Spike is here !

[Mel]

We have our 11 week old Australian Labradoodle at last

He is a character, he has boundless energy, a honey coloured wool coat and green eyes. I will try to post pictures later when he (if he) naps !

So far he has been outside for the last 2 hours on and off playing, has eaten lunch and pee'd in his crate. Lots of encouragement to potty outside but nada. He seems to hate his crate and cried loudly for some time, when he quietened we let him out to try to potty again but nothing so far.

I can't believe he is not tired from his journey and all the playing and running lol, i know we are in for a rough night, My 3 yr old loves him my 6 yr old will be so excited when he gets home from school

[Daisy'sMom]

Congrats!!!!! I love your description of your day - I can totally and 100% visualize We all basically have to start "from scratch" with these puppies and each day will get better as you learn together. I'm sure he's also just very excited at the newness of everything and his new home. I remember Daisy just being all over the place on her first day home, everyone will feel differently and a bit more settled in a day or two as you both adapt and get to know each other. Yay!!! And I love his name Can't wait to see pictures, definitely keep us posted on how you're doing. We're here to help and listen anytime!

[Mel]

wow, what a day ! we are all exhausted !
crate training and potty training are challenging to say the least, Spike has managed to poop outside twice which was great and we gave him much praise for it. He has pee'd inside 3 times after being outside for a long while, not sure what we did wrong there. The whole day was just crazy so i can't blame him for being all over the place, he is only 11 weeks old and he must feel lost although he IS eating and playing so i know he will be fine.

We are using a pen in the kitchen but he HATES it.....i am wondering if we should just take it down and let him have the run of the kitchen (quite a good size). He also doesn't like his crate and cries a lot initially after going inside. It takes a few minutes for him to quieten down and a few "shhh's" from me, i feel bad for him but i am following all the advice and i think crate training is the way to go ...i want him to love his crate eventually. He is sleeping now.....we also want to sleep lol, but we will wait and take him outside again before crating him for the night.

Daisy's mom thanks so much for your support....i really appreciate it and it was very much needed, today has been very overwhelming !

[judycarl2001]

mel, he sounds wonderful! makes me think about molly when she was that age and then i look at her now (16 months) and realize what progress she has made! i have been thinking about getting another one but can't quite decide if it's just too much work at this stage. remember that his crying in the pen and crate are normal. don't feel too sorry for him as this will all change. molly now seeks out her crate when she's tired and wants some alone time. they just need to adjust to it. as for the potty training i don't think you're doing anything wrong....it's just a part of it. i remember thinking she'll never learn and then one day you realize there have been no accidents for a long time. spike sounds like he's similar to molly in color and coat....we just love her and not a day goes by someone doesn't say how pretty she is!

good luck....keep us posted, and post some pics!!

judy

[Daisy'sMom]

I'm sure you are exhausted!!! Potty training takes time and a great amount of focus and effort. What Spike is doing is totally normal. If you put your mind to it you will see progress, I have complete faith My neighbor told me when they got their puppy two years ago she only ever had 5 accidents in the house. I have a very hard time believing that, lol!!! Or maybe I'm just jealous, we had that many in ONE DAY!!! Anyway, just keep at it and it will start to pay off. The key is to get the mess cleaned up so that Spike can't smell it in your house so he's not confused. They learn by smelling where they went to go there again so if he can still smell it in your house then it causes confusion, he needs to only smell it outside in the yard There's no real magic trick, every dog is different. Both your worlds were turned upside down yesterday so each day will be different and better.

If it were me, I would take down the pen in the kitchen and let him have full run of it, as long as you are able to gate it off and there's no carpet, or whatever you are comfortable with I guess, but I'm gathering you prefer to keep him somewhat confined and certainly not full run of the house But yes, he'd probably like more room to run around. And the crate, I bet he does cry a bit but my #1 advice is to stick with it as challenging as it may be. You will never regret it and everyone will be happier in the long run. I truly feel crate training is hands down the way to go. He will eventually like it, we would leave Daisy's door open and would oftentimes find her curled up asleep in her crate all by herself with the door open, especially when she was ready for bed for the night. I'm sure you are tired, the first few nights my husband and I looked at each other and asked/wondered if we'd ever get our old life back, lol!! A lot like bringing a new baby home from the hospital, only the puppy gets locked in a crate for the night. And the lack of sleep doesn't last long, it will get easier and easier. It's all worth it!!! We haven't even had Daisy a full year yet and we don't even have her crate up anymore, she has full run of the entire house when we are gone (kids' bedroom doors closed) and she sleeps in her dog bed in our room at night. We've come a loooooooong way! My point is that it doesn't take long and Spike will be such a big boy and so different He sounds so wonderful already

Keep up the great work, you can do it! I bet your kids are loving Spike!!

