Preparing for your Dreamydoodles Puppy

Your Dreamydoodle Puppy is ready to go home!  

We’ve enjoyed watching your unique and sweet puppy dispositions have started to develop over these past weeks!

I apologize in advance, this page will be a bit of a read but please make sure to read it ALL because everything is pretty important. 

Puppy preperation is key and can make a game changing difference in managing everyone’s stress during the puppy’s first few weeks!

OUR RECOMMENDED PUPPY SUPPLIES

We strongly urge you to get all the necessary shopping out of the way before bringing home your new puppy so you can focus all your time on bonding and training instead of running around trying to get everything together. Their first few days home will go a lot smoother if you’re prepared.

WHAT YOUR DREAMYDOODLE PUPPY COMES WITH…

• 6 ft leash and collar
• Sample of their food
• A fun and colorful Toy
• Puppy Bed or Blanket
• First set of core vaccines and dewormer and health records
• 2 year genetic guarantee and spay/nueter contract 

For Puppies who’re flying home with a flight nanny or via cargo:  They’re very strict about what we can send with them. They can have a small zip lock of food, 1 comfort toy or chew, leash and collar and their contract paperwork (which includes vaccine records). 

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OUR RECOMMEND PUPPY PRODUCTS PAGE…

One of our most popular pages on our website is our “Recommended Puppy Products” page.

Make sure to check it out for a check list of everything you’re gonna need for your new puppy.. I’ve already purchased and tested all the products I recommend!

WHAT FOOD DO YOU RECOMMEND AND WHERE CAN I BUY IT? 

We recommend ~ Life’s Abundance “All Life Stages” dog food

If your puppy is being finicky the first few days home, you can moisten their kibble with warm water.

WHY LIFE ABUNDANCE?

Over the years I’ve done a LOT of research and tried a lot of different dog food brands and hands down, Life’s Abundance has been one of the best dog food brands I’ve found.  I’ve run into alot of quality control issues with other brands like ripped bags, expired bags, moldly food and/or dangerous recalls. I’ve never had any of these issues with Lifes Abundance and my dogs and puppies love it and thrive on it.

Life Abundance is formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks, DVM, whose been a holistic veterinarian for over 20 years. She’s also served as President of the American Veterinarian Association of New York City, earned three Presidential Citations, appointed by Mayor Rudolph Guliano to help establish one of the largest animal shelters in the world, she’s the author of three books on responsible care and treatment of pets, and has appeared on 48 Hours, Good Morning America, CNN, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and more. She’s  also created a non-profit foundation where a percent of her product line is contributed toward rescue and care for pets. Now that is a woman I can get behind!

While leading brands stockpile tons of food for months on end… Lifes Abundance makes their food in small batches every week. 

The Life Abundance products are packaged and shipped and arrive at your door within 4-6 weeks of being made….fresher food is also more nutrient-rich! Shipping usually takes 3-4 days when you first order but you can setup autoship and adjust it to fit your dogs needs.

Lifes Abundance has NEVER had a recall in the history if their brand! 👍

LIFE ABUNDANCE – ALL LIFE STAGES IS ALSO A PEA FREE FORMULA!

This is important because of the recent FDA Health Alert and Update regarding dogs developing diet induced DCM (a pretty rare heart disease) these cases have been reported at an alarming rate for the past few years. Going from 3 cases in 2017 to over 500 cases in the last 2 years alone.

• 93% of the reported DCM cases were dogs eating a ‘grain free’ formula with Peas and/or Lentils listed as main ingredients.

SO, if you do decide to switch your puppy to a different dog food formula, please make sure you’re feeding a pea and lentil free dog food and not grain free. At least until the FDA figures out why this is happening.

Grain allergies are actually very rare in dogs and do have some benifits as well. The most common food allergens for dogs are actually beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish.

LIFE’S ABUNDANCE IS NOT AVAILABLE IN BIG BOX PET STORES. It must be ordered online but they do have an autoship program with a discount – that makes life much easier.

ORDERING YOUR PUPPY’S FOOD

You’ll want to order the following L.A. formula online on MyPuppyFood.com at least 4-5 days before pickup:  

Click Here to Order – Life’s Abundance – All Life Stages Formula Today!

• If you’re already feeding your current dogs a different brand or you have another brand you want to feed, that’s totally fine…  just make sure to transition them slowly – to avoid stomach upset and diarrhea.

