Hi!

[Leaf]

Hello, I'm Laylla and my husband, two daughters, and I got our Labradoodle, Tucker almost two weeks ago. We were thinking about getting a dog and had been checking Petfinder and Craigslist for awhile looking for just the right pooch. We saw an ad looking to rehome a lab/poodle mix and thought he sounded interesting.

After contacting his owners we learned this poor guy needed a home fast. Tucker was bred by a backyard breeder and sold to his first owners who were told the breeder wanted nothing to do with him after the sale. There was no bring him back to the breeder clause, no spay/neuter contract, nothing. Tuck had been kept in an outdoor pen with a bunch of other dogs and had very little socialization.

Sadly for his first owners he was too anxious to be penned all day while they were at work, and they were unaware that he would grow to be as big as he is going to get. Thankfully they were good people and knew what they were looking for when they decided to rehome him. We won because I'm a stay at home mom, we have children, and a nice big yard.

After playing with, loving, and training (or trying to!) our wonderful new family member I decided to do some research on my "designer mutt". That led me right here. You guys and gals are a wealth of information! I lurked for a few days reading all the old posts. I loved the thread with puppy and adult pictures! Doodles are amazingly varied in appearance, but really do seem to have very similar personalities and traits.

We're still struggling with his tendancy to pee wherever he is standing when the urge strikes him, and hus appetite to chew on anything and everything. Other than that we just love our big guy to pieces. He is warma nd loving, and oh so gentle with my little girls. We have no idea how big he will get, but I'm betting on huge. His momma was a 65lb lab and daddy was supposedly a 75lb poodle. So I guess we'll wait and see how big our huge footed guy is going to get!

So thank you for the warm welcome I received when I posted on a thread in the Stories section.

Here is a pic of our sweet Tuck. :}

[lindamarie]

Oh Laylla!!! This story has brought tears to my eyes. Bless your heart for saving this adorable doodle!!
Tucker looks so SWEET!! It breaks my heart to hear what he has gone through.

Having been raised as he was, it doesn't surprise me at all that he would be peeing wherever...and chewing. That is what the poor baby learned to do!

It's a blessing that you are a stay at home mom! If someone else had taken Tucker, he may not have had the love and the consistency he will need.

I don't think you mentioned how old he is, but it doesn't matter. Basically, you will have to housebreak him as if he were say only 8 weeks old. Being at home, you can consistently run him outside and make corrections when you catch him right in the act, by taking him outside!
Seems like your daughters may be old enough to help with this too????

WE are here for you!! WELCOME and I am looking forward to hearing more about and seeing more of TUCKER!!

[Leaf]

Hi Lindamarie, Tucker is almost 14 weeks old. He is so big I thought maybe the breeder had lied about his age to the people who first bought him. I found some good resources on how to tell a pups age by their teeth and he is definitely only around 3 months old. I love the pics of all of your Doodles and see that they can get pretty big. I guess I just wasn't expecting something with a poodle in it to get that large. I've seen standard poodles before though, so I guess I'm just predisposed to think small when I hear poodle.

We've been fairly successful potty training by limiting his space inside and keeping a close eye on him. We close off all the doors to any room he can get into and keep him in the living room and kitchen areas with us. He goes out after every nap, about 20 minutes after a big drink or a meal, and about once an hour anyway. We're still acclimating him to the crate, so he sleeps in a small blocked in area next to my bed at night.

He is getting better about pottying in the house! He isn't learning as quickly as other dogs I've had, but he is getting it. He's such a smart boy. I too think his potty habits are a result of the breeder. I do scold him with a sharp no when I see him peeing and then he goes right outside. I still miss about 1 or 2 messes a day though. Seems as soon as I turn my back, or if I'm not quick enough when I think he may need to go...he has already found a spot and peed. He doesn't have any of the typical "I need to pee" signs that most puppies have. So I can't see him looking around for a spot or preparing. I have to be very pro-active and take him out before I think he may need to go.

If anyone has suggestions for other potty training tricks I'm game to hear them! I think we've got it, but I must admit I wish I had bought stock in paper towels and Nature's Miracle!!

[tuffystar]

Welcome Laylla and Tucker and family! He is wonderful! What you have done is so great, thank you! We have heard stories like this before and it makes me so sad and happy. Sad that dogs like Tucker have had to live like that and happy there are people like you in this world. My dog Tia was bought from a backyard breeder by me (before I knew what they were). We too thought she would not shed. We did not think she would get as big as she is either. Luckily for Tia we did not care because we could take care of her and love her.

I have learned so much here it is amazing. Every day I learn more and can share my knowledge with the people I meet. So the ripples of knowledge are flowing and we will get people educated one day. Again Welcome!!!!

[MaxandMe]

OH Laylla i am soooooooooo happy to hear TUCKER is with you and your family!!! bless your heart!!!

