Happy first birthday to Teddy, Lily, Riley, Rosie, Obi, Leo, Chanel & Juno!

Teddy

Teddy has become quite a love. He loves to sit in my lap and chew his bone. He loves balls and go fetch but the best thing of all is to rip out all the stuffing and find the squeaker!! He is truly a wonderful companion and has a great personality!! Teddy loves to swim, and he also loves the snow.

Lily

Lily is the perfect puppy.  We are thrilled with her! She happily goes to her crate when we go to bed and not a peep out of her until we get up, and she has never had an accident in the house. Lily’s favorite toy is her pink ball. She also loves going on car rides and never wants the car to leave without her. We absolutely love Lily!

Riley

Riley is such a sweetheart!! He goes with me everywhere, and I always get complimented on how well he behaves and how calm he is and of course how cute he is! I think his favorite thing to do is play with his brother Walter (our cat). You usually don’t find one without the other.  He loves to go on walks and insists on greeting everyone we pass. If he sees someone walking in front or behind us he will sit still and wait for them to come near us. He loves seeing all the dogs too and gets so excited when they show they want to play back with him. He probably makes me laugh the most when he plays with our cat Walter. Riley likes to hide on the side of a doorway and when Walter walks into the room  he jumps out and they start chasing each other. Walter will chase Riley and he’ll run as fast as he can and then he’ll stop and start chasing Walter. During the holidays,  Walter had the advantage and he would hide under our Christmas tree and sneak attack Riley as he walked past him. When Riley is bored he’ll just walk in front of me and put his face on the coffee table and just look at me. That’s his way of asking to play and if I ignore him he does the quietest  sound to get my attention. He loves his yak chew and his mini football with a squeaker in it.  He carries it around and will come up to us and  just squeak it over and over until we throw it. He likes to play fetch. He also loves the snow.  I bought him a K9 top coat to keep off the snowballs and we go out in the snow everyday.  He really is just a great dog. Our groomer says he’s the one she looks forward to grooming because he is so chill. Our dog sitter, who was also his trainer, loves to watch him and takes him shopping with her. He always gets a really good report. Riley is 24lbs. Thanks for raising such amazing puppies!! 

Rosie

Rosie loves to run (and is crazy fast), play hide & seek, chase after any toys, and takes her role of looking out the window very seriously ☺️ More than anything though, she loves to give kisses. She makes us laugh by “booping” everything with her nose, getting excited when we walk back into the room after being gone 1 minute, and climbing on the back of our couch/chairs like a cat. 

Obi

Obi’s our best bud. He loves to cuddle and play chase. He loves going to the dog park and making new friends, and he’s a sucker for a car ride (doesn’t hurt that he gets cookies from the teachers in the school pick-up line everyday). 

Leo

Leo has the perfect personality. He is sweet and cuddly, but also playful and full of energy. He brings us so much joy! He loves his yard since we put up a fence and burying his bones seems to be a new hobby of his. One thing we’ve noticed is that he does not discriminate with his toys. He plays with each one equally- which is part of his ever- loving personality to shower everyone in the room with attention! He loves hiking, going for walks, and also cuddling up to watch TV at the end of a long day. We love him to pieces. 

Chanel

Chanel at 1 year old is now 28 lbs of pure joyful energy. She enjoys traveling and road-trips most of all. She’s now been to New York, Chicago, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee along with her home state of Ohio. She’s most happy when she’s outside on a walk or hike. Chanel will fly into the car any chance she gets knowing it means meeting new people or doggy playmates. In January she even added a sister from her parents Maple and Boaz that is now her every day playmate and best friend. Although there are times when little sister Chloe is really annoying and Chanel just looks at her parents for assistance when Chloe steals her toy. She’s the biggest cuddler now that she has to share time with her sister. All in all Chanel has been the easiest and best we’ve ever had and brings joy to everyone she meets. No better dog than a Timberridge golden doodle!

Juno

Juno is very sweet. She loves everybody, likes our walks every morning and afternoon, and has done a couple of bike rides with me, which she also really likes. She is a big hugger and cuddler. She likes to sleep on top of my head or on the pillow right next to me. When she wants something she talks to us with intermittent small barks to get what she wants. It’s really pretty funny. She likes the water but hasn’t really done much swimming. Mostly waded up to her belly.

Puppies spend a lot of time sleeping, but they’re frisky and full of playful, curious energy bursts in between those naps. Much like small children, young puppies explore the world with their mouths, which makes it easy for a puppy to accidentally nibble her way into trouble. It’s wise to create a small puppy play yard area where you can place your puppy to keep her safe and out of trouble when you can’t keep an eye on her. Whenever your puppy is in her play yard, give her a chew project or activity to help reenforce what you’d like her to chew. You want your puppy to have an outlet for chewing from the first day you bring her home.

We’ll discuss the basic of a puppy play yard first and then cover a variety of chew projects and activities that build on your pup’s natural foraging instinct to keep her occupied in a productive way.

What is a puppy play yard?

Also called a “short term confinement area” by Dr. Ian Dunbar and “Area P” by Jane Killion of Puppy Culture, a puppy play yard is a small contained area where your puppy is kept safe from chewing on the wrong things or otherwise curiously finding her way into trouble. Use fencing to make an enclosed area and place your puppy’s crate inside the area with the door open. You can also make the crate part of the wall by attaching it to the fence with zip ties or something similar.

What should I put in my puppy’s play yard?

1. An inviting crate

As previously mentioned, you should most definitely put a crate in your puppy’s play yard and make the crate as welcoming as possible. If your puppy likes beds, place a comfy bed inside the crate to make it an extra appealing place to relax. Covering the crate with a towel or blanket creates a den feel, which your puppy may find appealing. Keep in mind that a puppy will create her own game of tug-of-war with any fabrics she can reach, so it may be best to build her crate into the wall of the puppy play yard by attaching the enclosure to her crate with zip ties or something similar, allowing you to keep the crate covering outside of her play yard. Attach a particularly delicious chew to the inside of the crate to oblige your puppy to remain in the crate to enjoy it. A pig’s ear can easily be attached by drilled a hole and securing it to the back inside wall of the crate.

2. Potty area

Jane Killion recommends having a toilet area available for your puppy within the puppy play yard. If you choose to provide our puppy with a potty area, we use these pee pad holders with our litters and have had great success. Newspapers are less absorbent but can be placed inside of the holder instead of pee pads for cost efficiency. Wood shavings stick to puppy fur and make a terrible mess. A pee pad set out on its own will be playfully shredded rather than used as a toilet.

3. A project or activity (that will hopefully lead to nap time)

Before placing your puppy in her play yard, set her up for success by taking her outside to relieve herself and then spending a brief time playing with and/or training her. Puppies spend much of their time sleeping, so if you can exhaust some puppy energy it will help her settle into a chew project and then eventually drift off to sleep. When you put your puppy into her puppy play yard, provide her with a chew or project to keep her occupied.

What are some good, fun projects that will keep my puppy engaged and entertained?

Puppy Culture recommends raw meaty bones as a good chew project. Dr. Ian Dunbar recommends giving your puppy a Kong to keep her busy. Here are some different chews & activities that our dogs enjoy. Again, please make sure that your puppy has pottied and played and/or trained with you before expecting her to settle down with a project. Providing your puppy with the means to occupy herself in her puppy play yard helps prevent the development of separation anxiety.

Dogs are naturally opportunistic foragers who spend the majority of their time looking for food in the wild. These engaging activities use that natural instinct to keep your puppy busy in a productive way:

• Lick mats – try putting a small amount of plain Greek yogurt or meat baby food on a lick mat and let her occupy herself in her puppy pen or crate. A lick mat with meat baby food is going to be high value whereas most doodle puppies are not going to be quite as obsessed with stuffed toy containing kibble.
• Food dispensing toys are a great occupier. I have one made by Jolly Ball and I also have one made by About Dog Training. The latter holds more but the one from Jolly Ball has a nice bounce and may be enjoyed by pups that have an affinity for retrieving (and I appreciate that Jolly Ball is intentional about making dog toys that do not contain carcinogens). Put kibble mixed with a few tasty treats inside.
• Kongs – Dr. Ian Dunbar suggests putting freeze dried liver in the tip of a Kong, fill the rest with kibble and a few treats, add a little water to moisten, and then freeze the entire stuffed Kong to provide your puppy with a long-lasting engaging chew project. Kong makes treats that are specifically designed to fit inside a Kong to keep puppies busy, but be sure to investigate the ingredients.
• Slow feeder bowels make mealtime more exciting and longer lasting, which again builds on that foraging instinct.

For longer lasting chews, our dogs like:

• Water buffalo horns, which I purchase from a local seed & supply store
• Split elk antlers, which I get from Ridge Runner Antlers (discount code TRGD15)
• Beef soup bones, which we acquire directly from beef farmers, you can likely buy some at a local butcher. Dr. Ian Dunbar recommends hollow sterilized bones because you can fill them as you would a Kong. Bones take a long time for your pup to chew, so don’t buy a five pack! Two sterilized bones is plenty.
• Some doodles really like Benebone chews. Our 3 dogs will chew them but prefer antlers, horns, and soup bones. It could be that your pup will really like Benebone chews though.

Keep in mind that shorter lasting chews are high value. These are chews that you could attach to your dog’s crate to make it extra enticing to relax in her designated den. Our dogs like:

• Pig ears or pig nuggets – Tractor Supply sells a that’s made in the USA
• Nature Gnaws makes a variety of yummy single ingredient chews that are available at Target & Amazon. We’ve tried a few of their products. Their bully sticks don’t smell near as bad as others we’ve tried.
• Yak chews are another healthier chew choice. Native Pet and other brands are available on Amazon. When the chew gets small, pop it in the microwave and it will turn into a puff

A puppy play yard keeps keeps your puppy safe and out of trouble when you can’t keep a close eye on her. Building on her natural foraging instinct by giving her a chew project or activity to occupy herself while she’s in her play yard helps prevent separation anxiety and also helps teach her the appropriate items to chew. Prepare a puppy play yard for your new furry family member before you bring her home. You’ll both be glad you did.