HOW TO TRANSITION YOUR PUPPY TO A NEW FOOD!

• Day 1:  75% old brand dog food, 25% of the new food to start the adjustment period for clean digestion.
• Day 2:  60% old brand dog food, 40% new brand dog food
• Day 3:  50% – 50% old and new split
• Day 4:  40% old brand, 60% new brand
• Day 5:  25% old and 75% new
• Day 6:  Feed 90-100% of the new food as you should be very close to a clean digestive transition.

It is best to try to transition them to at least a similar Recipe, for example to another Chicken and Rice recipe which are the main ingredients in Life Abundance – All Life Stages formula.

TREATING PUPPY DIARRHEA

If at any time your Puppy/dog develops diarrhea, take them off food entirely for 12 hours to allow the stomach to calm down. Then you can try feeding them small meals of white rice and boiled chicken breast for a couple days or until they have a solid bowel movement. The Instapot is great for making this! Then you can reintroduce them to their kibble, 3-4 times a day in smaller meals.

GOOD FIBER SOURCES FOR DOGS

Adding a teaspoon of canned Pumpkin or cooked Sweet Potatoes can also be used to help alleviate both constipation and diarrhea in dogs and puppies.

I recommend Nummy Tum Tum, they have both canned Pumpkin and Sweet Potatoes but any brand will work just as well.. as long as it’s pure pumpkin or pure sweet potatoes without any added spices, flavoring or sugar etc.

365 Everyday Value, Pumpkin Puree, 15 oz on Amazon Prime Pantry

BELIEVE IT OR NOT DOGS LOVE SWEET POTATOES AND PUMPKIN TREATS!

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato chews are also a great treat and source of fiber!

PROBIOTICS FOR DOGS

Another helpful product to have on hand for puppies and dogs to treat Diarehha or Constipation is a good Probiotic.

I recommend Purina Pro Plan – Fortaflora – Probiotic Dog Supplements.

HOW MUCH DO I FEED MY PUPPY A DAY?

Your puppy will eat 2/3 to 1 1/2 cups per day.

Break this up into 3x feedings a day, morning, lunch and dinner until at least 6 months old,  at 6 months you can switch to a 2x a day schedule. 

FEEDING AMOUNTS BY WEIGHT

4 to 10 lbs. needs 2/3  – 1½ cups – A DAY
11 to 20 lbs. needs 1½- 2½ cups – A DAY

THE LIFE ABUNDANCE AUTOSHIP PROGRAM

We recommend ordering the 20 lb bag of dog food which should last your approximately 49 days. We also recommend taking advantage of the autoship program and setting it to arrive every 7 wks. You can always change it if you need to. It usually takes about 4 days to arrive.

I will weigh each puppy on pickup day, so you’ll know approximently how much to offer your puppy each day. You’ll quickly figure out how much they normally eat.

*Puppies may eat less the first few days. Just continue to offer them food and water at the scheduled times and pull up whatever they don’t finish after 15-20 mins and try again next scheduled feed time. They won’t starve themselves.

Eventually, they learn to eat when it’s time to eat.

FEEDING YOUR LABRADOODLE OR AUSSIEDOODLE PUPPY

Alot of dogs and puppies will eat as much as you give them – even when they’re not hungry. So, try to stick to the recommended amounts for their weight/age on the dog food bag and feed them 3 or 4 smaller meals instead of one or two big ones.

Our medium/standard size Doodles usually reach their adult height by 8-10 months old. They may continue to fill out a bit more (weight wise) but are fully grown by about 12-15 months old.

Mini Aussiedoodles reach their full adult size even younger.

DREAMYDOODLES ADULT SIZE RANGES

These are approximate size ranges for our Dreamydoodles and will greatly depend on the parents of your puppy as well.

A dogs height is measured from the top of the front shoulder blades (the withers) to the floor. *not the top of their head.

Miniature Size Range: Height: 14 to 16 inches and 15-22 lbs

Medium/Moyen Size Range: Height 18-20 inches 35-40 lb range

Small Standard/Standard Size Range: Height 21-23 inches and 45-55 lbs

Follow the feeding chart on the back of the dog food for weight and age and only offer dime size or smaller healthy treats and only when training. It’s really important not overfeed a growing puppy, allowing them to get over-weight can cause some pretty painful and expensive health problems as adults.

Excessive growth, strenuous exercise, and improper weight and nutrition are all factors that can lead to many types of joint and health issues in dogs.

