Bringing Up a Labradoodle Puppy

Who can fathom the mind of a puppy ? Squirrels drive them crazy, garbage is their favorite snack, and immediately after chewing your one-of-a-kind, handmade leather jacket into confetti, they can give you a look of such innocent love and adoration that you forget all about it. This kind of behavior can baffle and frustrate even the most conscientious of dog owners, and rightfully so. When you bring a puppy home, she becomes part of your family; you need to be able to trust her with your home, your belongings, and even your children. That’s why controlling your puppy’s behavior is the key to having a peaceful relationship with her.

To have a dog that makes a good, dependable companion, you’re going to have to spend some time training. There’s no other way for your puppy to know that chewing on an old knotted sweat sock is acceptable, for example, while chewing on the Irish lace tablecloth is not. She needs to be taught appropriate behavior calmly, gently, and–most important–consistently. As soon as you get your labradoodle, you can start teaching her how to obey you, how to act around people and other dogs, and generally to be the best-behaved dog ever.

~Look how wonderfully gentle a gorgeous doodle is… our labradoodle family has shared video and photos of their Doodle Scout and her Birdy friend. ~

Though we’ll never know exactly what your labradoodle is thinking when puppy chases their tail around, we do have some insight into how dogs think about relationships. Wild dogs live and hunt in packs, and to your dog, you and the other members of your family are fellow pack members. This is an important model, because in every pack there are structured power relationships between members. If dogs have no dominant–or “alpha”–leader in their human “pack,” if they learn that they can jump up on the couch when they want, drag you down the street on the leash, and get treats when they beg for them, some of them may decide they are running the show. Puppies who are never disciplined may begin aggressively testing their boundaries when they reach doggy adolescence. They may start ignoring commands, jumping up where they’re not supposed to jump, and protecting their food or their “territory” with growls. In extreme cases, they can begin biting.

In order to have a peaceful, manageable relationship with your puppy-dog, it’s important that you establish your position as the leader from the beginning. You do not have to use physical intimidation to do so. Some trainers recommend that owners establish their dominance through a show of physical force ranging from an alpha roll–flipping a dog over so her belly is exposed–to actually biting a dog on the muzzle. This can leave a dog feeling threatened and defensive, and may even provoke an attack. You don’t need to raise your voice either; shouting can also make dogs nervous and provoke aggression.

The fact is, these aggressive displays of dominance aren’t necessary. Most dogs are perfectly happy submitting to a leader; they actually gain confidence and a sense of security from having someone to follow. The job of a good pack leader is to project a sense of strength by using a deep, steady voice, reacting calmly to situations that make the dog nervous, and giving rewards only for good behavior. Training your dog to sit and lie down is helpful as well. Having her repeatedly take a lower, submissive position at your command reinforces your dominant position. If you’re still having a hard time, ask your veterinarian about special exercises designed to establish your dominance without aggression.

The social life

Socializing is one of the most important things you can do to train your young labradoodle. Puppies, like babies, are like sponges–ready to absorb all kinds of information about their world. In the first few months of their lives, they learn the right places to sleep to catch the late afternoon sun and that the sound of the can opener means dinner- time. In this same period, it’s your job as a pet owner to teach them to bond with people and with other dogs and to be comfortable in unfamiliar situations. This is one of the most important things you can do for your fuzzy family member. The less afraid your puppy is of strange people and animals, the less likely she is to act defensively and attack another dog or even a child.

The socialization of puppies begins between three and four weeks of age, before most people bring their new pets home. This means that some of the work is out of your control. If your puppy has been raised by a careless owner or breeder, you may have an uphill battle to fight when you get her home. The good news is, puppy will continue the socialization process until puppy is  few months old, so you have plenty of time to give her good experiences. First of all, make sure puppy bonds with you and your family. Pet pup, groom pup, play with puppy, talk to her, and just generally give her lots of love. Show puppy that she can depend on you for affection, food, and gentle leadership.

