the pups have all been to the vet. Shots, check up and micro chipping are finished. First dose of flea and tick meds applied. And last dose of de wormer swallowed. They are essentially ready to go home. We are working on potty training and crate training. All of which takes time and patients. Lots of time actually. I prepare them as much as possible. But right now they can’t hold bladder more than 3-4 hours tops. A couple weeks and they will be close to 6 hours. But I just want to prepare you guys. You must go out as soon as they wake up. As soon as they eat. And about every 2 hours while awake. They shouldn’t be spending more than 4 hours at a time in crate. So up in the middle of the night. And if working make sure you have a dog walker to let out at lunch time. You can reduce to 2 meals a day if you want but the later you feed that second meal you are going to have to stay up later to make sure they have went potty. I like to feed my last meal by 5pm. My first meal is early at 530am. This gives them all evening to potty before bed. I had ran out of raw for a couple days and was going crazy with all the poo. As soon as I started the raw back up the poo is less and hard. Right now we are doing 2 raw meals and 1 kibble only because of convenience for me and them. I went 3 days of pulling out my hair from cleaning up messes. When you have a whole litter, 6 pooing is a lot to clean up.
They have been playing outside a lot today. They have enjoyed the nice weather. Remember they get hot fast. We are only outside 20-30 mins at a time and they all need drinks during that time. They get hot fast. So you can’t leave them outside with no water. It’s also that time of year that people like to take pets in car. It’s too hot already to leave them alone. A puppy will over heat in only a couple mins in the car. Even in the shade on an 80 degree day they get hot and pant. Doodles have lots of hair. So you have to accommodate for this. They are not short haired dogs.

i get this a lot so I thought we could blog about it. Day 3 or 4 you text me saying the pup is scratching is it an allergy. Most likely no. Most allergies in dogs don’t develop until 2 years of age. That’s the most common time. I a
talk about uncommon but let’s stick with this first. Most likely you put a new collar on the pup. They will scratch because it feels different. Also they are bored. They went from having siblings to just them. Pups use their feet and mouth to communicate. So scratching can feel good or occupy time. So can biting there own legs and feet. So don’t get alarmed. Also the humidity in my home is high. Most likely your home is dryer than mine. So skin can feel dry. Now let’s look at uncommon things. They do have an allergy. Another reason I stick with one food and only a couple treat choices. You can figure out fast what it is. New treats can also upset stomach. So don’t change those first couple weeks. I’ve never had an allergy to any raw. Any. Raw allergies are extremely rare. Introducing one new treat at a time is best. In all the years of breeding I’ve only had 1 pup have an allergy to a treat. The trainer gave her pepperoni and they ended up in the emergency er. Most times they just scratch. This was very rare but they knew right away what it was from because they only introduced one new treat at a time.

(we made it outside today around lunch. I did toenail cuts in the morning. They enjoyed getting the break and being outside for a little awhile. I don’t have the puppy fence up yet so it was just some free play in the open yard. This afternoon I was able to get the 6 week pictures finished along with weights and 1st dose of 6 week dewormer. They hate this stuff :(. They are finally eating well. Both raw and kibble. So mom will be going back to her guardian home this weekend. She is ready for the break. She enjoys still nursing them but she can’t play because they can reach her stomach and won’t stop trying to nurse when it’s not time. I’m use to this. Usually mom stays away for almost a week during this phase. A little Harder for willow as she enjoys being in the puppy room. My other moms hang out in the living room when they need a break. She doesn’t want to do that. So I think it’s time. The other girls will step in and teach manners now. Curly and Bella both tried outside today. Here are some pictures from outside.(oh I had to take pictures of them pooping in the yard! Straight to the area they went. Yah!!)

most of you have chosen kibble. And I completely understand why. Raw is a big undertaking. You can start easier than actual raw with brands like Sojo or honest kitchen. They are dehydrated and you add water. My girls don’t like either but I know others that love it. Another easier option is Ollie a home delivery meal service. But this one is pricey. Just throughing options out there. If you need help let me know. I can help you with any of these when you are ready.

lets look at the fb Post I just saw today. With in an hour she 187 comments. Each pup is different. Some are easier to train than others. I start them in a crate at 4 weeks old. At 6-7 weeks they are sleeping individually. This doesn’t mean when you get home that you may not have an issue. I like the crate in a familiar place. Aka family room or kitchen. The area you are in most. The first week they may scream. And I mean scream. You will think they can’t cry any louder. If your pup ends up doing this you can try to sleep beside the crate to comfort them the first couple nights. I’ve had families build a fort with the kids out of blankets and sleep beside the pup. If this is not an option you can try putting crate beside your bed. Again only do this if pup is really screaming and can’t be calmed down by other methods. I prefer the pup to sleep in crate in area they are mostly in. At a year or so they can be left out over night and sleep in bed ect. They need to know you are confident and in control. They can read your stress or uncertainty. Take a deep breath relax and have fun. Don’t stress. They will adjust and it work out.

