Caring For Your Puppy

Your puppy needs a comfortable bed, so buy a bed big enough for it to grow into, and stretch out in. There are many types of good bedding for your puppy.

Most puppies love snuggling into a piece of ‘vetbed’ or similar. This is a synthetic sheepskin, which is hygienic, machine washable, totally non-allergenic and relatively resistant to chewing. It can also help to prevent pressure sores on bigger dogs. We suggest buying at least two pieces so that you have a spare if one is in the wash.

Being a playful puppy is very tiring so remember your puppy will need to nap during the day at first, so make sure they have time to nap as the pup may become over exhausted.

For the first few days, the puppy may cry at night, but your puppy isn’t in pain it just wants attention. So we ask you to be patient and try to ignore the crying, as seeing to the puppy while it is crying rewards their behaviour, and may carry this behaviour on.

At night before their bedtime, try not to over excite the puppy and put them to bed in a quiet calm environment. Crates are good for this but they are only a recommendation, not a necessity.

A dog should travel either behind a dog guard, secured with a car seat harness or, ideally, in a crate or fixed car cage. A crate or cage gives a dog its own space and ensures both safety and comfort. If you have space for a crate then this provides a safe haven for your puppy in the car.

I personally use a harness for short journeys, this just clips into the seat belt, and the girls are very happy sitting on the back seat of the car.

I also have a crate for the car so If we’re going on a long journey the dogs can lay down in comfort and safety.

Accustom your puppy to car travel with very short trips at first ideally when the puppy is tired so it will go to sleep.

Choose a comfortable collar that is suitable for the breed, size and age of the puppy. Puppies grow rapidly and collars should be checked almost daily for condition and fit. These should not be so loose that they can slip over your puppy’s head or so tight that you cannot slip two fingers underneath.

Leave your puppy at first for about 15mins then gradually increase this time over a couple of days.  Try to return to your puppy when it is not crying or barking.  You do not want to reward this behaviour.  Try to greet your puppy when it has quietened down, not when it is over excited because you have returned. Ignore the puppy until it is displaying the behaviour that you want then reward it with a game or cuddle.  Leave your puppy with plenty of toys when you go out. I find that this prevents boredom which could lead to destructive behaviour.  A kitchen or utility room is an ideal place to leave your puppy.  You’ll need to arrange not to leave your puppy for too long, say more than a couple of hours, for the first week or so.

If you prefer to use a crate you can leave your puppy in it once it is happy to be left in there.  It doesn’t take long for a puppy to regard its crate as a place of rest and a place to have quiet time.

Although you will be looking forward to taking your labradoodle out for walks, you need to be very careful about exercising a young puppy. Growing bones do not harden until a puppy is around a year old. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that if a puppy is over-exercised before it is a year old, permanent damage could be done to the skeletal frame, possibly harming its hips and elbows. This type of injury means that your puppy could become arthritic in later life.

Make sure you do Not allow your puppy to regularly go up and down stairs until they are at least one year of age. Also make sure that your puppy does not walk for longer than 5 minuets for each month of its life (i.e.: 4 months old = 20 minuets) twice a day. This is until your puppy is 1 year of age.

Up to six months of age, a youngster needs very little exercise apart from a run around the garden. It is worthwhile taking the puppy in the car to socialise them at the shops and outside schools, but no long walks. You should also avoid any type of rough play.

Although they will naturally retrieve, do not be tempted to throw things too far for them; exercise should be very gentle, with no violent galloping or turning that could ruin their growing joints.
You must also make sure that you do not allow your puppy to jump down from the car.

Supervise your puppy’s play and don’t allow mouthing as when your puppy is older it WILL HURT. Tell your puppy off (I gently poke them with a firm “No”) when they mouth and offer them a toy instead. It’s best to always have a toy in your hand when playing with your new puppy.

Do keep some special toys just for play with you so that your puppy will learn that you are the boss of the house, as you are taking charge of play as well as food etc. Try to avoid chasing games as you want your dog to always run to you, instead of away from you.

A few Common poisons you need to Seek vets help IMMEDIATELY.