DO YOU RECOMMEND A VITAMIN SUPPLEMENT FOR OUR PUPPY?

ABSOLUTELY! NUVET PLUS!!

We highly recommend and have been using the Nuvet Plus daily vitamin supplement for years and we 100% stand behind and trust this product and hope you take the time to look into it for yourself and continue to give it to your Dreamydoodle puppy — at-least the first 24 months..

DOSAGE: Give your puppy 1 chewable wafer each day for optimal immune support and to aid in developing brain, tissue, nervous symptom and joint and bone health for a rapidly growing puppy.

Nuvet has been a very important part of our dog’s daily health regime for years with great results. It has helped us to keep our Moms and Dads healthy, vibrant and bounce back quicker and their puppy litters are stronger and healthier.

NuVet Plus is also GREAT for puppies!! It’s a full spectrum immune system builder; not just a vitamin. It’s a blend of antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and probiotic – it’s been carefully designed to promote healthy cells and to help the puppies immune system to heal and prevent disease.

NuVet Plus helps to keep your puppy healthy while their immunities to new germs are still developing! 

Order Nuvet online at http://www.nuvet.com/

OR Call To Order @  1-800-474-7044 – ext 217 Order code: 25290

Ask for Erik (ext #217) and tell them you’re from Dreamydoodles!! He’s great and will happily answer any and all your questions.

Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

GROOMING YOUR DREAMYDOODLE!

Since our Doodles kids don’t shed naturally –  it’s important to be aware how often they will need to be groomed. Labradoodles and Aussiedoodles both need to be professionally groomed approximately every 2 to 3 months, this will depend on your Doodles coat type (wool, wavy fleece or curly fleece). Wool coats and curlier fleece coats will need to be groomed more often then the wavy fleece coats. The Labradoodle above has more of a wool coat.

How often you need to take them in to be groomed will depend on how often you’re brushing them at home and how long of a coat you want to keep them in. If you’re brushing them daily or even weekly and keeping them free of mats, you can grow them out much longer and they have beautiful and ULTRA soft coats.

If you’re rarely brushing them or your dog has a really active life outdoors then it’s usually best to keep them in a shorter clip. Matting can happen under the top fluff so it’s not always super obvious to see them but you can feel them. Mats can be painful and can even cause bruising of the skin, so check your Doodle puppy and adult often for mats and brush them out with a dematting comb when you find them.

If you bathe your Doodle at home make sure to comb them out from root to tip with an Grooming Comb and then blow them totally dry. When a Doodle’s coat gets wet if its not combed and dried properly it can cause the fur to mat or cause currently small mats too get worse and get tighter. 

You can use really any type of dog shampoo on a Doodle but I personally like the Earthbath dog shampoos and conditioner, Bio-Groom or Burts Bees brands.

EAR CARE AND EAR INFECTIONS

Ear are is very important for Aussiedoodles and Labradoodles and for ear cleaner there’s nothing better then Epi-Otic by Virbac.

For treating ear infections which is probably the most common health issues your gonna find in these very healthy dogs. I recommend keeping a bottle of Zymox on hand.

Their Zymox Advanced Formula has cured my dogs of stubborn ear infections even when perscriptions didnt even work! I actually put a few drops in their ears once a month or after being groomed after a bath or after playing in the rain just to keep yeast at bay, even when they don’t have an active infection.

Zymox – Works like a charm!

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FINDING A GOOD GROOMER!

Eventually, your dog is gonna need to spend a lot of time on the grooming table so finding an experienced and caring groomer is VERY important because believe me… not all groomers are created equal when it comes to Doodle clips, experience or just basic kindness and care!

I’ve had my dogs come home from a grooming looking like a totally different dog or maybe a drowned rat? Because the groomer either wasn’t experienced or just didnt care to take the time you need to take with a full coated Doodle and so they just shaved them down to the skin. So, just be careful, maybe ask your Doodle owning friends for groomer recommendations, read some online reviews, or ask our Family group on Facebook etc. And if you want to keep them in that cute Teddy bear look, brush them at home.

But remember.. if they ever do come home with that “drowned rat hairdo” because they most likely will at some point.. just remember it does grow back really fast. Pretty sure every first time Doodle owner thinks they’re fur kid looks a little goofy after their first haircut.Sometimes like a totlly different dog!

