will transition to their new home with ease and hardly cry at night. Others will cry until your heart strings give out and you have to intervene. This is normal when raising a puppy, and its a necessary battle. Since puppies aren't full potty trained for a few weeks, they need a safe place to sleep to avoid sleeping in the bed with you. OUR TIPS: Put the puppy in a room across your house with a good noise machine. You can set him up in a playpen with his kennel (door open), comfy bed inside his kennel, and litterbox for middle of the night potty breaks. OR, you can put him straight in his kennel with the door closed and a good noise machine. You will most likely have to let him out to potty outside in the middle of the night if you don't use a litterbox. If you take the chance of hoping he will hold his bladder through the whole night, you are risking the puppy pottying in his kennel and getting used to doing so, which can be an uphill battle trying to fix. A lot of people will choose to let their puppy cry it out so they can get used to sleeping alone quickly. However, some people can't do this, and that's OK. Some of our owners have success with putting the puppy in a kennel or playpen next to their bed. If the puppy can see you, they sometimes sleep better. This way also lets you "shhhhh" your puppy and calm him down if his wakes up crying. On the other hand, some puppies can't sleep if they see their owners because they think that if they cry loudly enough, you'll acknowledge them. Our advice is to be patient, prepare yourself that it will be challenging, and just see how things go. Try one way, and if it doesn't work, try another. Once your puppy is potty trained, there is no harm in letting him sleep with you at night. We love having our big teddy bears sleep in the bed with us at night!
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They will bite. Puppy teeth are SHARP! This part of puppyhood is completely inevitable. They will teeth, and biting will give them relief. Sometimes, even if they have plenty of chew toys and bones, they'll still bite you. This isn't out of anger or aggression, but more so done during play, petting, and even when they're tired. Since puppies don't have thumbs, sometimes biting is a way for them to feel close to you. Think of it as if they're holding your hand. They have to learn that its not an acceptable behavior, or else it could cause a lot of pain and resentment on your part. OUR TIPS: A lot of trainers will tell you to “re-direct”. When the puppy starts biting you, you’d just re-direct them to a treat or a toy. This is a great way to reward bad behavior, and you’d have to have a treat in hand or a toy at all times, so it’s not ideal. It does work well for some puppies, but I do find that this takes longer to train them. If your puppy is naturally really submissive and shy, re-directing works really well. However, puppies NEED structure and discipline in the beginning. If you watch them with their mom when they’re young, their mom will growl and sometimes put the puppy on it's back in a dominant way if the puppy bites her too hard. She teaches them that it's not acceptable behavior with her. If she were to start playing or do something that her puppies would see as a reward, they would never learn that it's an unacceptable behavior and continue to bite their mother hard. Also, a dog’s natural response is to please you. If you are giving them a treat when they bite you, they think they are pleasing you. But if you show them that an action didn’t please you, they want to stop that action. When they stop, show them that they pleased you then. This VIDEO shows a great way to teach a dog that biting you is unacceptable by teaching the dog the "settle" command to calm him, then rewarding when he's calm and not biting anymore. Using tone of voice is another one of our favorites. If the puppy is biting you, say "no!" with a slight growl in your voice until he stops biting. When he stops, praise him. This will teach him that he's being praised for responding appropriately to tone of voice (a necessary tool when raising a dog), and not being praised for biting. Let nature be your teacher here and follow their mama’s way. It’s not abuse in ANY way to teach your dog tone of voice, as they need discipline and consequences, just like a child needs discipline and consequences. However, if you go over board and begin hitting and yelling, you can create an overly submissive dog that will urinate anytime you talk to them and they’ll become a shy and fearful dog.
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They will chew on everything. This is our least favorite thing about puppyhood. Chewing is completely natural and necessary for puppies while they are teething. Even when they are full grown, they love to chew on things as it's a great mental stimulation. OUR TIPS: Teach your dog tone of voice. If they chew on something they aren't supposed to, say "no!" with a firm tone. They will recognize that tone as negative and respond. When they do, praise them for responding with their actual dog toy or bone to chew instead. Sometimes you'll have to physically take things from their mouth while saying "no!", and sometimes they will drop the item on their own. If you choose the re-directing route, be prepared that this may backfire. Some people will give their puppy a bone or treat when they are chewing on something else to "re-direct" their attention. We've personally seen this create bad behavior. In our experience, the dog would grab something to chew up (in this case it was a dirty diaper), and refused to let it go until I gave her a bone or treat because her owner went with the redirecting route to train her. It became a game. When she wanted a treat, she'd grab a shoe, sock, or diaper and begin chewing. If I tried to get it from her, her grip would be firm. We also suggest investing in a handful of good quality indestructible toys when you bring home your puppy. If he has too many toys, it may confuse him while he's learning right from wrong. If he only has a few, and he happens to be chewing on things he's not supposed to, use tone of voice, take it away, and give him one of his few toys instead. This will help him learn quickly what is acceptable to chew on and what's not. As your puppy grows, he'll learn what dog toys look like and know that other items are off limits. Then, buying new toys is OK.
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They will get excited. This seems obvious, I know. Puppies have lots of energy, so its expected. However, what some new owners don't expect is that sometimes puppies will pee if they get too excited, which makes the excitement even worse to handle. They have small, weak, bladders as puppies and it's hard for them to control it if they are too excited. Don't worry, they will outgrow this. We work on manding (sitting calmly if they want attention) before your puppy goes home, but sometimes they will forget to mand if they're too excited. Some of our puppies will greet their new owners at the door when they come on Puppy Pick-Up Day by manding, but when they go home and a few days pass, they have a visitor and lose their mind with excitement. This is normal, as they are constantly learning and developing. Try to remember that the foundation is already laid out for you, you just have to build upon it. OUR TIPS: If you know you're about to have visitors, bring your puppy potty before they arrive. Continue training with manding EVERYDAY. When you're home, walk out of the house for a few minutes, come back in, and completely ignore your puppy until he mands. If he won't mand because he's too excited, use the "sit" command to center him (we teach them this too before they go home with you). He'll remember his old ways. Continue manding training often with everything if your puppy tends to get too excited. Wait for him to mand before feeding, letting him outside to potty, and with treats. You will have to tell your guest to ignore the puppy if the puppy is jumping all over them out of excitement for this to work. Most people melt into a puddle from the cuteness so this can be difficult, but try to stay strong!!
S H O W S O M E L O V E :
Goldendoodles are very relational and eager to please. They are not a breed that should be left alone for long periods of time. If you aren't home often and work full time, a goldendoodle wouldn't be the best fit for you. They need to socialize and spend time with people and other dogs. Plus, with a dog that beautiful and wonderful, you'll want to show him/her off to everyone you know and spend as much time with them as possible!
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