Happy first birthday to Phoebe’s puppies!

Indigo

Indigo (Indi) loves attention… from her family, from strangers, from other dogs, from cats… she spreads the love to whoever will accept it! She loves to go on walks, to play (she’s pretty good at fetch for a small dog!), to go on car rides, and to snuggle with her 2 kid sisters. Indi is always excited to have play dates with other dogs, even if they are much bigger than her. We feel super lucky to have her in our family! She is 16lbs.

Scarlett

Scarlett is a beautiful, sweet girl.  She weighs 32 pounds.  She is a loving companion and follows me everywhere I go.  She loves to play with her fur-siblings Casey and Nora.  Her favorite things to chew on are benebones, nylabones, and ropes.  She is very adventurous and loves spending time outdoors in any kind of weather.  She had a lot of fun chasing cicadas last year.  Her favorite activities outside are chewing on sticks and running the fence with the neighbor’s kids and dog.  She has been known to dig a hole or two. Oh how she loves treats!  She makes us laugh when she sits in front of the treat dispenser that she got for Christmas from my sister.  She has brought such joy to our family!

Bentley

Bentley is 23lbs. He loves to play fetch. The louder the squeaky toy the better! He also enjoys going on walks and watching out the front window (usually with a toy in his mouth).

Chula

Chula is very smart, curious about everything, and full of energy. She loves the snow, and she also loves our youngest grandson. She now weighs 20 pounds. Her favorite toys are squeaky animals and Kong with treats inside. She loves to retrieve tennis balls and is always ready to play. She enjoys being outside but is not a fan of going into the water. She is incredibly curious and very smart. Our grandchildren love her as you can see. She enjoys car rides and walks in the woods. She brings much joy to our family.

We are proud of our parent dogs and each of them has a personal page where you can learn more about them, check their health testing, and view pictures of their past puppies. Because we want to continue breeding on a small scale, we mentor two breeders who use our boys as the proud papas of their pups. Our 2022 breeding plans shown below include the litters for those two mentored breeders.

Medium English Goldendoodle Puppies

Ivy & Lucy have both honeymooned with the handsome Moses. Their F1 medium puppies are expected to be 35-50lbs full grown, with most being around 40-45lbs. These pups will all have beautiful wavy, low maintenance coats. Because they will only have one copy of the furnishing gene, these puppies are not the best option for families with significant pet dander allergies. (Lucy is owned by Golden Meadow Farm and puppies will be raised in their home under our mentorship).

Update: There is one boy puppy spot available in Ivy’s litter. There is still room on the waiting list for Lucy’s litter. Please email puppies@goldenmeadowfarms.com to learn more about Lucy’s puppies.

Mini English Goldendoodle Puppies

Update: There is one boy puppy spot available in ZuZu’s litter. Rosy’s litter is full. Please email lykeablefarms@gmail.com to learn more about these sweet pups.

Sometimes the terms “service dog,” “therapy dog,” and “emotional support” dog are used interchangeably. In reality, those three terms have very different meanings and a dog can’t necessarily be two simultaneously. Let’s explore the differences.

therapy dog

Therapy is such a wonderful goal! A number of our past puppies travel with their owners to visit schools and other venues, bringing a positive ambiance and encouragement with them wherever they go through their non-judgmental tail wags, kisses, and request for belly rubs. The term “therapy dog” usually refers to a dog that is trained and handled by one person and then visits different facilities to promote the psychological well-being of the people there. This could mean taking your dog to a hospital, nursing home, library, school, and so forth. The individual facilities each have the ability to allow therapy dogs in or to deny them and there are different standards for different places.

therapy dog training

If you intend for your puppy to grow up to be a therapy dog, basic obedience training and intentional socialization are essential. Start taking your puppy to stores that are pet friendly while she’s young, striving to expose her to a variety of new people, situations, and environments. Bring treats to hand to strangers so they can give your pup something tasty as she sits nicely for pets. It’s also a good idea to visit Goodwill or check Facebook marketplace to find a walker, wheelchair, cane, and other assistive devices your dog may encounter while visiting different places. It’s beneficial to introduce these to your puppy while she’s young to help her become comfortable with them in case she encounters them while on a therapy visit. For a school, your dog may not encounter the large number of assistive devices that she would when visiting a nursing home, but she certainly may run into children using crutches, wheelchairs, and the like. Consider where you hope to visit and be intentional to introduce your puppy to situations she’s likely to encounter there.

therapy dog certification

Many dog training facilities offer Citizen Good Citizen testing (CGC). The test components are all fairly basic exercises such as the dog allowing a stranger to pet and brush it, walking calmly on a leash past other dogs, and so forth. The test is the same regardless of where you do it. Earning your dog’s CGC is a good initial goal for any dog/handler team seeking to do therapy work.

Each facility has different rules regarding therapy dogs. Often times, schools do not have strict requirements for a staff member to bring in their personal dog for therapy work. On the other hand, because the CGC test is so simple/easy, some facilities, such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, require their own additional testing as well before a dog is permitted to visit for therapy work. You’ll want to inquire about the requirements for whatever facility you play to visit. It could be that you don’t need to be a member of a bona fide therapy dog organization for some schools and other locations to allow you to bring your dog (although being part of an organization does provide liability insurance). Again, while earning a CGC may not be required, it’s still a good idea if you intend to do therapy work.

therapy dog organizations

There are a number of national therapy dog organizations. Some of them are expensive to join, which can be a barrier of entry into therapy work. If you live in the Cincinnati area, Canines for Christ (C4C) is a therapy dog organization that has a Cincinnati chapter. C4C membership is very reasonably priced, and the annual fee covers liability insurance for you and your dog as you visit different facilities. The first year the fee is a little bit extra and covers participation in the classes run by volunteers and also Canine Good Citizen testing. C4C is a good option for both socialization and basic training as well as earning CGC and beginning therapy work with your dog. C4C has an established relationship with a number of schools, nursing homes, hospitals, libraries, etc. throughout the area and you certainly can reach out to other facilities with whom they don’t yet partner.

service dog

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, “a service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” Service dogs are working dogs that fall under the American with Disabilities Act, and they are not pets or family dogs. Because of this, they can accompany their handler anywhere with permission. Even facilities like the grocery store, church, movie theater, restaurants, and other places that don’t normally allow dogs permit service dogs. There are a few exceptions, such as an operating room at a hospital, but for the most part, a service dog is permitted anywhere. A service dog serves on person and is focused on that person (occasionally there are three unit teams where a parent may be trained to handle the service dog on behalf of their child). Because of this, a service dog is not a pet or family dog. versus a therapy dog that may provide support to a number of people during a visit.

When many think of “service dog,” a mobility dog or seeing eye dog comes to mind. There are a variety of types of service dogs. Dogs who are individually trained to support a handler with autism, fetal alcohol exposure or drug exposure can also be service dogs. 4Paws for Ability specifically trains dogs to assist these individuals and also trains Multiple Purpose Service Dogs to partner with those diagnosed with ADHD, downs syndrome, and a variety of mental health diagnosis.

service dog training & organizations

4Paws for Ability is a service dog organization that is local to the Cincinnati area. It generally takes about 2 years after $17k in funds are raised to receive a service dog from 4Paws that is trained for your specific needs. Each dog “is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” This means that the training is individualized and rigorous training.

Because of this long wait and expense, some families choose to select their own breeder, adopt a puppy and then work with a trainer to shape the dog to meet the needs of her handler. If you opt to go this route, it’s essential that you are extremely selective when choosing a breeder, that you do a large amount of preparation and research about how to train your new puppy, and that you immediately begin intentional training when your puppy joins your family. Service dogs undergo A LOT of very specific training. The exact advance training is specific to the needs of the handler, but every service dog requires basic obedience training and intentional socialization. Start taking your puppy to stores that are pet friendly while she’s young, striving to expose her to a myriad of new situations and environments. It’s essential that you help your puppy understand how you want her to act in exciting environments. For instance, service dogs are working dogs who should not be greeting strangers at the store.

emotional support animal

“Emotional support animal” (ESA) is more of a broad term. ESAs are pets or family dogs. They are not service animals. Airlines and other businesses do not accommodate or recognize ESAs the way they previously did. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a ruling regarding traveling with ESAs by air that “Defines a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability… [and] No longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal.” But businesses & airlines not recognizing the work of an ESA doesn’t keep these dogs from providing real psychological support to their owners and family members.

Goldendoodles are very people-oriented dogs, and they are always happy to receive belly rubs, pets, and attention, which is very therapeutic for many. Being an emotional support comes naturally to goldendoodles and isn’t necessarily something that needs to be taught. They are a pretty intuitive breed. Some behaviors can be taught, such as laying on top of a child who needs to feel that pressure and closeness to help de-escalate, but generally goldendoodles are focused on people and naturally provide supportive companionship. 

emotional support animal certfication

According to AKC, “to legally be considered an emotional support dog… the pet needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with a disabling mental illness. A therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist must determine that the presence of the animal is needed for the mental health of the patient.”

Some service dogs are specifically trained to provide emotional support to an individual diagnosed with fetal alcohol exposure, drug exposure, ADHD, downs syndrome, and a variety of mental health diagnosis. These animals undergo rigorous training and performed specific tasks for the individual with the disability. Although these service dogs provide emotional support, they are legally service dogs and not ESAs.

therapy dog vs. service dog vs. emotional support animal

A therapy dog is a pet that visits different facilities with her handler to promote the psychological well-being of the people there.

A service dog is “is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability” (ADA). A service dog is NOT a pet or family dog, but rather serves only her handler.