NOW Tucker will be potty trained (eventually) and more. It might take a little time , patience, love and sense of humor
as you've already portrayed with your story.

i'd suggest treating him as if her were a younger puppy with the housebreaking and not let him have free roam of the whole house
rather it might be wearisome but try to walk him every 45min then work up to every hour
also another rule of thumb...when he wakes up doesn't matter if 5min or 5 hours, go right outside
if he plays hard take him out....when he eats about 10 min tops 15min take him out to go potty
you might try treating him when he does and/or tons of praise then play for a moment or two so Tucker associates
it good things and wants to go out to potty instead of inside. he's still learning

making him stay in the kitchen or tether his leash to your belt loop might also help as he'll get the hint real quick
or have your tried crate training him? meaning if you can't keep your eye on him confine him
(max was the sneaky pooper at one time but he learned finally)

THESE ARE ONLY suggestions as what works for one might not work for another

BUY NATURE'S MIRACLE OXY POWER orange bottle........it removes all odor and stain so they do go in same spot again.
PEANUT the cream one in the picture was a little pisser for 6mos i think we used 3 gallons training her
Max we got at 14weeks and trained quite easily but had a few accidents here and there. he used alot less

I LOVE how you say

Other than that we just love our big guy to pieces

NOW that is true love and TUCKER is in a happy loving home

i have full confidence you'll have him trained as these dogs do LEARN QUICKLY
OH kong toys are great for chewing urges

WELCOME and you'll LOVE this forum.......oh we LOVE seeing LOTS of pictures , have anymore?

[lindamarie]

14 weeks! Such a baby yet!
You definitely will get things under control from what you have described.
BE HAPPY and keep luvin' your doodle! It's all SO worth it!!

[MaxandMe]

i had to come back a sneak a peek.........i don't know what he has in his mouth in the 2nd pic but looks like a hard won prize
that maybe belonged to something non-dog related? hahhaaaaaaaa HE is sooooooooooooo CUTE!!!

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by MaxandMe

i had to come back a sneak a peek.........i don't know what he has in his mouth in the 2nd pic but looks like a hard won prize
that maybe belonged to something non-dog related? hahhaaaaaaaa HE is sooooooooooooo CUTE!!!

That strange looking thing in his mouth is a rawhide chew. He has been chewing on everything, so we got a few rawhides and some chew toys to try and redirect him to what he is allowed to chew on. So far he hasn't destroyed anything, well except for my oldest daughter's favorite pair of shoes. I haven't had the heart to tell her yet....

And one more pic of Tuck with my girls.

[lindamarie]

Beautiful daughters too!! Send that one in to a modeling agency!

[sheamusmom]

Welcome Tucker,
You've already gotten lots of good advice. He's nice and young, so I'm sure he'll catch on to housetraining relatively easy. My Seamus was rescued from a puppymill breeder, at 9 months of age. He had never been out of his wire mesh pen. In fact, he seemed to think that he needed to poop on anything on the ground that looked like a wire, hench the lamp electrical cords, venetian blinds cords, and even the garden hose were all fair game. However within about 4 weeks he was fully housetrained.
And regarding the chewing, yup he was a scoundrel with that too. I finally learned that nylabones and marrow bones from the butcher were a good solution to that. And of course, we all learned to keep our "valuables" out of range, after 3 days with us, he helped himself to my husband's norelco shaver off the kitchen table, and only left a pile of metal pieces!! It was almost divorce time over that one!
What part of the country are you from?
Liz

[Leaf]

Oh my goodness he got the Norelco shaver?!? Its good to hear they do grow out of it!

We live in upstate NY, ,the Southern Tier area. I think I saw someone else from NY on here too. Maybe we're neighbors. hehe

[Raleighsmom]

Hi Laylla...welcome again! Just wanted t let you know that your daughters are beautiful, and it looks like Tucker is fitting in very nicely!!! The other gal from NY is 'MaxandMe'...Annmarie....I'm sure you'll see many pics of her Max and Peanut!
Enjoy the forum, and please keep us posted on Tucker's progress!

[CharlieBear's Mom]

Welcome Laylla -- Tucker is adorable (as are your two girls) -- congratulations on your new family member. Our guy is just over 3 years old and still a bit mischevious but we couldn't love him more -- you will find that you will have lots of Tucker stories to tell Enjoy & welcome!

[MaxandMe]

LAYLLA......I am in Rochester NY , where are you?

and DAVE (my fiance) and I Just melted BIG time with the pics of your girls and your doodle!!
hey only ONE pair of shoe to-date? you're doing good

[Leaf]

Annmarie, we are in Whitney Point, which is just outside Ithaca NY. I grew up in Geneva, which isn't too far from Rochester.

And as for the shoes, yeah I guess we are pretty lucky with the one pair of shoes! They are my oldest favorite shoes though. She wasn't too upset about it, surprisingly. The chewing is still incessant, but the potty training is going great! No accidents in the house in several days. I think I'm finally getting trained. lol