[lindamarie]

OH MY! Do I ever recall the exhaustion! My dad was also in the hospital at the time and I was sooooooo BUSY!
CONGRATULATIONS!
I can't WAIT to see pictures!
SPIKE! What a great name!

[Mel]

THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH ! your support is just what i need it is exhausting lol, i feel a bit lost and overwhelmed but reading your posts has made me feel so much better !

Last night was rough as i expected, Spike wanted to go out every 2 hours and he managed to poop two of the times, i was so proud of him ! His crate was dry all for a small spot of pee that i think happened with excitement when i came in to let him out at 5:30 am. I am sure my neighbours must think i am crazy out there through the night saying "potty, potty" over and over, shining a torch on Spikes butt to make sure he was pooping

He had his first vet visit today and did great !

We have decided to go for Revolution monthly as that covers the heart worms and intestinal worms also flea and ticks. Riverbend used that too so he has had this months.

He weighs 8.5 pounds

Today we took down the pen (good idea Daisy's mom) we have used it to gate off the kitchen and he much prefers this, he really IS a velcro dog ...loves my husband to pieces, follows him everywhere ! He just wants to be with us all of the time, i am looking forward to when he is house trained and he CAN be with us all the time

I don't really want his crate in our room...it is very small and we don't have the room...our bedroom is downstairs next to the kitchen where Spike is so i can hear him very easily. The Kitchen is the main room in our house, it's where we all are mostly so i thought it would be a good spot for Spike, plus the tile floors work out well !

It is so reassuring to hear that your doodles loved their crates eventually ! At the moment, we are coaxing Spike inside with his nylabone and various toys but he just grabs them and jumps back out. He refused to eat in the crate today even though RB were doing that. He does eventually calm down and we make sure he is calm and quiet before letting him out but it is really hard to keep him calm when he knows he is going to be let out.

Should i hide treats in the crate ? i am worried that after eating them he will need to go outside again and then we will be back to square one .

Again, thank you all for your wise words and sorry this is so long

[deepnite10]

i remember saying to myself *please lord, show Toby the way to potty training*

then suddenly about a week and a half into the training he started going out the doggie door on his own..but, at the end of 2 weeks it was all bliss and i could finally sleep thru the night..

[judycarl2001]

Hey Mel.....I had a thought about you wanting potty training to be done so he could be with you in the house more. We used to have molly with us ... we would put a leash on and tie her to the coffee table! That way she could be in the same room but couldn't wander. We could watch her and at any sign of needing to potty we'd take her out right away. Now it's hard to imagine having to do this, but it was handy in the beginning. We have our own business so we'd take her there and tie her next to my desk.

I don't really understand the feeding IN the crate. What is the theory? That they would like to be in there because they associate food with it? we didn't do that and now she loves her crate. I think once they realize it's a comforting place they like it anyway. I would think it being a place to eat and a place to sleep would be confusing. Anyone else who used this method, I'd love to know how it worked!

Also, we had a main crate and then a pop up nylon crate that we kept in the bedroom where she'd sleep at night. I think it made her secure to be with us...and we knew we wanted a dog who slept with us. she now sleeps all night on her dog bed in our bedroom.

The part about you outside in the night with a flashlight aimed at her butt was hysterical!! Keep the stories coming. Im so excited to see someone who is so happy to have a doodle......they are SO funny and goofy and lovable!!!

Judy

[Mel]

[QUOTE=deepnite10;172631]i remember saying to myself *please lord, show Toby the way to potty training*

I actually said the same thing last night, except it was for the crying to stop

[Mel]

Judy, i tried to leash Spike but he goes crazy, tangling himself up, biting and tugging the leash like crazy. We will have to keep trying a little every day i guess, it's probably a very strange thing for him to be leashed right now.....good idea though i will keep trying !

the feeding in the crate is something the breeders do and recommend to encourage a positive association with the crate....that is what i believe anyway. Spike wouldn't eat anything from his bowl so we went back outside and then came back in and gave him his lunch outside the crate, he ate some then.

I am so so tired, a bit emotional and scared that i have taken on more than i can chew (pun not intended !).....i called my friend who has a doodle and she went through the same feelings and reassured me .
Tiredness makes everything so much worse.....i think once i have bonded with him i will feel better and all the 'work' will not seem like work.
Trouble is i am too tired and stressed to enjoy him at the moment

I really hope he doesn't scream and cry tonight, poor baby .