Legally, an emotional support animal requires a prescription from a licensed mental health professional, but many families consider their family pet to be an emotional support animal, and certainly having a dog improves the mental wellbeing of the family.

Regardless of whether you intend for your new puppy to grow into being a therapy dog, service dog, ESA, or a family pet, it is essential that you prepare yourself prior to bringing your new puppy home. Be intentional about training your new puppy and be intentional about socialization her. Your efforts while she’s little will make a huge impact on her throughout her lifetime.

My goldendoodle won’t eat

So your Goldendoodle doesn’t eat as much as the kibble bag says she should? You’re not alone! Generally, goldendoodles tend to be leaner like their poodle ancestors and aren’t crazy about food like some dog breeds. Here are a four steps you can take to help your Goldendoodle achieve a healthy weight.

First, take a minute to assess whether there are any obvious reasons why your goldendoodle isn’t eating enough. Mini goldendoodles do the majority of their growing by 6 months of age, so it’s normal for their appetite to taper off around 6 months old. It’s also normal for a brand new puppy not to eat a lot the first few days when she initially joins your family. Additionally, it’s wise to take a stool sample to your veterinarian to ensure that your goldendoodle doesn’t have any “friends” living in her intestines that could be impacting her appetite or causing her to be skinny.

Four tricks to encourage your goldendoodle to eat

1. Try free feeding

Goldendoodles often do better grazing rather than having set mealtimes. Leaving food out continuously works best if you don’t have other pets that will help themselves to your dog’s food dish. Generally, goldendoodles tend to be leaner like their poodle ancestors so having continual access to food is beneficial.

2. Allow late night eating

Many goldendoodles aren’t big morning eaters, just as some humans tend to skip breakfast routinely. Observe whether your doodle seems to eat more certain times of the day. Some goldendoodes even like to eat overnight. If your dog can eat a midnight snack without needing an overnight trip to the bathroom, leaving food down for her at bedtime is a great option.

3. Make mealtimes a game

Sometimes eating food out of a dish is a bit boring. Slow feeders and doggie puzzles are a great way to liven up dinner. Pick up a snuffle mat, slow feeder bowl or ball, and a fun mental stimulation puzzle to see what your pup likes best. It’s also good to do a short training session each day with your furry friend, and kibble can be a great treat option. Free kibble in a dish doesn’t taste quite as good as kibble that was earned by a sit, down or paw shake.

4. Moisten kibble

Sometimes simply moistening food with a little bit of water can make it more appealing. You can also use a few tablespoons of fresh, raw goat milk (not cow milk) to make food a little extra irresistible. You can experiment by leaving out some dry kibble as well to see which you dog prefers. Chances are she’ll be drawn to the moistened food. If you live in the Cincinnati area, D&L Meadows is a local dairy goat farm where you can buy fresh milk. Be sure to only use fresh goat milk or frozen milk that’s recently thawed. Feeding your beloved doodle goat milk that’s been sitting in the back of your fridge for a month could result in a sick puppy.

Many goat farmers sell milk in 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon containers. Since your goldendoodle will only use a small amount each day, divide the milk into pint or quart glass canning jars and store on the freezer until your pup is ready to use it.

If you don’t have access to raw goat milk directly from a farmer, some pet boutiques and pet food stores sell fermented raw goat milk. In the Cincinnati and Dayton areas, Pet People, Earthwise Pet Supply, and Bona-a-Fido Bakery all have 1 pint containers of A+ Answers raw fermented goat milk available for purchase (usually in the freezer section). Again, goat milk is a tasty supplement, not your dog’s entire meal, so sprinkle it over your dog’s kibble to make it extra enticing. 1/4 cup of goat milk per day is plenty for a mini goldendoodle and 1/2 cup of goat milk is about right for a medium.

Will changing dog foods help my goldendoodle eat better?

Switching to a new kibble will probably help your goldendoodle eat more for about 3-4 days. Soon the luster of the new food will wear off and your goldendoodle will return to her normal eating habits. Most goldendoodles don’t have small appetites because of a distaste for their current kibble but rather because they just naturally have a small appetite.

What food should goldendoodles eat?

If you’re wondering what kibble to feed your goldendoodle, try TLC Dog Food. That’s what we feed our dogs and puppies, and they all do well with it. Whatever dog food you select, it is important to read the ingredients and select a kibble that contains no more than one legume ingredient (i.e. peas, soy), as regularly eating legumes has been linked to cardiac and endocrine problems in dogs.

When do I switch my goldendoodle puppy to adult dog food?

Your mini Goldendoodle puppy will finish the majority of her growing by about 6 months of age, so it’s normal for her appetite to slow down around then. She may hit a short growth spurt around 8 months old, but she probably won’t get any taller after that point, although she may fill out a bit. You can switch your puppy to adult food between 9-12 months of age – whenever in that timeframe that it comes time for a new bag of food, go ahead and order adult instead of puppy.

How much should I feed my goldendoodle? Is my goldendoodle too skinny?

Consults your dog food bag for a guide of how much your goldendoodle should be eating of that particular kibble. Each dog kibble should have feeding recommendations on the bag of how much your dog should be eating based on her age and weight. Try free feeding, moistening kibble, and using the other tricks we shared above to encourage your goldendoodle to eat if she’s a finicky eater, but don’t stress yourself too much if she eats a little less than the amount dictated by the dog food bag.

If you have any questions about whether your goldendoodle is too skinny, consult your veterinarian. Not every doodle wants to weigh as much as humans think she should. It’s important to assess the dog herself and not just the number on the scale.

• Have you brought a stool sample to the vet to ensure there aren’t any intestinal parasites causing a problem?
• Is your doodle peeing and pooping normally?
• Does your dog have a normal energy level? Is she playful and happy?
• If your doodle is a puppy who is 6 months or younger, is she gaining weight each week?

If your dog doesn’t have any parasites, she’s eliminating normally, and she has a normal energy level, she’s may be an okay weight for her, even if it seems a bit skinny. Certainly consult your vet if you have any concerns, but don’t stress yourself out too much about your goldendoodle being a “poor eater.” Remember, it’s common for goldendoodles to have small appetites. Try the tricks shared about to encourage eating, and allow your pup to eat the amount she wants.

Disclaimer: this information is not intended as veterinarian advice. Please consult a licensed practicing veterinarian.

Breeders can genetically test parent dogs to achieve straighter or curlier coats, which means some F2 or multi gen goldendoodles may have curly coats, some wavy coats, and others straight coats, depending on their genetic makeup. If coat texture is important to you, be sure to find a breeder that understands coat genetics and ask questions. Learn more about how to determine whether your goldendoodle will have a curly coat in this article.

5. Which Goldendoodle is hypoallergenic?

Goldendoodles with two copies of the furnishing gene are the most hypoallergenic. An F1 goldendoodle will only have one copy of the furnishing gene, so F1 goldendoodles are not the best option for those with pet dander allergies. If you or someone in your family has significant pet dander allergies, it’s essential to find a breeder who understands genetics and can help you find a puppy who is genetically the best for your family. For our dogs, Rosy, Maple, and Boaz all have two copies of the furnishing gene. This means that all of Rosy & Maple’s puppies with Boaz will also have two copies of the furnishing gene and are a good option for those with pet dander allergies. Learn more about about the genes that impact whether a goldendoodle is hypoallergenic in this article.

6. Which Goldendoodle sheds the least?

Goldendoodles with two copies of the furnishing gene shed the least. The amount that a Goldendoodle sheds is largely based on genetics. An F1 goldendoodle will only have one copy of the furnishing gene, so F1 goldendoodles generally shed a little. Learn more about the genetics that impact whether a goldendoodle will shed in this article.

7. Will Goldendoodle puppies shed?

Goldendoodle puppies with one or two copies of the furnishing gene will not shed. Goldendoodle puppies who do not have a copy of the furnishing gene will shed as puppies and continue shedding as adults. We do genetic testing to ensure that all of our Goldendoodle puppies have at least one copy of the furnishing gene. We don’t want you to bring home a Goldendoodle puppy who is high shedding. Learn more about the genetics that impact whether a goldendoodle will shed in this article.

8. Will my doodle grow a beard?

The furnishing gene produces long hair on a doodle’s face known as a beard. If your doodle has one or two copies of the furnishing gene, she will grow a beard. If your doodle does not have a copy of the furnishing gene, she will have short hair on her face like a golden retriever, and she will also be higher shedding.

9. Can goldendoodles live outside?

Technically a Goldendoodle can live outside. A Goldendoodle is not going to thrive as an outdoor dog though. Goldendoodles are a people-oriented dog breed who enjoy being part of the family. It’s best for a Goldendoodle to live in your home where she can be your shadow and participate in life with you.        

10. When do goldendoodles stop growing?

Mini goldendoodles do the majority of their growing by 6 months old. They may have a little growth spurt around 8 months old, but by 8 months old, your mini Goldendoodle is finished growing in height.

11. Will my Goldendoodle change color?

12. Can goldendoodles swim?

13. Can goldendoodles be black?

As ironic as it sounds, goldendoodles can indeed be black. The black color comes from a black poodle. Our goldendoodles are shades of cream to medium apricot in color. We do not breed black goldendoodles at this time.

14. Are goldendoodles hyper?

If a Goldendoodle has hyper parents, she’ll be hyper. If a Goldendoodle has calm parents, she’ll also be calmer. It’s essential for temperament to be a higher priority than color. People can become so caught up in having a Goldendoodle that’s a “cool color” that they neglect to realize that temperament is actually more important.

While our puppies often have a reddish hue, we don’t breed deep red goldendoodles. Our dogs are various shades of cream to apricot in color, like our parent dogs. We choose to breed English golden retriever lines because they are thought to be less prone to cancer than American goldens. They also generally are less hyper and have boxier faces, which we think are cuter. English golden retrievers are lighter in color though, so they don’t produce goldendoodles that are deep red. Most red goldendoodles fade with age and don’t retain their rich red color unless the red is from the golden retriever side rather than the poodle side. Redder golden retrievers generally come from hunting lines, so they are usually higher energy with more prey drive. 