The following are foods and Plants and garden products that are toxic to your dog.

Chocolate and coffee… staggering, laboured breathing, Vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, tremors, fever, heart rate increase, arrhythmia, seizures, coma, death

Onions…..Haemolytic Anaemia, Laboured breathing, Liver damage, Vomiting, Diarrhoea, Convulsions, coma

Raisins, Currents and Grapes…Vomiting, Diarrhoea, abdominal pain, Lethargy, and can affect kidneys

Mushrooms….Abdominal pain, drooling, Liver damage, convulsions, coma.

Cocoa Shell Mulch…. for gardens is very toxic and has killed many dogs

Slug Pellets…….  If your dog eats slug pellets it needs immediate medical attention!

Hide chews…Take care when giving these dog treats they do go soft with the dog chewing them and have got stuck in dogs’ throats. Several dogs have died choking on them as they get stuck in the throat.

When buying a crate for your puppy, buy one big enough for it to lie in stretched out and standing up in when it is fully grown. Make sure that the mesh is not too big as puppies may get their mouths caught. Put some bedding inside and tie some toys in the far end of the crate so the puppy has to go in there to play with them. Gently place your puppy in there whenever it falls asleep. Leave occasional treats in the crate for the puppy to find, so the puppy learns to love going in there. Do not shut the door until your puppy is comfortable being in there, and start closing the door when you are feeding it and when it has fallen asleep. Make sure you stay around to let it out the moment it wakes up or finishes its meal.

Make sure it has recently gone to the toilet before it enters and do not leave your puppy in the crate or puppy pen for more than a couple of hours during the daytime. Although most puppies are content to sleep in their crate overnight, they get very distressed if they have to foul near their beds, so you must be prepared to get out of your bed to let them out if they need to toilet during the night. If they have fouled inside the crate, you must clean it out immediately or the puppy will hate being in the crate.

Never use the crate as a punishment or you will teach your puppy to resent it. Always remove the puppy’s collar when in the crate in case it gets caught up on it.

It is very important that your puppy has a range of appropriate and interesting toys to play with, otherwise, it might chew on your things, instead of its own. Chew toys also provide mental stimulation, help to keep your dog’s teeth clean and allow it to exercise its jaws. Select toys for your puppy carefully – some may be too small and might choke your puppy whilst other items might splinter.

You should also have toys that you can play with interactively, like balls on ropes and frisbees, so that you can have fun with your puppy.

Do not let your puppy play with sticks, golf or squash balls. All these things can easily get stuck in the throat and cause damage or even death. For this reason, it is important to bear in mind the size of your puppy and the size of the chew or toy you decide to purchase. If a chew becomes too small after a prolonged period of chewing, please throw the chew away.

We have started socialising your puppy by getting it used to busy household noises such as the vacuum cleaner, washing machine, television, radio and the tumble dryer. Your puppy has also been socialised with lots of people and other dogs.

Your puppy will soak up new experiences like a sponge, so training should start from the time your puppy arrives in their new home. It is so much easier to teach good habits rather than trying to correct bad behaviour!

All dogs can benefit from obedience training as early as seven weeks and also when the puppy enters its new home. By six months of age, almost all behaviour problems are already in place. This means that early training can be used to avoid problems before they become more difficult and frustrating. Bad habits are hard to correct, therefore owners should never allow nipping, chewing, digging, barking, mounting, etc. which are all normal behaviours but, if left uncorrected, can lead to behaviour problems. Dogs learn each day what behaviour will or will not be allowed. Remember that bad habits are hard to change.

• Training classes provide the opportunity for getting your new family member started off right. Puppy classes provide the experiences and opportunities for your puppy to develop interaction skills with other puppies, with people, and in new environments.
• Training classes provide dog owners the skills and knowledge for dealing with common, normal dog behaviours—starting with puppy behaviours such as housetraining and chewing.
• No matter what age you start training your dog, early training provides the basis for any activity, behaviour or job you want your dog to do.
• Training provides dogs with the basic good manners we all want—from the polite greeting when friends arrive, to walking nicely on the lead, to coming when called.
• A trained dog is a fully participating member of the family—what a gift for all of you!
• Training has been shown to be the single most important thing that keeps a dog in his or her “forever” home.
• Having a trained dog is a joy for both you and your dog!