lets talk personality. I get this exact situation a lot. A family tells me they want a laid back pup. So they look for the timid pup in the group. I get this more often then I get the opposite. A family tells me they are very active so they want the pup that’s dominate one. Let’s examin each. And I’ll tell you the pros and cons to each. First the timid one. They prefer to sit and wait or may walk away from a situation. Sometimes they are really timid and will let others have the food or treat. I’ve never had any so timid they run and hide. The pros with this personality are they are not high energy. But that doesn’t mean laid back. This personality can become a barker. They bark at the situation that is scaring them. They have to be convinced to try new things. Usually if it’s fun they will try it. So if you select a timid pup you need to build confidence. They need to feel secure and not pushed. Let’s look at the opposite. The dominate pup. This is the pup that a trainer will pick. They try new things with ease. We have had a few become workers and the trainer wants the one that’s not scared of anything. They may be a little higher energy. But they train easily. They want to please. The con to this is if you give them too much confidence they become bossy. This type of pup is the one that excels in class or if you teach them a trick they master it. Let’s look at my girls personality. Curly is the dominate. I knew from a couple days old I wanted to keep her. She was the first to do anything. First one out of the whelping box first down the steps outside. She would go right up to our German Shepherd and sit beside him. She is still very much this way. She makes for a great mother. She knows what she wants and she does it. She loves to snuggle on my lap. She wants to please us. That makes her happy. Bella is similar. But not dominate. She was the adventurous one. Off poking around smelling looking watching. She is a perfect mix. Let look at Dolly. Dolly was the timid one. My style of training has to change with her. I needed to reward her with food and praise. Make her feel good. I couldn’t push her to hard either. In time she would do it. But I also couldn’t let her get away with stuff either. I had to apply simple rules and stick with them. Once I did this she got it. In new situations she now comforts herself by coming to me for my reaction. She is the silliest friendliest pup ever. Loves to play. But a loud noise or something strange and she barks or freezes. She is on the extreme timid side. None of my pups will be this timid. So I’m not worried about someone not being able to handle this. But she was a tough cookie to crack. I do not blame her breeder. I blame flying her cargo at 12 weeks in the middle of a fear period. If you need info on fear periods we can talk about that. But you can see how each personality uses a little different training and reaction from you.

i want to take a couple mins and talk about raw vs kibble. If you are evening considering raw know that your vet will try to talk you out of it. They think they can get all kinds of saliminela (sp?) poisoning. They worry you are leaving raw food sit out for hours ect. First I’ll ask you when is the last time you heard a dog die from eating raw? When is the last time you heard a dog die from kibble? Yeah pretty often. Kibble recalls happen all the time. And a lot of the food sourced comes from China. Call any pet food brand and ask. Yeah even natural balance. It’s almost impossible to find a food that is only sourced ingredients all usa. It’s manufactured here. But the products come from other countries. So long story short you must feel confident in feeding raw to go up against your vet. If you are not that person then feed kibble. Raw comes in so many options. You can feed raw from your local grocery or use a company. I like the pre mixes because I don’t have to be a nutritionist. I know it’s balanced. Correct about of organ and bone. Bone is very important for health. Too much and they will be constipated. Too little and it’s runny. In a premix everything is ground up and looks like hamburger. Simple. Now not all dogs like this consistency. Maggie won’t eat ground. She has to have hers whole and cut into pcs. I recommend trying the ground first. Top quality delivers to frederick and Annapolis area. I can help you place an order if you need help selecting. There are also stores in baltimore that sell raw. Dawgma is one of them. They carry many brands. Feeding raw is simple. You defrost measure and feed. Mine prefer it still very much frozen. I only defrost till I can separate with a fork. If they don’t eat the entire meal put in frig for later. Don’t leave it sit out. I recommend raw bones for raw and kibble fed dogs. Go to a butcher or meat market. Get a couple frozen cow bones. They will have minimal meat on them. Give them outside. They love to chew and clean teeth. If you have additional questions about raw let me know. Pre mixes can be very easy. And top quality is affordable. Companies that deliver to you can be pricy. As much as $50 a week. To give you an idea I don’t even spend $150 a month feeding 3. This doesn’t include pups or a nursing mom. Just 2 big girls and 1 little girl. I get asked what don’t I like about raw. My complaint would be that you have to watch dogs body for weight. When I switched to raw I fed too much and everyone became over weight. It’s not hard to do. You have to really measure and only feed the correct amount for that dog. Doodles are not high energy. So the calculation of 3-4% body weight is way to high. They need closer to 2% as adults. Pups are 4% to start then I back to 3% by about 6 months old. And adult no more than 2%. You can’t forget treats count too. So if you are giving lots of treats you need to back off the amount at meal time.