15. Do goldendoodle eyelashes grow back?

When your goldendoodle visits the groomer, her eye lashes will likely get a little trimming too. Groomers often try to leave lashes long, but sometimes it’s inevitable for them to get shortened a bit in the process of trimming the rest of the face and head. Don’t worry though. Goldendoodle eye lashes grow back!

BONUS: What is an English cream golden retriever?

The golden retriever breed originated from gun dogs in Scotland. While all golden retrievers descend from the same distant ancestors, the breed took on different characteristics from country to country. English golden retrievers, which come from European bloodlines, tend to have a stockier, more muscular build than American golden retrievers and are also generally lighter in color (more of a light cream color rather than gold or red). AKC’s breed standard for the golden retriever doesn’t allow the cream color. It reads that a golden retriever’s color may be “lustrous golden of various shades… Predominant body color which is either extremely pale… is undesirable.” Europeans embraced the lighter colors of golden retrievers that the American breeders worked to eliminate.

Many people prefer the cute teddy bear look of the English goldendoodle. In addition to that adorable teddy bear face, the most desirable aspect of using English golden retrievers verses American golden retrievers is their health. Cancer is the number one killer of American golden retrievers, causing many to die before 9 years of age. Some research suggests that cancer is less prevalent in English golden retrievers than American golden retrievers. The research isn’t sufficient to be sure that English golden retrievers are less prone to cancer, but it’s a possibility. Health is our primary concern, so we opt for English lines, researching longevity. Pictured above is the beautiful Lucy.

A number of our past puppies have their own Instagram accounts. It’s a great way to connect with littermates, share updates, and keep in touch. Want to see some of our past puppies? Check out their personal social media pages.

Boaz Puppies

Chanel & Chloe are two sisters who are both Maple & Boaz puppies, but from different litters. Obi is from the same litter as Chanel and Kobi & Pippi are from the same litter as Chloe. Guster is also a Maple & Boaz pup and you’re sure to enjoy his adventures with his human siblings.

Waffles is an adorable Ivy & Boaz who you’ll fall in love with.

Benny seems to have a new sweater for every occasion. He is a sweet ZuZu & Boaz pup and full sibling to Archie and Francis.

Gracie & Opal are both Abria & Boaz girls who will steal your heart.

Rosy & Boaz make some pretty cute babies too! Arya and Willow are two adorable littermates who will melt your heart.

Abria & Boaz have some pretty adorable puppers. Meet Archie, Nana, and Gracie.

Moses Puppies

You’ve got to check out Bernie’s Instagram. He’s always up to something fun. Bernie is an Abria & Moses puppy as are Otto & Cooper. Otto & Cooper two brothers from different Abria X Moses litters.

Oaklee is another guy you don’t want to miss! This boy has more accolades than any other dog you know! His official name is Timberidge’s Ancient Oak AKC-CD TKN CGC FDC CWAGS-Ob1qv Ob2 SR, but you can call him Oaklee. Oaklee is a Junie & Moses puppy as is Moses (yes, Moses has a puppy named Moses!).

Dobbie is an adorable Lucy X Moses puppy who has a thing for wine, being held, and wearing jammies that match her favorite humans. Millie and Piper are Dobbie’s littermates and Blondie is her younger sister.

Moses & Ivy make some pretty adorable fluffballs. Meet Aslan and Daisy.

Gideon Puppies

Kernal Maizy June is an adorable little pup who loves a good snuggle.

These puppies are not available for adoption as they all have forever families, but we’d love for you to enjoy watching them grow, develop, learn & change with us.

happy birthday: November 7th

Maple & Boaz are the proud parents of five squishy new babies: three girls and two boys. These little ones are absolutely precious. When first born, puppies depend completely on their mama, so we’re blessed that Maple does such a great job caring for them. She nurses them almost constantly it seems and snuggles with them. It makes us chuckle to see Maple laying on her back in the whelping box surrounded by puppies! (goldendoodles are notorious for sleeping on their backs, and Maple lives up to the stereotype). How sweet are these faces? The pups are about 24 hours old in the picture above. Our children have named the puppies: Tulip, Rose, Daffodil, Toothless (after How to Train A Dragon) and Bucephalus (after Alexander the Great’s horse – add that to Cincinnatus & Cyrus the Great in Abria’s litter and you’ll have doubt that we’re currently studying ancient history!).

At first puppies can’t yet walk. Their eyes and ears are closed. They can’t go to the bathroom on their own. And they can’t maintain their own body temperature. Fortunately God gave puppies a natural instinct to pile together for warmth, so they snuggle together in a giant puppy heap. And they also cuddling around Ivy as she snoozes contentedly, surrounded by her new family. EEGs have revealed that the brain activity of infant puppies is the same when asleep and awake. But these little pups are busy eating, growing, and developing. Maple’s puppies twitch and pop in their sleep, as all healthy newborn puppies should. This activated sleep helps them build muscle tone. Hopefully you caught the video in the Instagram story of three of them actively sleeping.

Puppies grow and change so quickly! It’s really an amazing process to witness. At 4 days old, these puppies have almost doubled their birth weights already. There’s no doubt that Maple is feeding them well!

weekly puppy tip #1: nap time is essential!

Think about a napping place – The puppies spend most of their lives sleeping now, but did you know that your new furbaby is going to need lots of sleep when you bring her home, too? Puppies, just like small children, require naps throughout the day. When your puppy is sleeping, try to allow her to rest untouched (it’s okay for noisy life to carry on around her while she snoozes, but it’s best not to physically disturb her as much as possible). This may mean that you need to guide her to a different spot than the one she’s initially chosen. Puppy Culture estimates that an 8-10 week old puppy sleeps 3 hours and then is awake for 1 hour before going back down for another nap. AKC gives some helpful insight into the importance of puppy sleep:

Although puppies may seem like little bundles of energy, in fact, they sleep 15-20 hours a day. One minute your puppy may be a miniature tornado, and the next he’s fallen soundly asleep, almost mid-activity. Sleep is essential to healthy growth: during sleep his central nervous system, brain, immune system, and muscles are developing. All of that sleep also helps him rest up during growth spurts… household members, especially children, should leave your puppy alone while he is sleeping. Plan his day so that active time is followed by quiet time for sleep. He’ll most likely be ready for a nap after playtime or a walk, sleep for a while and then wake up ready for anything. Your puppy may nap every hour or so, sleeping from 30 minutes to as long as two hours. All of this sleep is perfectly normal.

Jan Reisen from the American Kennel Club (AKC)

You can read the rest of the article here.

11 days old

These puppies may still seem incredibly small but in just 11 short days they’ve really packed on the pounds. These sweet little pumpkins continue to dedicate their entire lives to eating and sleeping – and it shows! They are fat little sausages with adorable wrinkles and rolls. Just look at that chunky little belly below!

They twitch and pop involuntarily during their sleep, developing muscle tone for the near future. This phenomenon is known as “activated sleep.” Hopefully you were able to enjoy the Instagram video of them snoozing during their photo session today.

These guys went on their first road trip on Tuesday. We know they each have a lifetime of car rides ahead of them, so we want to make sure they’re familiar with the feeling of being in a moving automobile. The pups sprawled out leisurely in a crate together and cruise around town. While neither Abria or Boaz struggle with car sickness, we want to do everything we can to set these sweet puppies up for success. There is some thought that early exposure to car rides helps decrease the risk of a dog being prone to car sick as an adult. Even so, it’s a good idea not to feed your puppy a big meal immediately before a long car ride (their inner ear is still developing when they’re pups). But that doesn’t mean you can use treats to make car rides fun!

When your puppy joins your family, continue to take your puppy on car rides to fun places. If your puppy only rides in the car when he’s going to the vet or groomer, he’ll learn to associate the car with those things and won’t want to go on rides. Remember, puppies are highly impressionable at a young age, so a few “bad” trips can give them a distaste for the car. Make sure the good, fun trips outnumber the bad trips. Our parent dogs LOVE the car because they go to the park, to the nature center, to the homes of friends and family, to dog friendly stores, and so forth. Sometimes they even ride in the car to pick up our ClickList order with us. Our dogs associate the car with fun and always eagerly hop in whenever we tell them to “go for a ride.”

weekly puppy tip #2

Make a puppy experience plan – Compile a list of places you want to take your puppy and experiences you want your puppy to encounter. Any day now, these little eyes will be ready to soak up the sites, and we’ll now start introducing the puppies to items that differ in appearance. We have a thought out socialization plan, working hard to expose your puppy to as much as possible during her time with us. When you take your puppy home, that responsibility then shifts to you as you continue the socialization process. Exposing your puppy to new people, situations, sounds, smells, textures, etc. is extremely important. Give your new puppy a few days to adjust to her new home and new routine. Then begin giving her short, positive experiences (yummy treats make everything more positive!). Don’t try to do too much in one day, as you don’t want to overwhelm or stress her. Start developing ideas of how to want to socialize your new puppy. 

Your goal is for your puppy to meet a minimum of 100 different people by the time she’s six months old. Dr. Ian Dunbar, a puppy socialization expert, raises the bar even higher by recommending that puppies meet 100+ people during the first month at home. If you hope to visit a local nursing home or hospital when your puppy gets older, secure some crutches, walkers or wheelchairs to expose your puppy to at home. Meeting people is just one component of socialization. Think about outdoor experiences that you and your puppy can safely enjoy together. Consider what predictable dogs you can introduce your puppy to (dogs who are predictable, friendly, healthy, and will model good behavior for your pup). Remember, adult dogs aren’t always fond of puppies so be sure to monitor them together. Do you know anyone with a woods or creek where you can take your puppy for a short romp? Remember, you want every experience to be POSITIVE (i.e. bring yummy treats and hand out the praise). Making a plan now, before you bring your puppy home, will help ensure that you follow through with a variety of positive exposures once you have your new little fluff ball at your side. 