Once your pup feels safe with you, introduce puppy to your big world. Take puppy to lots of new and exciting places–the park, a friend’s house, or dog-friendly stores ( not pet stores) and be holding puppy till pup is fully vaccinated. Make sure puppy has plenty of chances to meet kind people and play with well-socialized dogs. Try to make trips to the veterinarian go safe and smoothly in the comfort of your arms, with plenty of petting from you and the friendly veterinarian and technicians (important to never let puppy or dog run around in Vet office especially in waiting room). Introduce your puppy to children, too, in a well-supervised environment. Show the kids how to speak calmly to your puppy and pet her gently.

If you notice your puppy acting nervous in a new situation or starting to bristle at a strange dog, try not to scold her. Raising your voice will only make puppy more tense. Trying to comfort puppy will backfire too. If she gets a lot of petting, cooing, and attention every time she’s scared or aggressive, she’ll learn that reacting this way is a good thing. Instead, distract puppy as best you can. Toss a ball or a chew toy to pup, or start playing a favorite game. When puppy gets absorbed in the game and starts ignoring the people or the dog that scared your puppy, give pup lots of praise. Soon puppy will associate the scary situation with fun and playtime, and your puppy will become a canine socialite.

Think positively & make a comfort safe zone for your puppy, will help puppy excel and less no’s. We will be sharing our Helpful Hints (in email before puppy comes home) with lots of great info and photos of good products to have and picture of a comfort safe zone.

When most dog owners think about training their dog, they think in negatives. They want their puppy not to chew the furniture, not to piddle on the carpet, and not to jump up on guests. This can get a little confusing from the puppy’s point of view, however. Imagine you were a puppy home alone, and you spent most of your day chewing on some loafers and spreading garbage around the kitchen. Then you nap for an hour and meet your family at the door when they come home. Suddenly they greet you with lots of yelling and shouts of “No!” What did you do wrong? Was it the chewing or meeting the family at the door? What were you supposed to do instead?

The key to keeping your labradoodle puppy from doing what you don’t want puppy to do is giving her a positive alternative–teaching puppy what you do want pup to do. For example, if you see your puppy dancing anxiously around the living room like she needs to go out, get her outside in a flash. Stay near her the whole time she’s out, and reward her with praise and a treat as soon as she relieves herself. This teaches puppy that going outside is a good thing. If you catch your puppy chewing on something you don’t want her to chew on, distract her with one of her “good” chew toys. Whenever you catch her chewing on one of her toys, reward puppy. That’s the key to effective training–try to catch your puppy doing something good, like sitting still instead of jumping up or sleeping on the floor instead of the bed. Make a point of noticing these behaviors and rewarding them with attention, praise, or treats.

Training is a gradual process, and it can be a difficult road to walk alone. It’s important that your entire family commits to a training plan, that you all agree to respond the same way when your puppy-dog misbehaves as well as when she behaves perfectly. Remember, when you train, you need to be persistent, and above all, patient. Your puppy’s going to make a lot of mistakes, and pup may just destroy a few of your belongings, but puppy is mostly just eager to please you. Puppy needs your love, attention, and guidance to be the good Labradoodle dog you know pup can be.

There are lots of good book on dog training! Here are a few we recommend…

Dog Books

• The Puppy Primer and Leader of the Pack by Patricia McConnell Ph.D. Her website has a lot of excellent resources.
  Maybe, just go to your library and check out some books …*
• Beginning Obedience by Nikki Moustaki
• Raising a Behaviorally Healthy Puppy by Suzanne Hetts, PhD
• The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell
  * Dogs are from Neptune by Jean Donaldson – understanding dogs
  * Dog Tricks for Dummies, by Sarah Hodgson
  * Dog Parties by Kimberly Whitman – dogie treat recipes
  good dog care book ~
• Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook by James Giff M.D.
• Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs, Revised Edition: Small Doses for Small Animals by Don Hamilton and Richard Pitcairn.

Our puppies are certified true Multi-Gen Australian Labradoodles and come from many generations of health tested parents  – we proudly hold the Gold & Silver  ALAA and are longstanding members in both Clubs including the ALCA.

 

“We are exceptional respectful high-quality breeders, fully licensed with the state of Colorado and inspected at random…and proud of it.”