Taking your puppy home
Transitioning your puppy to his or her new home can be overwhelming to you and your new fur family member.
It is important to establish a good routine right away. Puppies want to explore their new surroundings and they want to please you, therefore setting the boundaries right off the hop will help everyone!
Because your puppy has only had their first set of vaccines, it is important to remember that they need to have their following sets one month after each dose.
Dog parks and walks around your neighbourhood are NOT ADVISED until they are fully protected. You will have time to Introduce your newest addition later. Now is a good time since you can’t be out and about with puppy to get them well trained and in a good routine. Home is the best place for this to start!
TOILET TRAINING
I always suggest picking a spot on your property where you would like your puppy do their potty business. Taking your puppy to this spot regularly will help them to establish that this is where we go to the bathroom. Scent is a big factor so they will sniff lots and know that this is “the place.”
After each sleep period and eating time take puppy to the set area on their leash and let them have time to do their business. They will almost always have a poop after their meal and will pee after waking. Give them time in the area to get it done . Reward them with a good healthy dog treat each time they are successful and praise them for their deed.
PLAYTIME
Playtime is crucial to their development. Play should be enjoyable for you and your puppy. A few good chew toys (Kong) and a small stuffed animal are plenty for a puppy to begin with. I sometimes tie a dish towel in a knot and they love to play with and drag that around too.
Play shouldn’t be aggressive and It can be a good time to teach your puppy some basic commands to fetch, come and sit. Treats as a reward here are a definite motivator for good behaviour too.
EXERCISE
Exercise is important for your puppy however over exercise is bad. Hip dysplasia is more often brought on by over exercise and environment than it is genetically. It is very important that you are not expecting more of your puppy than they can or should do. Just because a puppy can run around and around for lengthy periods of time doesn’t mean they should. Stairs should be avoided while puppy is developing. A nice walk around your property on the leash and some off leash time during the day are enough in the early days.
It helps to remember that your puppy is a baby and needs to be treated as such. You wouldn’t expect a baby to run around the block so we shouldn’t do that to a puppy. Just because they can doesn’t meant they should!
FEEDING
Your puppy is on a twice a day feed schedule. A morning and evening feed. Be careful to follow the recommended amount and don’t over feed puppy. Another big contributing factor to hip dysplasia is obesity. They should have water available in the dish always while they’re out.
FOOD GUIDE
Mini Doodles: Royal Canin Medium puppy.
Medium F1 & F1b Doodles: Royal Canin Medium Puppy.
Golden Retrievers: Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy.
THE CRATE
If you are planning to crate train your puppy (which I recommend) put the crate in a place that it will stay while puppy is training. Again that will be part of the routine!
Puppies sleep a lot in their early stages. A good way to see the routine is : awake, out to pee/poop, eat, out to pee/poop, play, back to see if a pee/poop is needed, then sleep. Put puppy in to crate which is the best place to sleep. Repeat minus the eat.
Do not put food and water in the crate. That is a recipe for disaster. If your puppy is left too long in the crate and messes it with pee/poop they will not easily crate train.
Your puppy should be able to be in crate for a 2.5-3 hour stretch in the daytime if you know they have had a toilet time before going in.
They should be able to go for a 5-6 hour stretch at night. A quick out to toilet before bed is a must.
The crate is “their place“ and some puppies will go there on their own. It is also a great place to put puppy if it’s been a hard day and everyone needs a time out.
CRATE RECOMMENDATIONS
Mini Doodles - 36” crate
Medium F1& F1b Doodles - 36”-42” crate
Golden Retrievers - 42” crate
I highly recommend getting a copy of this book!
Puppy Fitness: Guidelines for Puppies up to 6 months!
8-12 weeks
WALKING:
Training for formal heeling.
Learning to walk on a leash all around your property for a few minutes each day. If puppy suddenly stops while on the the leash, don’t tug/drag to keep moving. Just pick them up and encourage them to come.
RUNNING:
No DIRECTED running except for short spurts in play.
Your puppy can run as much as he or she likes on their own.
JUMPING and IMPACT ACTIVITY:
Puppy should NEVER go up and down stairs unsupervised.
Carry your puppy if he or she has 2 or more stairs to climb.
Consider using gates at top and bottom of stairs.
NO jumping up onto or off of beds, couches, steps, pools.
PLAYTIME:
Roll balls and drag toys on the ground. Keep toys low to ensure puppies neck is not straining.
Let puppy tug against you and NEVER pull hard on the toy.
YARD PLAY:
Puppy can go out in a safe yard to explore at their pace. Make sure you have taken a look around and there are no dangers to get into.
12-16 weeks
WALKING:
You can begin to increase the time walking on the leash. Still working on heeling and formal commands. If puppy is reluctant to increase the distance, don’t push it.
RUNNING:
No DIRECTED running. Short bouts of play are ok.
Your puppy can run as much as he or she like to on their own.
JUMPING and IMPACT ACTIVITY:
Same directions as the 8-12 week puppy.
SWIMMING:
Puppy ALWAYS needs to wear a life jacket.
Playing and wading at the shoreline. Never force them to go into water.
No jumping into pool.
PLAYTIME:
Same directions as the 8-12 week puppy.
INTRODUCTION TO OTHER DOGS:
At the 16-week mark, your puppy will have had their 3rd vaccine now and can be introduced to other dogs.
You may have to interrupt rough/aggressive play. Treats help!!
YARD PLAY:
Same directions as the 8-12 week puppy.
4-6 months
WALKING:
You can increase the length of walks, if puppy is ready and eager for more.
Keep your formal training up! Puppies need routine and lots of repetition with their training.
RUNNING:
Same directions as the 12-16 week puppy.
JUMPING and IMPACT ACTIVITY:
Same directions as 12-16 week puppy. You may want to introduce them to some low to the ground obstacles. No more than 2 obstacles in a row.
PLAYTIME:
Same directions as the 12-16 week puppy.
YARD PLAY:
Same as 12-16 week puppy.
FREE PLAY/ OTHER DOGS:
20 minute playdates are good. Make sure to enforce rest times and interrupt all aggressive/rough play. Treats help!