Check out AviDog’s free e-book for more ideas about what to add to your puppy experience plan. Baxter & Bella also has some great ideas for socializing your puppy.

3 weeks

These puppies are so stinking precious! And they’re incredibly chunky! It’s fair to say that Maple is diligent about making sure her puppies are well fed. Despite their rotund bellies, the pups are beginning to take wobbly steps. The sweet boy above loves sleeping on the bed in their pen. I suspect he’s going to be the king of finding soft places to take a snooze.

Right after the photo session this evening, we clipped the puppies’ toenails for a second time. It’s important to keep their toenails short so that they don’t accidentally scratch Maple when they nurse. Toenails grow quickly. Be ready to trim your new pup’s nails every few weeks when she joins your family.

But the biggest change since the last post is that the puppies can see and hear now! Check out those sweet little eyes looking back at you!

weekly puppy tip #4: be the leader your puppy wants you to be

It’s essential that you establish yourself as the pack leader. Your puppy doesn’t want to be in charge – that’s a scary place to be! Your puppy wants to look to you as the leader, but you have to show yourself as worth of the role by being the leader (this also helps set your kids apart as ranking higher in the pack than your new pup). Some easy ways to establish your leadership include:

• Sit down with your puppy each night before bed and briefly touch your puppy EVERYWHERE. Kneel on the floor with your puppy sitting between your legs. Start by petting your puppy’s head and tell him “head, head.” Then check his mouth, telling him “teeth, teeth,” and look inside his ears telling him “ear, ears.” Briefly go over your puppy from nose to tail in this fashion. This helps establish that you’re allowed to touch your puppy anywhere and everywhere.
• Set boundaries so there is at least one place in your home that your dog isn’t allowed to go in your home (i.e. not allowed to jump on your bed, not allowed to sit on a particular couch or not allowed into a certain room). 
• Teach you puppy to sit and wait for you to walk out the front door before her and give her the “okay” before she is permitted to walk through it. If you’ve been consistent, your puppy will offer a sit and wait for a release word (i.e. “okay”) before coming inside by 3 months old. When she’s old enough to start walking freely up and down stairs, teach her to wait for you to finish climbing/descending the stairs before she comes. 
• Encourage your puppy sit and wait for you to give her the “okay” before she is allowed to approach her food bowl. Periodically pick up your puppy’s food bowl while she’s eating, reward her with a yummy treat, and return the food bowl. (we’ll talk about the Toy Trade Game and other educational games you can play with your puppy next week).
• Teach your puppy to do a long down during meal times. Buy a soft rug or bed and teach your puppy to go lay on it on command. We have our own adult dogs lay on a rug in a down stay during dinner. Maple was doing a down stay along side them at 6 months old for the entire length of our meal – which means your puppy can do it at a young age, too!

4 weeks (almost)

The growing and developing puppies do in the first four weeks is absolutely outstanding! In just one month, these pups have gone from being unable to walk to playing with each other. In just one month, they’ve gone from having eyes & ears that are shut to curiously exploring the world around them. In just one month, they’ve gone from being entirely dependent on Maple to using a potty area in their pen, playing with each other, and giving us kisses!

These pups have gone on a second car ride adventure, had their bottoms shaved for the first time, and had their toenails trimmed again. The biggest news of the week is that they moved downstairs. At first they needed a calm, quiet environment without too much stimulation. But now they’re ready for the chaos that exists in the main part of our home! The pups moved into a small puppy area earlier in the week and we set up the puppy play yard for them yesterday. They had fun exploring everything! We continue to give them new toys to spark their curiosity. And we continue to snuggle them! They shower us with kisses, and we shower them with kisses, too!

weekly puppy tip #5: Get ready to play educational games with your puppy!

Did you know that there are fun games you can play with your puppy that teach him beneficial skills? It’s great to incorporate regular educational games into your puppy’s routine, so read through these suggestions, add any needed supplies to your puppy shopping list, and get ready for puppy playtime!

• Ball On The Wall – Encourages retrieving
  • Supplies: A ball that your puppy can carry in her mouth
  • How to play: Sit on the floor about 1-5’ from a wall. Put your legs in a “V” and sit facing the wall with your puppy between you and the wall. Toss the ball at the wall, encouraging your puppy to go after it. Give your puppy lots of praise when she brings the ball back! 
  • Variation: Once you’ve mastered Ball On The Wall, try playing retrieve in a hallway with all the doors closed (so your puppy can’t run away with the ball).
• Toy Trade – Prevents resource guarding
  • Supplies: A toy that your puppy likes but doesn’t highly value and a high value treat
  • How to play: Briefly play with your puppy using the toy. Ask your puppy for the toy by offering her a high value treat. Reward & praise her for giving you the toy, and give the toy back to her as soon as she finishes chewing. Gradually work on having her give you objects of higher value (i.e. a bone).
  • Variation: Work on teaching your puppy the command “give” and ask her to drop the toy/bone on command in exchange for the high value treat.
• Hide & Seek – Encourages recall
  • Supplies: Yummy treats
  • How to play: Run away from your puppy, hide behind a corner, tree, couch or other object, and call your puppy to encourage her to find you. When she does, give her lots of praise and a yummy treat.
  • Variation: Play Ping Pong by having a partner play with you and take turns hiding. While the first person is rewarding the puppy for coming, the second person hides.

five weeks (almost)

This is such a fun age! These puppies are cuter every day! Their individual personalities are showing through. They’ve transformed from little guinea pigs who can’t see or hear to actual miniature dogs who run around and play and give kisses. At first the pups couldn’t maintain their own body temperature and now they can explore the great outdoors for short stents even though it’s December. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the short video clips on our Instagram story. I’m trying to share short videos there so you can see what the puppies are up to each day.

These puppies have started eating a mush of softened TLC puppy kibble mixed with fresh goat milk. Soon they’ll be chowing down on dry kibble, but for now while their teeth are coming in, the soften food makes for a perfect meal. Maple (and Abria!) continues to nurse them throughout the day.

The puppies are walking about, exploring the world around them. They enjoy playing with the different toys in their pen, and they enjoy playing with each other, too. In between their short bursts of energy, they still spend much of their time sleeping. If you sit on the floor, you’re sure to have a lap full of puppies! The pups were able to experience the great outdoors for the first time this past week – and they’ve already been outside once this morning. The pups don’t sit still for long, except for when they’re on your lap or sleeping, so pictures are challenging – unless they’re sleeping!

Weekly Puppy Tip #6

Pick out and sign up for a puppy class – A puppy class is essential both for socialization and manners. Look for a class that emphasizes positive reinforcement, as learning & training should be a fun game at this point. Clicker training is a plus. This article from AKC gives some pointers about what to look for in a puppy class. Many dog training facilities will allow your new friend join their puppy class around 12 weeks of age, once she has received her second set of immunizations. Allison Camp from Pups Unleashed offers a local puppy class. She’ll be temperament testing the puppies in a little over 2 weeks and assisting with matching. Temperament testing always an exciting day!

We prefer in person puppy class over virtual hands down, but having online recourses is incredibly helpful, too. Timberidge Goldendoodles is excited to be partnering with Baxter & Bella. These online resources, virtual classes, and video training tips are an amazing option for every puppy owner. Plus membership is for a lifetime, so you can access Baxter & Bella’s tools repeatedly over the years ahead for each and every furry child that joins your family. 

Use the discount code TIMBERIDGE to save 25% when you join Baxter & Bella!

Here’s a short video from Baxter & Bella’s about how to train your puppy to respond positively the someone ringing your doorbell. You can take this same principle and apply it to a variety of other circumstances, such as teaching your puppy to walk calmly past another dog who is going crazy.

six weeks

It’s been another busy week for the puppies! They’ve played outside A LOT! They LOVE the great outdoors! It’s fun to watch the pups pick up leaves, squeeze through tight spaces, bound around the straw, and frolic through the grass. They’re so lively! They’ve traveled to several different locations to play outside in new environments, and they’ve enjoyed exploring the new situations.

These puppies are just darling! They are playful, friendly, affectionate, and they bounce around like little fluff balls. Whenever we enter the puppy pen, we’re instantly covered with excited, happy kisses and nibbles. It’s such a privilege and joy to share our home with these sweet pups.

We’re working hard to expose these pups to a variety of sights, sounds, smells, environments – and in just a few short weeks, it will be your turn to continue that socialization process with your new pup.

weekly puppy tip #7

Get ready to groom! – Your puppy has had his nails clipped and hair trimmed during his time with us, so he has already had his initial introduction to his lifetime of being groomed. Take him to the groomer for a puppy clip after his 16-week immunizations. The groomer will bathe him, trim the hair out of his eyes, give him a sanitary clip, and trim his nails. Since he will need regular grooming throughout his life, both he and his groomer will benefit if he becomes accustomed to being groomed from a young age, even before he’s ready for a full haircut. 

When should he have his first big boy haircut? The wavy, curly adult coat will start replacing the soft, fluffy puppy coat around 5-6 months of age. You’ll notice the new hair coming in is kinkier than the pure fluff on top. Waiting to cut the hair until the adult coat makes its debut beneath the layers of puppy plush helps ensure that the adult coat remains soft. Many poodle groomers and poodle fanciers claim that shaving a poodle or goldendoodle down before her adult coat starts coming in could damage the adult coat, affecting the texture. While there isn’t any substantiated evidence that this is true, it’s worth avoiding just in case. That doesn’t mean that your puppy might not benefit from a puppy clip in the meantime! Don’t let your puppy’s hair get out of control! As aforementioned, take him to the groomer for a puppy clip after her 16-week immunizations. When the time comes, check out the grooming section on our website for a variety of goldendoodle haircut pictures. Learn more about your Goldendoodle puppy’s first trip to the groomer. We have a plethora of haircut resources under the “grooming” tab on the main menu bar.

