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Time Investment
Before placing an application for an AussiDOG Labradoodle
Puppy, please evaluate the time investment that your family
can spend with your new family member. Labradoodles were bred
for relationships with their humans and they want and need to
be a valued part of your home.
Below are
some points that we would like to share with you regarding
care of your puppy.
1.
Consistency is essential. Dogs (and some humans) love
and need routine. They need to be let out regularly to go
outside for potty and play breaks. They like to sleep in the
same spot at night. They like their meals to be served at the
same time and their tummies can only handle small and
incremental changes to their diets.
2.
Crate training is essential to training your puppy.
It is not cruel. Our homes can be a large and frightening
spaces to a puppy. They need and desire a crate to allow them
to feel secure. Crate's provide them a "den" experience. You
can safely start crate training your puppy after 6-7weeks of
age.
We will
start crate training your puppies before they leave for your
house. Most puppies prefer wire crates so that they can "see"
out. Put puppy in the crate and shut the door. In the crate,
you can give them a toy to keep them entertained. Let them out
for a little potty break, and then place them back in their
crate. Only when they have calmed down and are not whining do
you open the door to allow them some family time. Consistency
in this practice will give your pup security and ensure that
you hold the discipline.
3.
Discipline is essential. No one likes an
undisciplined dog that does not respect his humans boundaries.
We strongly encourage you to enroll your puppy in Puppy
Obedience. It makes for a happy and healthy pet and a happy
and healthy pet owner. See
puppy training
for more detailed information.
Every moment that you invest in your puppy's obedience
education will be multiplied in your reward of pet ownership.
Feeding of your puppy
We recommend Science Diet's puppy food. When we wean your
puppy from our dedicated mommy, we wil start your puppy on
Science Diet's puppy food mixed into a gruel. It is easily
digested and highly recommended by many excellent
veterinarians, including ours at St. Charles Animal Hospital.
When your puppy goes home he will be eating solid puppy food
specifically designed for his little body to grow big and
strong. We send all of our babies off with a bag of Science
Diet for puppies and recommend that you follow that diet and
discuss your puppy's nutritional needs with your own vet. If
you do decide to change brands, please transition over a
period of time and introduce the new food gradually to not
upset your puppy's tummy.
House Breaking
One of the most important behaviors to train your dog to do is
house training. We start all of our little ones at 3 1/2 weeks
of age to go potty on a Wizdog (www.wizdog.com)
it is an easy and effective training tool. When they come to
your home they will be trained on where to go and how to do
it. This will not hamper your training technique for going
potty outside either. We also prepare our little ones for
travelling and your puppy will start being acclimated to being
in a crate around 4 1/2 weeks of age, too. this helps in
housebreaking but also assists in our puppies flying to their
forever homes.
Coat Care
We focus only on the allergy friendly coats. Labradoodles
seldom need a bath and are naturally blessed to not have that
"doggie" smell. Their fleece is almost resistant to dirt. The
more you bathe your labradoodle the less natural oils will be
in their coat. Fleas are also rare and if you live in an area
with a high flea population we encourage you to use
Revolution. There are three types of labradoodle coats.
1. A hair
coat will shed a great amount and is mainly seen in earlier
generations of labradoodles, such as a lab/poodle cross or an
F1B or sometimes an F2B.
2. A wool
coat is the most allergy friendly coat. If your family suffers
from asthma, this would be the coat for you. Wool coats are
easy to care for with attentive grooming. We shave our wool
coat dogs 2 to 3 times a year and clip as needed
3. A fleece
coat is gorgeous, and a true fleece coat should not shed. It
offers medium maintenance and can be scissor-ed or clipped
like a wool coat and grow back to its long flowing style. When
your puppy's adult coat comes in (around 8-12 months), it is
important to know that your puppy will need to be stripped
three times a week for 3-4 weeks to support its coat with easy
care for the life of your dog. After this only monthly
maintenance is required. Stripping involves a tool used to
strip the coat from the skin out all over your puppy. After
stripping your puppy, you should also spritz with water to
refluff the curls and avoid matting. Trim the dogs hair under
their ear flap very short so that air can circulate under your
puppy's ears. This will help prevent ear problems.
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