2 more weeks !!

[Mel]

we have 2 more weeks until our puppy arrives from Riverbend ! he will be nearly 11 weeks old and we have everything on our shopping list except a nylabone for the crate.

We have read the dog whisperer puppy book and lots of other good online training tips but as labradoodle owners specifically i wanted to ask you guys if you were to look back at your time with your puppies, is there anything you would do differently re: training (potty & crate) or just to make the transition for puppy easier ?

thanks for any tips !

[Daisy'sMom]

Congrats!! Very exciting times And Riverbend, as in the one in OH? That's where my Daisy is from We got our Labradoodle almost a year ago and looking back there's honestly nothing I would really do differently. I think the best thing you can do is educate yourself and be ready which it sounds like you totally are! The one thing I wasn't totally prepared for but easily resolved was I wasn't prepared to have to block off so much of my house, particularly the stairs, we just hadn't thought of that. Thankfully I have lots of local friends still with babies and younger kids so was able to quickly and easily borrow baby gates. I guess if anything I would just reiterate having plenty of Nature's Miracle if you have carpet and hold your ground on the crate training, I believe it's hands down the way to go. Everyone, including you and your dog, will be happier in the end if you stick with it. That's just my opinion though Good luck, post some pictures when you get your puppy!!

[deepnite10]

we got Toby when he was 14 weeks..like you, i did alot of research..mostly how to potty train him..

all i can say is to make the time to potty train him early and avoid alot of headaches when the poop s get bigger btw..all the dogs are train d to use a doggie door..

[Mel]

thanks for your replies !

yes, Riverbend in Ohio, we love them already ! they have been so helpful with our continuous questioning they have been so patient with us and matched us with a 'middle of the road' pup from the litter. I have allergies to dander so that is why we have gone the ausie doodle route, plus the wonderful temperament.

I have the crate ready and also a pen to use in the kitchen, we have a good size kitchen that i will initially keep puppy in and then open up more of the house as he gets used to us and more potty trained. Thanks for the tip on Natures Miracle, i will add it to my list!

Deepnite, i can see the benefits of a doggy door .... i will look into it....what do you think of a jingle bell on the door handle in the meantime ?

Daisy'smom, who are daisy's parents ? our pup is from Laguna and Millie....and will be a mini/small medium aussie.

I am v.excited...i feel like i am getting another baby ! can't wait to post pictures

[deepnite10]

when it comes to potty training..do whatever works..

there are many way s to train dogs to do their business outside..there s just no easy way..my way..

[lindamarie]

WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING YOUR NEW PUP!

RIVERBEND!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!

That's where Bogart is from!!! Bogart is in their blog site.
Chad and Kristi are wonderful people and they are more tha capable and happy to answer all of the zillons of questions you have and will continue to have.
Who is the pups mom and dad?
Bogart came from Louis and Rosie (now retired). But I'm sure your new pup and Bogart will have some family ties.

What would I do differently?............Hmmmmm.....thinking on that one.
I guess the first would be that I would have started Bogart off with the "clothesline training".
That would mean, you should go get some clothesline and cut it into 6 feet and 12 feet and attach a hook thingie (like what is on any leash) to the line and sew it tightly.
The 12 footer would be used in the yard whether you're fenced in or not. This gives you the opportunity to correct and bad behavior quickly as the pup will be no more than 12 feet at any time........or if farther, you can still grab the line without having to chase the pup.
So, if he/she is digging, running away from you when called or play keep away from YOU, you can grab that line and reel the pup in.
The 6 footer is for indoors.

We got Bogart in early December 3 years ago. We didn't know of this technique until training classes. In the meantime, he was soooooo fiesty!! He would get in the yard and start chewing on things and running around totally ignoring us.
Some of the dead plants around, he would chew on or he'd grab something he shouldn't have and there was no way to get him to give it up! In fact, he LOVED being able to look us square in the eye and scoot off like "HAHHAA! You can't get me!"
In the house..........sooooooo many things to get into or mess up AND he'd run from you there too.
I'm telling you, the clothesline works marvels.
It doesn't get tangled up and roams freely with the
pup anywhere.
SO! get some clothesline now and sew on the clasp. Then, buy some awful smelling, tasting stuff like Bitter Apple........or.......I forgot what we used that was even better.
Totally saturate the lines in a plastic bag for a good 24 hours. This prevents the pup from chewing the line.
Be careful to wash your hands after touching the line....eeeek!