Waiting until 6 months for the first full big boy clip does NOT mean you’re off the hook for grooming at home! You should regularly groom your puppy: brushing her hair, cleaning her ears, brushing her teeth, clipping her toenails, and checking her for any anomalies (i.e. ticks, cuts, etc.). You want your puppy to become accustomed to being brushed and handled all over from a young age. We HIGHLY recommend doing regular bonding/body handling exercises with your puppy, demonstrated in the video below. Goldendoodles are a breed that like routines (thanks to those poodle ancestors), so it’s nice to do bonding exercises every night just before your put your puppy in her crate for bed. It’s easy to incorporate different parts of grooming into your nightly bonding exercises, just doing a little here and a little there since young puppies don’t have the attention span for lots of grooming at once.

Here’s a quick video from Baxter & Bella giving you a safe method for helping your puppy become comfortable having the hair around her eyes trimmed. Your puppy is going to need those pesky little hairs trimmed out of her eyes throughout her life, so you’ll be thankful that you got her accustomed to that from a young age. Take this same principle and apply it to other aspects of grooming, such as nail trimming and teeth brushing. This method helps create positive emotional responses in your puppy towards grooming, which is exactly what you want! Baxter & Bella has other short helpful grooming related videos on their Instagram page (posted in October & November 2021).

puppy video

You hopefully saw Maple’s puppies in the video I shared on YouTube a little over a week ago. This video is more focused on Maple’s pups. Pictures are great, but it’s fun to see these little rolly pollies in action! This video takes place at three different locations besides our home. Needless to say, it’s been a busy week for these guys and we’re working hard to expose them to new situations and new environments. AviDog recommends taking puppies this age on woods walks so they can climb on and over things, giving them tunnels to play in, and taking them on car rides – And you can tell from the puppy video that these little chunks have done all that and more this week!

seven weeks

The puppies are so much fun! They bound around outside, finding things to chew and places to explore. They also sneak around the house, trying to investigate new places. The pups have discovered the big dogs’ crates and go in them hunting for food. We continue to take the puppies on new and different adventures. It’s fun to see their curiosity! The pups enjoy any new toy we throw their way, and they are still very fond of their slide and adventure box.

Be sure to pick up a special extra yummy chew that your puppy only gets during (daytime) crate time.

weekly puppy tip #8

Fostering the children/dog relationship – Goldendoodles are family dogs by nature, but there are a few steps you can take to help set your puppy and your kids up for a lifetime of friendship:

1. When your puppy is sleeping, let her sleep – your puppy is growing & developing and she NEEDS that sleep. Teach your children to respect a sleeping puppy by not interrupting her. Your puppy’s crate should be her safe retreat. When she’s in her crate, allow her to enjoy safe, undisturbed quiet time- this doesn’t mean that you all need to tip toe quietly around when the puppies napping! It just means that when the puppy is napping, let her enjoy that peaceful sleep untouched and wake up on her own good time.
2. Involve your children in daily puppy care – allowing your children to participate in caring for the puppy will help grow the bond between them and their furry friend. It also helps the puppy learn associate good things with little people and helps her see the children as above her in the pack order. Younger children particularly love being helpers. Our kids enjoy (aka fight over) feeding the dogs, letting them out of their crates, opening the back door to let the dogs in/out, etc. We let them help brush the dogs with much supervision (remember, we want all puppy experiences to be POSITIVE!). Our children also love holding leashes on walks (children should only take your dog on a walk with adult supervision). If you don’t trust your puppy to not pull a young child over, you can attach two short leashes to one dog so both you & your child have a leash to hold. Be cognizant of your child’s age and maturity level. Older children can be more actively involved and younger children can be involved in smaller ways.
3. Encourage your children to play with the puppy – puppy nips and jumps can be intimidating for some children. Teaching children how to act calmly around a puppy and how to play intentional games such as fetch and educational games (see some suggestions under week 3) can help both the children and the puppy learn how to interact with each other. Explain to your children that your puppy isn’t trying to hurt them when she’s nipping – she’s asking them to play with her.
4. Include your children in puppy training – when you enroll your puppy in a puppy kindergarten class, ask about bringing your child along (assuming he’s old enough and mature enough to participate). Our children enjoy practicing sits and downs with our dogs, dolling out hotdog slivers to the eager participants. Our dogs think it’s great! Be sure to always supervise children/puppy training sessions.
5. Teach your children to respect the puppy – sometimes it’s challenging for children, especially young ones, to distinguish between their favorite stuffie and a real-life fluffy puppy. Many children need to be patiently taught to be gentle and kind with animals. “No hugging dogs” is a rule in our home because a preschooler bear hug around the neck is too much our small dogs (our dogs don’t mind but we’re afraid they might accidentally get hurt since they’re significantly smaller than the ones dolling out the hugs). If there are times when you aren’t able to supervise your children’s interaction with your puppy, it might be best (and safest) to put your puppy in her crate. Remember, that crate should be your puppy’s safe place. This article by AKC has more helpful tips about teaching children to respect dogs.
6. Establish a safe place for your dog, usually either a dog bed or crate. Teach your children that when the puppy is in her safe place, they need to let her alone and they may not touch her. Your puppy will learn that she can retreat to her safe place if she becomes overwhelmed with a situation or if she just needs a nap.

vet check: December 27th

The puppies visited our friends at Hopewell Animal Hospital. I am please to report that all seven puppies are healthy! The pups received their first of three doses of the DHP vaccine. You should schedule an appointment with your vet for your pup to receive a second dose when she is around 12 (around 01.31.21) weeks of age and third dose at 16 weeks of age (around 02.28.22). 

getting ready

Baxter & Bella: first 2 weeks with a new puppy

These are all short 1-3 minute videos that are helpful to watch. You’ll learn how to teach your puppy and get ideas for establishing good behaviors from day one. These videos show Amy Jensen training Chili, her young goldendoodle puppy

• Puppy pen & day one crate introduction
• Impulse control
• Toy trade game, building a marker 
• Mat work & teaching your puppy to settle
• Teaching your puppy to sit to say “please”
• Settling in a crate, redirecting
• Come
• Keeping an eye on your puppy while you’re being productive & preventing resource guarding
• Helping your puppy enjoy being brushed
• Introducing a harness or therapy vest
• Walking on a leash
• “Drop it” command
• Example of a puppy-sized training session (training sessions should only be 1-2 minutes long for an 8-10 week old puppy)

If you’re eager to learn more, Baxter & Bella’s online resources, virtual classes, and video training tips are an amazing option for every puppy owner. Plus membership is for a lifetime, so you can access Baxter & Bella’s tools repeatedly over the years ahead for each and every furry child that joins your family. Use the discount code TIMBERIDGE to save 25% when you join Baxter & Bella!

If you plan to do service or therapy work with your puppy, the harness introduction and “touch” are both important to start early on. In addition, watch GoodWill or Facebook Marketplace to find assistive mobility assistive such as a cane, crutches, walker, wheel chair, etc. that your puppy may encounter during therapy visits. You’ll want to familiar your puppy with those items early on.

Puppy Culture: first 2 weeks with a new puppy

You will have to put the free course into your cart and check out. Much of this program you can just listen to without actually watching, so this is a great have this on hand while you’re driving. If you only have time to watch part of this course, I recommend watching: Class 1 part 2 about setting up your puppy’s spot at home and Class 2 part 1 about structuring your puppy’s day.Bringing your puppy home by Puppy Culture

Puppy supplies

We’ve created a puppy shopping list to guide you as you prepare to bring your new pup home! Go ahead and pick up a Snuggle Puppy (with a heartbeat) to bring with you on meet & greet day. If you have a crate, you’re welcome to leave that with us that on meet & greet day as well and we’ll start getting your puppy used to her new future “bedroom.”

These puppies are not available for adoption as they all have forever families, but we’d love for you to enjoy watching them grow, develop, learn & change with us.

happy birthday: November 1, 2021

Abria & Boaz are the proud parents of SEVEN gorgeous new babies: four girls and three boys. These little ones are absolutely precious. When first born, puppies depend completely on their mama, so we’re blessed that Abria does such a great job caring for them. She nurses them almost constantly it seems. How sweet are these faces? The pups are about 24 hours old in the picture above. Our children have named the puppies: Emmy, Skye, Cincinnatus, Tonka, Cyrus, Banana, and Cider (can you tell that we’ve been studying ancient history?).

At first puppies can’t yet walk. Their eyes and ears are closed. They can’t go to the bathroom on their own. And they can’t maintain their own body temperature. Fortunately God gave puppies a natural instinct to pile together for warmth, so they snuggle together in a giant puppy heap. And they also cuddling around Ivy as she snoozes contentedly, surrounded by her new family. EEGs have revealed that the brain activity of infant puppies is the same when asleep and awake. But these little pups are busy eating, growing, and developing. Abria’s puppies twitch and pop in their sleep, as all healthy newborn puppies should. This activated sleep helps them build muscle tone.

Puppies grow and change so quickly! It’s really an amazing process to witness. Look at the difference just 48 hours made in these puppers! Notice how their noses are pink when they’re born, but have already mostly turned black by 3 days old.

weekly puppy tip #1: nap time is essential!