WHEN SHOULD I TAKE THEM TO THE GROOMER FOR THE FIRST TIME?

If you take care of you puppies coat, they shouldn’t need to get a full professional groom until they’re at least 7-8 months old. You can always trim the hair out of their eyes, clip their nails and give them baths at home in the meantime.

You do want to get your Doodle puppy used to the new sensations of being groomed so when they do go for first time its not as scary for them.

You want to introduce all new and possibly scary things slowly, .to keep it short and sweet and with lots of treats and encouragement… hopefully helping to make them into positive experience that get easier each time. Believe me the first time you put clippers on a puppies face.. it will not be fun nor easy.

PLEASE wait until they’ve had their final core vaccinations (especially the Parvo vaccine) at 16 wks old before you take them to the Groomer. I recommend starting with just a bath and what’s usually called a “sanitary clip” or “puppy clip”. Request that they just do the minimum.. clean up around their privates, around their eyes and face while still leaving a full “Teddy bear” face and then clean their ears and clip their nails. That’s all they’re gonna need at that 16-20 weeks anyway.

A full Doodle groom can take hours of standing on the grooming table and puppies are not going to be ready for all that their very first groom. You probably won’t need to take them in for a full groom until about 6 to 12 months old, especially if you’ve been taking them in every couple months for just a sanitary clip and you’ve been brushing them regularly at home. 

READ OUR PUPPY SUPPLIES PAGE FOR MORE RECOMMENDED GROOMING PRODUCTS FOR YOUR PUPPY AT HOME

WHAT TRAINING AND TEETHING TREATS DO YOU RECOMMEND?

• 16oz Tasty Rewards Nutritional – Training Treats – Puppies go crazy for these treats!

• Bully Sticks – Great for teething puppies and help keep your shoes safe! Last long and a healthy alternative to rawhide bones which are hard for puppies/dogs to digest.

• Porky Puffs – Another healthy alternative to raw hide bones for Teething Puppies!

• Try ALL the Life Abundance Healthy Dog Treats by Ordering the Treat Sample Pack!

● Beef Gullet Sticks – Another Great option for teething puppies!

These are GREAT to offer Puppies when you want to occupy their time or encourage a positive associations to new and not so fun experiences like introducing them to the crate or play pen, trips to the vet, car travel etc. I HIGHLY recommend ordering a pack of 50! Believe me – they’ll eventually chew em all and can be sooo helpful!

• Zukes Mini Training Treats — Tender, bite-size treats feature real chicken as the very first ingredient. Great for training rewards!

I ALSO LOVE STELLA AND CHEWY’S FREEZE DRIED RAW TREATS!

PREPARING FOR POTTY TRAINING SUCCESS!

We have a page that has schedules you can use to potty train your puppy in 7-14 days using crate training. There are 2 different crate training schedules on this page. One for families home all day and one for families who work full time. The #1 key to potty training whether you use a crate to train them or not is getting them on a strict feeding/sleeping/eliminating schedule.

Having your puppy on a set schedule will help give you a better idea when they need to go outside to potty! And just makes life with a new puppy easier all around.

Get your puppy on your schedule – when you wake up, when you eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner and also when you go to bed!

Puppies can usually sleep through the night by 10-12 weeks old, or about 6-8 hours.

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X-PEN PUPPY SETUPS

If 6-8 hours a night isn’t long enough for you or you work Full-time and cannot have someone come let them out in the middle if the day, then I recommend the x-pen (plus crate) setup with a litter box.

The litter box option will only work for the first month or so because puppies outgrow the litter box. You can also try the artificial grass solutions as well.

Puppies can quickly be trained to use a litter box please be aware this is a short term solution. If you do decide to use a litter box, it will take them longer to get fully potty trained  to go outside and they will quickly outgrow the box.

So, while the litter box option is not ideal it is better then your puppy being forced to go potty in their crate because you can’t get them out in time.

• READ MY POST ON THE X-PEN SETUPS!

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CRATE TRAINING PUPPY SCHEDULES 

Click  below to read my post on Potty Training…

How to Potty Train Your Puppy in 7 Days! Two Crate Training Schedules!

WHAT SIZE CRATE DO WE GET?

The purpose of create training is to use your puppies natural instincts to not go potty where they sleep to our advantage so, when potty training crate sizs is important..it needs to be just big enough for them to stand up, turn around and lay down comfortably without their head touching the top of the crate. If the crate is too big what can happen is they’ll make one end a bathroom and one end a bed. Every Midwest i-crate comes with a metal divider so you can easily make it bigger or smaller as your puppy grows. *Example pic above.