If I can think of more, I'll be happy to help!
Say HI to Chad and Kristi for me!
Editing to add......I didn't see that your pup is an Aussie, so there won't be any family ties.
And........you can buy the clasp for the clothesline at a hardware store.

[Daisy'sMom]

Another Riverbend Labradoodle!! Yay!!!!! Chad and Kristi are such kind people and are so helpful. I only ever met Chad in person but talked to Kristi on the phone multiple times, super nice people. We chose Daisy over the internet and Chad brought her to Chicago for us, kind of a long story Kind of crazy that we never met Daisy in person before we bought her, I know! I trusted my gut instinct and could tell we could trust Kristi just by talking to her over the phone. Anyway, Daisy's parents are Rhonda and Sam. Daisy is 14 months old and is 35 lbs and seems to be holding at that weight. They predicted she'd be between 30-40 lbs so they were right, she probably won't get much bigger. She's the perfect size for our family.

We also have our own steam vacuum cleaner that we used frequently while house breaking Daisy but yes, the Nature's Miracle is amazing. I've only really seen it sold at Petsmart, etc, haven't seen it at Target or anything but I haven't looked recently, I'm at Petsmart enough so I just buy it there anyway! But on the topic of house breaking, another thing I did was I made sure that I basically stayed close to home for a good 10 -14 days and focused 100% on housebreaking. It paid off for us and made all the difference for Daisy and her potty training and didn't drag out the process for months and months. Every dog is different though. Like deepnite said "do whatever works". We tried the jingle bell at the door that so many of our friends swore by and all Daisy did was play with it and chew on it, totally didn't work for us. Everyone is different so do what works for you!

Good luck, can't wait to see pictures!!!!

[lindamarie]

After reading this, I went to the Riverbend site and saw the parents of the future pup AND Daisy's mom and dad! BEAUTIFUL!!
Daisy appears to be in the blog too........am I right?
Bogart's blog date is November 2nd........and they have him in their family dogs in his service vest.
Chad and Kristi have such a fabulous website!

[Daisy'sMom]

I forgot to mention the blog - yes Daisy is in the Riverbend blog, too!! I believe we might have been one of their very first blog entries, I had sent Chad and Kristi an update on Daisy last summer so you can find some Daisy pics and my update under last August 2010. She definitely looks younger in those pics. And then I sent another update to them that they posted in the blog in January 2011, there's some pics that include my family with Daisy in them. I just love their blog, I think it's a true testimonial of how wonderful these dogs are and how happy people are with Riverbend. The day we got Daisy from them I met Chad in downtown Chicago to get her so we didn't have to drive all the way to Ohio, he brought Daisy (for me, no photo shoot for her ) and some of their adult dogs to Chicago for a professional photo shoot that I believe are the pictures that are now being used for their current website. Beautiful and amazing if you ask me!!!

[lindamarie]

Yep! I saw the updates! That WAS Daisy......COOL!
I need to do a hospital/therapy picture update with Bogart!

[Daisy'sMom]

We'd love to see an updated hospital/therapy picture of Bogart

[Mel]

Linda and Daisy'smom ! i am so excited that you have Riverbend doggies too ! How cool is that ?!

It's strange, i was having major nerves about getting the pup a couple of weeks ago....i have 2 children aged 3 (next week !) and 7 in April and i was unsure about adding a pup to the mix with them being so young still. Anyway, i read the Riverbend blog around this time and i felt SO MUCH BETTER ! i could just feel the positive vibes and love for the dogs coming through in the postings...it made all the nerves fade away i remembered why we wanted a dog to join our family in the first place, the companionship, the joy they bring. i agree the website is really great and believe me i have looked all over the internet during my research !

so i still have my moments of "i hope this works out !" but i don't feel nervous anymore...good thing as i don't want the puppy see me as a nervous nelly ! My kids are excited and we have talked about how to approach puppy and what to do if he gets too over excited and nips them. I know we will have do deal with this and more especially in the first couple of weeks.