[deepnite10]

it was nt that difficult to crate train Toby..

as soon as he got home when he did something cute or responded to my voice..id give him a treat..did the same thing with the crate..though we did nt feed him in there i did give a treat after i put him in..kept saying stay..and saying good Toby and give him a treat..

then the crying started after the gate was closed..then i put a blanket over the front of the crate so he could see me..and i left the tv on all night to let him know someone was there..after a couple hrs, and in and out to potty in the evenings he seemed to catch on to the idea that eventually id return..the point was *taking him out to potty was a reward for staying in the crate..and pottying was rewarded by getting to come back into the house..

after a few lovy dubbys, back into the crate..

[judycarl2001]

aww, Mel I feel for you. I felt the exact same way many many times. I still do sometimes but other reasons like her being overexcited with little kids and other dogs. our walks are not all peaceful yet....she's 55 lbs and very strong....and strong willed. but the good things far outweigh these issues. she is truly the sweetest dog I've ever known.

as far as you getting no sleep and her crying all night....unless you've decided you don't want her to sleep in your bedroom on a dog bed then I would try the soft crate idea in your room. I put molly right a few feet from my side of the bed and when she'd cry I would tell her "shhhhsh". I really think the closeness to me made her able to sleep when she was fairly young.

just trust that if you are calm and assertive and consistent he will eventually do most of what you want (I say most because I think they are a very strong willed high energy breed). Work with the leash as much as you can because they need lots of exercise....a tired puppy is a good puppy. get him tired....go for walks, play ball outside...the more tired he is the more likely he'll sleep better.

this is the first dog we've had that I have bonded with and her attachment to me is very endearing. i think that comes from all my hard work and patience. they want leadership and love.....they give back SO much more. take good care of you too!!

Judy

[Mel]

Thanks guys we are using treats for the crate now and that seems to be working. This forum is my life support right now !

We had a better night, probably because he was exhausted too
He had his last meal around 6:30, water up at 8pm then we just hung out in the kitchen and made a big fuss of him, he napped in his crate for an hour or so and then i took him outside for potty around 10:30 - he pee'd and pooped in his 'poop spot'.
He cried in his crate for a very short time at 11pm when we went to bed and then slept until 12:30. Woke me up with some crying so we went outside and he pee'd and pooped in his spot again.
Slept from 1am until 6:20 am !!!!!!!!!!!! i woke up with a start and looked at the clock, went to check him and he was just lying dozing in his crate, so happy to see me and we went outside where he again pee'd and pooped
There was a small area of pee on his wee pad at the end of his crate but he didn't wake me up for it .....maybe he was too tired.

We have a soccer game this morning so Spike will be crated for an hour and a half ....hopefully he will be ok with that !

My allergies are not too bad....his saliva does bring my skin up a bit, red and itchy if he licks me.....no wheezing....bit of a cough on and off but that could be spring

We were thinking of bathing Spike tonight...he smells a bit ....could be from traveling etc.. we have gentle puppy shampoo and plan on waiting until the children have gone to bed to keep it calm, any tips on drying ? air dry or hairdryer ?

thanks again

[deepnite10]

Mel..so glad the evening went by so much better than you expected..just let the peeing in the crate be a reminder to let him out on a more regular basis..

it one of the nights during the first week that i was so tired that i over slept..i awoke and rush d to the crate and saw a monster poop..*an i mean MONSTER SIZE..it was my wake up call..

i had read..that after bathing you should just towel dry their coat and then let it naturally dry..warming the coat would quicken the drying..so i threw a couple towels into the dryer to warm them up..and it really help d to dry..

using a hair dryer could damage the coat and would end up shedding alot sooner than later..

i suspect you ve already gotten a puppy shampoo..but, if you have nt already, check out some conditioners..one that you could put on after their coat has dried and does nt have to be risnsed..this really help d in keeping Toby s coat nice and soft..and elimated any doggie smell..

something else to buy too.. a ear rinse..some doodles, including my Toby are very proned to ear infections if their ears are not kept dry..sorta like a man s arm pit when he has nt bathed a while..

then after he s dried off..give him a brushing to remove any loose hairs..
i found that regular brushings and combings actually replaces the chore the mother would regularly do on a daily basis with her pups..and will eventually be a seen as a act of affection..and they ll look forward to it..

eventually your pup will trust you more and more to the point where they ll allow you to clean their ears and teeth with no problem..do, let them know that these groomings are a must when they are young..cuz trying to get a large doodle to lay still for a ear cleaning can be tough..