CRATE SIZES for our mini, medium (moyen) and standard size puppies I recommend the 30 inch – Midwest iCrate for crate training and it will still fit some medium size puppies into adulthood but not standards.

I recommend the 36 inch iCrate for our Standard or Medium size adults. The 36 inch crate will also work for Standard size puppies too, you’ll just need to use the divider panel while potty training.

MIDWEST CRATES ON AMAZON

MIDWEST 30 INCH I-CRATE DIMENSIONS: 30L x 21W x 24H Inche crate, is ideal for dogs w/ an adult weight of 26 – 40 pounds

MIDWEST 36 INCH I-CRATE DIMENSIONS: 36L x 23W x 25H inche crate, is ideal for dogs w/ an adult weight of 41 – 70 pounds 

Compare Midwest I-Crate Prices on Chewy.com!

DOGGY DOORS – SLIDING GLASS INSERTS!

Takes 5 mins to install!

Freedom Aluminum Patio Panel Sliding Glass Pet Door for Dogs and Cats – Adjustable Frame by PetSafe

Another GREAT option is doggy door training but not always do-able for every house. There are also doggy door inserts for sliding glass doors though that take 5 mins to install and puppies learn to use them very quickly – because if they have access..they want to go outside! You really can take all the quess work out of potty training with doggy door. I recommend the Large size for Standard Aussiedoodles and Moyen/Standard Labradoodles. 

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REGULAR DOGGY DOOR INSTALLS

Not as easy to install but work Great!

If you don’t have a sliding glass door with access to your backyard, you can also try one of the traditional doggy door inserts for solid doors. You may need to hire someone to install these. Definitely not as easy as the sliding glass door inserts.

I recommend the PetSafe Doggy Doors – Available on Amazon Prime:

PetSafe Extreme Weather Energy Efficient Pet Door, Unique 3 Flap System

I RECOMMEND EITHER THE MEDIUM OR LARGE DOGGY DOORS.

Make sure you’ve asked us for the predicted adult “height” for your specific Dreamydoodle puppy before buying your doggy door.

DOOR SIZES – BASED ON DOG SIZE

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X-PEN SETUPS – USING AN X-PEN FOR POTTY TRAINING

If you don’t want to crate train or you work and you can’t let them out of a crate every 2-3 hours? Try an xpen setup or use baby gates to create an smaller space or enclosure. Do not give your puppy free reign of your whole house until their consistently going potty outside. This is one of the biggest mistakes families make when potty training.. too much room, too soon.

*Midwest Crates can also be connected to Midwest X-pens

READ MY POST ON X-PEN SETUPS FOR PUPPIES

MENTAL STIMULATION, TRAINING & EXCERCISE

All a young puppy needs is a daily 10-15 min walk or two for now and maybe a romp around the yard in the fresh air and sun.

Puppies this age also need lots of mental stimulation so a daily 10-15 min long training session is a good. Its also a great way to bond with your puppy and get them thinking. Just keep them short and fun. Puppies have short attention spans and you don’t want training to be a drag for them or you… keep it fun!

Puppies this age are like little sponges. Take advantage of this time and start teaching them some obedience commands right away. If you don’t know how to train a puppy there are a TON of free videos on YouTube and we also have some basic training posts here on our website, just look in our sidebar under the “New Puppies @ Home” Menu and also under the “Puppy Blog Posts” menu.

We also recommend enrolling in a Puppy Kindergarten class! Petsmart and Petco both offer affordable puppy classes and they’re a great way to socialize them with other puppies, new people and also help YOU to learn how to train your puppy! If your puppy graduates a training class OR passes the AKC’s Good Citizen Test – send me your graduation pictures and I’ll ship you a fun graduation gift your puppy!

*Strenuous exercise is not recommended for the first year. Especially for medium to large breed puppies. For example a 2 mile jog would be considered too “strenuous” for a growing puppies hips and joints.

READ MORE ABOUT HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH EXERCISE – ON THE AKC’S WEBSITE

OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND FAMILY GROUP

Please visit our Facebook page for puppy updates and also join our Dreamydoodles Family Group on Facebook!  It’s a great group for ALL our puppy families – where you can share your pics/videos and even arrange “safe” playdates with your puppies siblings. 

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