I like the idea of the clothes line giving more control, i worry though that when the kids are out running in the yard he will be desperate to follow them and get tangled or frustrated. We have a large fenced in back yard so he will be safe and i will be there to supervise....i will try it if he starts chewing everything in sight !

We plan on keeping him in the kitchen for a while, it is a good size and has doors to close it off, we also have a pen more for his protection from my children running in and out.

The puppy is from Laguna and Millie and will be mini/small medium.
we can't agree on a name yet my son likes 'Spike', my husband likes 'Dude' or 'Merlin' and my little girl likes 'Woofer'. I have a whole list

[Daisy'sMom]

Oh my gosh Mel, your post describes EXACTLY how I was feeling one year ago. My kids were your exact age last year when we got Daisy, wow!!!! You can do this! If you put your mind to it, you can do this. To me, it's been kind of like having another child, LOL! We felt confident in our decision (we've always had dogs in the past), but we never had a puppy before, so I pretty much was a ball of nerves and didn't sleep the night before Daisy came home to us I will be honest, the first few months we had some stressful moments, but never regret, ever. Don't get me wrong, my kids were over the moon (me and my hubby, too!) with Daisy, but she was so playful and would chase them and sometimes it would scare them if she would nip at them or their clothes. But that didn't last long and as long as you work on that right away and stick with training and be firm with your puppy and how he/she treats your kids, you'll be fine and everyone will be happy. It's extremely important that your kids also know how to be around the puppy, I can't reiterate that enough. I'm sure you've done your research and Chad and Kristi provided us some helpful info when Daisy came home.

Laguna and Millie are gorgeous dogs, wow!!!! I can't wait to see pics of your new puppy. My next door neighbor's dog's name is Spike, I LOVE that name, so cool and catchy, so I guess that's my vote Daisy came with her name, Chad and Kristi had named her since she was an older puppy and they had started to train her a bit. We didn't have the heart to change it when we brought her home cuz she kind of already knew it but looking back we wish we would have changed it, oh well!

Good luck, we are all here for any advice and to share in your joy!!! Keep us upated!

[Mel]

thank you Daisy's mom, it is good to know that i am not the only one with the jitters ! Only 2 days ago i was nerve-free and really excited, today i am a bag of nerves lol, reading your post helped me relax some . I am a bit of a control freak so i don't do too well with the unknown....i like to know how long things will take and need a plan for most things. Having children has tested that as you well know so i have learned not to sweat the small stuff !

Having said that, i don't know what the 'small stuff' would be for a puppy lol, we had a dog when i was a kid at home for a few years but being a child then a teen i didn't have much to do with the whole 'caring' side...i just loved and played with him . So having a puppy is new territory and if i am honest i would quite like to fast forward to the point where he is potty trained and we are all settled and know each other. Stupid i know, i don't know why i am so nervous....i didn't feel like this when my children were due LOL. I just want it all to work out well i guess.

I have allergies now hence the doodle choice, does Daisy shed ? we have been told our puppy has a non-shedding coat, wool....lets hope he doesn't...i know there are no guarantees.
How long did it take to potty train Daisy ?

[Daisy'sMom]

Oh I so know how you feel!! Trust me, I'm a control freak as well And I know you will do great! Patience is key because you will have days that you are certainly tested. But all your hard work and patience will quickly pay off. When we got Daisy we were told she would shed lightly and that is turning out to be true. For several months she didn't shed at all, but now that her adult coat has grown in and her her hair is much longer she sheds lightly, but nothing compared to our Golden Retriever we use to have! We never have to vacuum furniture or anything, I only really notice her hair on the hardwood floors sometimes here and there and sometimes lightly on dark clothing, but it's very managable, LOVE it! As for potty training, I'm trying to remember, but she was basically housebroken within 2-3 weeks of being home with us, it's hard to remember for sure. She had random poop accidents throughout the summer (we got her last April) but that was only when she had diarrhea issues and couldn't make it to the door to tell us she had to go out I basically stayed home with her and the kids all day every day for about 10 days and 100% focused on potty training Daisy until I felt like we were making good progress (there's my control freak coming out!).