Think about a napping place – The puppies spend most of their lives sleeping now, but did you know that your new furbaby is going to need lots of sleep when you bring her home, too? Puppies, just like small children, require naps throughout the day. When your puppy is sleeping, try to allow her to rest untouched (it’s okay for noisy life to carry on around her while she snoozes, but it’s best not to physically disturb her as much as possible). This may mean that you need to guide her to a different spot than the one she’s initially chosen. Puppy Culture estimates that an 8-10 week old puppy sleeps 3 hours and then is awake for 1 hour before going back down for another nap. AKC gives some helpful insight into the importance of puppy sleep:

Although puppies may seem like little bundles of energy, in fact, they sleep 15-20 hours a day. One minute your puppy may be a miniature tornado, and the next he’s fallen soundly asleep, almost mid-activity. Sleep is essential to healthy growth: during sleep his central nervous system, brain, immune system, and muscles are developing. All of that sleep also helps him rest up during growth spurts… household members, especially children, should leave your puppy alone while he is sleeping. Plan his day so that active time is followed by quiet time for sleep. He’ll most likely be ready for a nap after playtime or a walk, sleep for a while and then wake up ready for anything. Your puppy may nap every hour or so, sleeping from 30 minutes to as long as two hours. All of this sleep is perfectly normal.

Jan Reisen from the American Kennel Club (AKC)

You can read the rest of the article here.

10 days

These puppies may still seem incredibly small but in just 10 short days they’ve doubled their birth weights (they weighed 6-8oz at birth). These sweet little pumpkins continue to dedicate their entire lives to eating and sleeping. They twitch and pop involuntarily during their sleep, developing muscle tone for the near future. This phenomenon is known as “activated sleep.” The puppies received daily doses of petting, stroking, holding, and kisses. 

In addition to snuggling these sweet nuggets, we also introduce a new scent each day and we’ve also started doing early neurological stimulation (aka ENS) with them. ENS involves stressing the puppies just slightly in very specific ways in order to improve their physiological response to stress in the future.

weekly puppy tip #2

Make a puppy experience plan – Compile a list of places you want to take your puppy and experiences you want your puppy to encounter. Any day now, these little eyes will be ready to soak up the sites, and we’ll now start introducing the puppies to items that differ in appearance. We have a thought out socialization plan, working hard to expose your puppy to as much as possible during her time with us. When you take your puppy home, that responsibility then shifts to you as you continue the socialization process. Exposing your puppy to new people, situations, sounds, smells, textures, etc. is extremely important. Give your new puppy a few days to adjust to her new home and new routine. Then begin giving her short, positive experiences (yummy treats make everything more positive!). Don’t try to do too much in one day, as you don’t want to overwhelm or stress her. Start developing ideas of how to want to socialize your new puppy. 

Your goal is for your puppy to meet a minimum of 100 different people by the time she’s six months old. Dr. Ian Dunbar, a puppy socialization expert, raises the bar even higher by recommending that puppies meet 100+ people during the first month at home. If you hope to visit a local nursing home or hospital when your puppy gets older, secure some crutches, walkers or wheelchairs to expose your puppy to at home. Meeting people is just one component of socialization. Think about outdoor experiences that you and your puppy can safely enjoy together. Consider what predictable dogs you can introduce your puppy to (dogs who are predictable, friendly, healthy, and will model good behavior for your pup). Remember, adult dogs aren’t always fond of puppies so be sure to monitor them together. Do you know anyone with a woods or creek where you can take your puppy for a short romp? Remember, you want every experience to be POSITIVE (i.e. bring yummy treats and hand out the praise). Making a plan now, before you bring your puppy home, will help ensure that you follow through with a variety of positive exposures once you have your new little fluff ball at your side. 

Check out AviDog’s free e-book for more ideas about what to add to your puppy experience plan. Baxter & Bella also has some great ideas for socializing your puppy.

two and a half weeks

The puppies are really beginning to look and act like little dogs. They take wobbly steps towards us with tails wagging. They wake up when we make noise and look around curiously.

These guys went on their first road trip on Tuesday. We know they each have a lifetime of car rides ahead of them, so we want to make sure they’re familiar with the feeling of being in a moving automobile. The pups sprawled out leisurely in a crate together and cruise around town. While neither Abria or Boaz struggle with car sickness, we want to do everything we can to set these sweet puppies up for success. There is some thought that early exposure to car rides helps decrease the risk of a dog being prone to car sick as an adult. Even so, it’s a good idea not to feed your puppy a big meal immediately before a long car ride (their inner ear is still developing when they’re pups). But that doesn’t mean you can use treats to make car rides fun!

When your puppy joins your family, continue to take your puppy on car rides to fun places. If your puppy only rides in the car when he’s going to the vet or groomer, he’ll learn to associate the car with those things and won’t want to go on rides. Remember, puppies are highly impressionable at a young age, so a few “bad” trips can give them a distaste for the car. Make sure the good, fun trips outnumber the bad trips. Our parent dogs LOVE the car because they go to the park, to the nature center, to the homes of friends and family, to dog friendly stores, and so forth. Sometimes they even ride in the car to pick up our ClickList order with us. Our dogs associate the car with fun and always eagerly hop in whenever we tell them to “go for a ride.”

weekly puppy tip #4: be the leader your puppy wants you to be

It’s essential that you establish yourself as the pack leader. Your puppy doesn’t want to be in charge – that’s a scary place to be! Your puppy wants to look to you as the leader, but you have to show yourself as worth of the role by being the leader (this also helps set your kids apart as ranking higher in the pack than your new pup). Some easy ways to establish your leadership include:

• Sit down with your puppy each night before bed and briefly touch your puppy EVERYWHERE. Kneel on the floor with your puppy sitting between your legs. Start by petting your puppy’s head and tell him “head, head.” Then check his mouth, telling him “teeth, teeth,” and look inside his ears telling him “ear, ears.” Briefly go over your puppy from nose to tail in this fashion. This helps establish that you’re allowed to touch your puppy anywhere and everywhere.
• Set boundaries so there is at least one place in your home that your dog isn’t allowed to go in your home (i.e. not allowed to jump on your bed, not allowed to sit on a particular couch or not allowed into a certain room).
• Teach you puppy to sit and wait for you to walk out the front door before her and give her the “okay” before she is permitted to walk through it. If you’ve been consistent, your puppy will offer a sit and wait for a release word (i.e. “okay”) before coming inside by 3 months old. When she’s old enough to start walking freely up and down stairs, teach her to wait for you to finish climbing/descending the stairs before she comes.
• Encourage your puppy sit and wait for you to give her the “okay” before she is allowed to approach her food bowl. Periodically pick up your puppy’s food bowl while she’s eating, reward her with a yummy treat, and return the food bowl. (we’ll talk about the Toy Trade Game and other educational games you can play with your puppy next week).
• Teach your puppy to do a long down during meal times. Buy a soft rug or bed and teach your puppy to go lay on it on command. We have our own adult dogs lay on a rug in a down stay during dinner. Maple was doing a down stay along side them at 6 months old for the entire length of our meal – which means your puppy can do it at a young age, too!

four weeks

The growing and developing puppies do in the first four weeks is absolutely outstanding! In just one month, these pups have gone from being unable to walk to playing with each other. In just one month, they’ve gone from having eyes & ears that are shut to curiously exploring the world around them. In just one month, they’ve gone from being entirely dependent on Abria to using a potty area in their pen and lapping goat milk from a bowl (they’re still primarily nursing, but they enjoy a little goat milk every day now!). It’s truly amazing how much puppies mature in just four short weeks!

Earlier in the week, the puppies enjoy lapping warm goat milk from a bowl and licking it off each other for the first time today. Shout out to D & L Meadows for supplying us with fresh, local goat milk for these little pups to enjoy. Hopefully you were able to enjoy the Instagram video of them trying goat milk for the first time. Soon the puppies have transitioned from milk to a softened kibble/goat milk blend. Your little one will be accustomed to eating TLC puppy food. You should be receiving an email directly from TLC in the next on to two weeks.

In our weekly puppy tip below, you’ll learn about the trade game. Once your new fluffball is adjusted to your home, you can periodically use your puppy’s dinner bowl to play the game, working on preventing resource guarding. Taking a few minutes to work with your puppy while she’s young can go a long way in preventing unwanted behavior. Pick up a pack of hot dogs or other delicious treat and occasionally pick up your pup’s bowl while she’s eating, exchanging his kibble for a sliver of hot dog, and then returning his food bowl to her (see the trade game from weekly puppy tip #5).

The biggest news of the week is that the puppies have now moved downstairs. At first they needed a calm, quiet environment without too much stimulation. But now they’re ready for the chaos that exists in the main part of our home! The pups moved into a small puppy area earlier in the week and we set up the puppy play yard for them yesterday. They had fun exploring everything! We continue to give them new toys to spark their curiosity. And we continue to snuggle them! They shower us with kisses, and we shower them with kisses, too!

weekly puppy tip #5: Get ready to play educational games with your puppy!

Did you know that there are fun games you can play with your puppy that teach him beneficial skills? It’s great to incorporate regular educational games into your puppy’s routine, so read through these suggestions, add any needed supplies to your puppy shopping list, and get ready for puppy playtime!

• Ball On The Wall – Encourages retrieving
  • Supplies: A ball that your puppy can carry in her mouth
  • How to play: Sit on the floor about 1-5’ from a wall. Put your legs in a “V” and sit facing the wall with your puppy between you and the wall. Toss the ball at the wall, encouraging your puppy to go after it. Give your puppy lots of praise when she brings the ball back! 
  • Variation: Once you’ve mastered Ball On The Wall, try playing retrieve in a hallway with all the doors closed (so your puppy can’t run away with the ball).
• Toy Trade – Prevents resource guarding
  • Supplies: A toy that your puppy likes but doesn’t highly value and a high value treat
  • How to play: Briefly play with your puppy using the toy. Ask your puppy for the toy by offering her a high value treat. Reward & praise her for giving you the toy, and give the toy back to her as soon as she finishes chewing. Gradually work on having her give you objects of higher value (i.e. a bone).
  • Variation: Work on teaching your puppy the command “give” and ask her to drop the toy/bone on command in exchange for the high value treat.
• Hide & Seek – Encourages recall
  • Supplies: Yummy treats
  • How to play: Run away from your puppy, hide behind a corner, tree, couch or other object, and call your puppy to encourage her to find you. When she does, give her lots of praise and a yummy treat.
  • Variation: Play Ping Pong by having a partner play with you and take turns hiding. While the first person is rewarding the puppy for coming, the second person hides.

four and a half weeks

This is such a fun age! These puppies are cuter every day! Their individual personalities are showing through. They’ve transformed from little guinea pigs who can’t see or hear to actual miniature dogs who run around and play and give kisses. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the short video clips on our Instagram story.