Ask your vet if he can recommend a good puppy training class in your area.

It is very important that your Labradoodle be professionally groomed every 6-12 weeks. The longer the coat the more often grooming is needed. No one likes a dirty, matted, dog. It is uncomfortable for your labradoodle and not fair to your groomer! Having your labradoodle professionally groomed does not mean that you do not need to brush every week! Because Australian Labradoodle’s don’t moult, their undercoats will mat quickly.

Your puppy, if started young, will learn to love brushing and grooming if you are gentle with them. They tend to show off when well groomed.

Medium to long coats or thick undercoats need gentle de-tangling to keep them knot free. The main problem areas that need the most attention are behind the ears, between the toes, under the feet, in the armpits, the backs of the legs and around the tail.

 As your puppy grows he/she will require more grooming, particularly between eight and twenty months whilst the adult coat is developing. Make sure that you comb through to the skin.  Use a comb and Slicker Brush (provided in your puppy pack) to groom your puppy. When the adult coat is fully developed at about two years of age brushing and combing will become easier and quicker.

Our dogs are little monkeys and love to play in the ponds in the garden, they also love to swim on our walks by the river and will find every dirty ditch they can.

• Children’s toys are just asking me to chew them.
• Socks, underwear, tea-towels, dish clothes etc. are great to play with but sometimes I forget and swallow them if I do this I might need a nasty operation.
• Table scraps, currants, chocolate, raisins, can make me very ill.
• Cocoa Shell Mulch is LETHAL please don’t put this in our garden.
• Christmas decorations are a very tempting source of mischief and  I am a very inquisitive pet!
• Christmas Crackers, party poppers and fireworks could be frightening for me!
• Too many visitors are upsetting to the routine.
• Please remember I am a live Puppy, NOT A TOY.
• PLEASE CLEAN UP MY POOPS or people will be cross. It is against the law not to clean up dog poop. Always carry poop bags.. (perfumed nappy bags are ideal)
• If you give me a bone, do not give a cooked one as they are brittle and sharp pieces can break off and stick in my throat.
• Cooked chicken and game bones are very dangerous. Do be careful at Christmas that although we dogs just LOVE the turkey it can give us severe runs as it is very rich. Bones should be wrapped and put in bin well out of our reach.

Thank you for reading this, and for choosing me to be the newest addition of this family……..

woof woof woof

These pups are hardy and they won’t take any harm if a meal is missed or delayed, they’ll just be very glad to see you and extra hungry!

Above all your puppy will enjoy your company, they are definitely “people dogs”.  A well-trained dog is a well-behaved dog and has a much easier life as they feel more secure when there are rules and he/she knows their boundaries.

Dog training books can be really useful to point out even just the basic psychology of the dog and really useful training tips to enable you to fully enjoy your pet. My best advice is to relax and enjoy your puppy, trust your instincts and above all be consistent. They are happy dogs who will thrive on your affection and give back everything you put into them – and more. Time spent now, in their early months, will repay in dividends in the future.

Please keep in touch and don’t hesitate to ring if there is anything I can help you with.  If there should be any problems or if you have any questions …. please call or email and if I can’t offer a solution …. I know many successful owners out there who delight in sharing ideas.

If for any reason over the years you are no longer able to keep the pup, I would appreciate it if I could have him/her back. I don’t want to hear that one of my dogs is in a rescue centre, but there can be unforeseen changes in our lives and I just want you to know that I will always be ready to help.

Finally, I wish you a wonderful adventure with the new member of your family and I look forward to hearing of their antics and seeing just how they turn out…. I am sure they will make us all proud!  Please keep in touch and send pictures of how they develop.

Good Luck and Very Best Wishes,

Daphne, Delilah & Mabel

Home: 01245 227447

Mobile: 07970 227447

Email: trudie@essexleisure.co.uk