These puppies have started eating a mush of softened TLC puppy kibble mixed with fresh goat milk. Soon they’ll be chowing down on dry kibble, but for now while their teeth are coming in, the soften food makes for a perfect meal. Abria continues to nurse them throughout the day.

The puppies are walking about, exploring the world around them. They enjoy playing with the different toys in their pen, and they enjoy playing with each other, too. In between their short bursts of energy, they still spend much of their time sleeping. If you sit on the floor, you’re sure to have a lap full of puppies! The pups were able to experience the great outdoors for the first time this past week. The pups don’t sit still for long, except for when they’re on your lap or sleeping, so pictures are challenging – unless they’re sleeping!

The puppies continue listening to their habituation CD daily. And our kids excel at making a variety of loud random noises to ensure the puppies are comfortable with all kinds of sounds. It amazes us how these pups can sleep through just about anything!

Weekly Puppy Tip #6

Pick out and sign up for a puppy class – A puppy class is essential both for socialization and manners. Look for a class that emphasizes positive reinforcement, as learning & training should be a fun game at this point. Clicker training is a plus. This article from AKC gives some pointers about what to look for in a puppy class. Many dog training facilities will allow your new friend join their puppy class around 12 weeks of age, once she has received her second set of immunizations. Allison Camp from Pups Unleashed offers a local puppy class. She’ll be temperament testing the puppies in a little over 2 weeks and assisting with matching. Temperament testing always an exciting day!

We prefer in person puppy class over virtual hands down, but having online recourses is incredibly helpful, too. Timberidge Goldendoodles is excited to be partnering with Baxter & Bella. These online resources, virtual classes, and video training tips are an amazing option for every puppy owner. Plus membership is for a lifetime, so you can access Baxter & Bella’s tools repeatedly over the years ahead for each and every furry child that joins your family. 

Use the discount code TIMBERIDGE to save 25% when you join Baxter & Bella!

Here’s a short video from Baxter & Bella’s about how to train your puppy to respond positively the someone ringing your doorbell. You can take this same principle and apply it to a variety of other circumstances, such as teaching your puppy to walk calmly past another dog who is going crazy.

six weeks

I’m so excited to share the puppy video with you! Pictures are great, but it’s a different experience to see these guys in motion. There’s a lot of playful puppy energy in the video that I think you’ll enjoy! I’m glad that a number of you were able to come snuggle these cuddle bugs in person at the meet & greet day.

It’s been another busy week for the puppies! They’ve played outside A LOT! They LOVE the great outdoors! It’s fun to watch the pups pick up leaves, squeeze through tight spaces, bound around the straw, and frolic through the grass. They’re so lively! And they even got to experience snow for the first time, as you’ll see in the video.

These puppies are just darling! They are playful, friendly, affectionate, and they bounce around like little fluff balls. Whenever we enter the puppy pen, we’re instantly covered with excited, happy kisses and nibbles. It’s such a privilege and joy to share our home with these sweet pups.

We’re working hard to expose these pups to a variety of sights, sounds, smells, environments – and in just a few short weeks, it will be your turn to continue that socialization process with your new pup.

The pups have also had their nails clipped for the third or fourth time and had their bottoms trimmed with clippers. It’s helpful to have a pair of dog clippers at home if you’d like to extend the time between haircuts.

weekly puppy tip #7

Get ready to groom! – Your puppy has had his nails clipped and hair trimmed during his time with us, so he has already had his initial introduction to his lifetime of being groomed. Take him to the groomer for a puppy clip after his 16-week immunizations. The groomer will bathe him, trim the hair out of his eyes, give him a sanitary clip, and trim his nails. Since he will need regular grooming throughout his life, both he and his groomer will benefit if he becomes accustomed to being groomed from a young age, even before he’s ready for a full haircut. 

When should he have his first big boy haircut? The wavy, curly adult coat will start replacing the soft, fluffy puppy coat around 5-6 months of age. You’ll notice the new hair coming in is kinkier than the pure fluff on top. Waiting to cut the hair until the adult coat makes its debut beneath the layers of puppy plush helps ensure that the adult coat remains soft. Many poodle groomers and poodle fanciers claim that shaving a poodle or goldendoodle down before her adult coat starts coming in could damage the adult coat, affecting the texture. While there isn’t any substantiated evidence that this is true, it’s worth avoiding just in case. That doesn’t mean that your puppy might not benefit from a puppy clip in the meantime! Don’t let your puppy’s hair get out of control! As aforementioned, take him to the groomer for a puppy clip after her 16-week immunizations. When the time comes, check out the grooming section on our website for a variety of goldendoodle haircut pictures. Learn more about your Goldendoodle puppy’s first trip to the groomer. We have a plethora of haircut resources under the “grooming” tab on the main menu bar.

Waiting until 6 months for the first full big boy clip does NOT mean you’re off the hook for grooming at home! You should regularly groom your puppy: brushing her hair, cleaning her ears, brushing her teeth, clipping her toenails, and checking her for any anomalies (i.e. ticks, cuts, etc.). You want your puppy to become accustomed to being brushed and handled all over from a young age. We HIGHLY recommend doing regular bonding/body handling exercises with your puppy, demonstrated in the video below. Goldendoodles are a breed that like routines (thanks to those poodle ancestors), so it’s nice to do bonding exercises every night just before your put your puppy in her crate for bed. It’s easy to incorporate different parts of grooming into your nightly bonding exercises, just doing a little here and a little there since young puppies don’t have the attention span for lots of grooming at once.

Here’s a quick video from Baxter & Bella giving you a safe method for helping your puppy become comfortable having the hair around her eyes trimmed. Your puppy is going to need those pesky little hairs trimmed out of her eyes throughout her life, so you’ll be thankful that you got her accustomed to that from a young age. Take this same principle and apply it to other aspects of grooming, such as nail trimming and teeth brushing. This method helps create positive emotional responses in your puppy towards grooming, which is exactly what you want! Baxter & Bella has other short helpful grooming related videos on their Instagram page (posted in October & November 2021).

seven weeks

The puppies are so much fun! They bound around outside, finding things to chew and places to explore. They also sneak around the house, trying to investigate new places. The pups have discovered the big dogs’ crates and go in them hunting for food. We continue to take the puppies on new and different adventures. It’s fun to see their curiosity! This past week we’ve let them try out a ball pit and a crunchy water bottle pit. Both were fun and noisy. The pups enjoy any new toy we throw their way, and they are still very fond of their slide and adventure box.

Be sure to pick up a special extra yummy chew that your puppy only gets during (daytime) crate time.

weekly puppy tip #8

Fostering the children/dog relationship – Goldendoodles are family dogs by nature, but there are a few steps you can take to help set your puppy and your kids up for a lifetime of friendship:

1. When your puppy is sleeping, let her sleep – your puppy is growing & developing and she NEEDS that sleep. Teach your children to respect a sleeping puppy by not interrupting her. Your puppy’s crate should be her safe retreat. When she’s in her crate, allow her to enjoy safe, undisturbed quiet time- this doesn’t mean that you all need to tip toe quietly around when the puppies napping! It just means that when the puppy is napping, let her enjoy that peaceful sleep untouched and wake up on her own good time.
2. Involve your children in daily puppy care – allowing your children to participate in caring for the puppy will help grow the bond between them and their furry friend. It also helps the puppy learn associate good things with little people and helps her see the children as above her in the pack order. Younger children particularly love being helpers. Our kids enjoy (aka fight over) feeding the dogs, letting them out of their crates, opening the back door to let the dogs in/out, etc. We let them help brush the dogs with much supervision (remember, we want all puppy experiences to be POSITIVE!). Our children also love holding leashes on walks (children should only take your dog on a walk with adult supervision). If you don’t trust your puppy to not pull a young child over, you can attach two short leashes to one dog so both you & your child have a leash to hold. Be cognizant of your child’s age and maturity level. Older children can be more actively involved and younger children can be involved in smaller ways.
3. Encourage your children to play with the puppy – puppy nips and jumps can be intimidating for some children. Teaching children how to act calmly around a puppy and how to play intentional games such as fetch and educational games (see some suggestions under week 3) can help both the children and the puppy learn how to interact with each other. Explain to your children that your puppy isn’t trying to hurt them when she’s nipping – she’s asking them to play with her.
4. Include your children in puppy training – when you enroll your puppy in a puppy kindergarten class, ask about bringing your child along (assuming he’s old enough and mature enough to participate). Our children enjoy practicing sits and downs with our dogs, dolling out hotdog slivers to the eager participants. Our dogs think it’s great! Be sure to always supervise children/puppy training sessions.
5. Teach your children to respect the puppy – sometimes it’s challenging for children, especially young ones, to distinguish between their favorite stuffie and a real-life fluffy puppy. Many children need to be patiently taught to be gentle and kind with animals. “No hugging dogs” is a rule in our home because a preschooler bear hug around the neck is too much our small dogs (our dogs don’t mind but we’re afraid they might accidentally get hurt since they’re significantly smaller than the ones dolling out the hugs). If there are times when you aren’t able to supervise your children’s interaction with your puppy, it might be best (and safest) to put your puppy in her crate. Remember, that crate should be your puppy’s safe place. This article by AKC has more helpful tips about teaching children to respect dogs.

vet check: December 17th

The puppies visited our friends at Hopewell Animal Hospital. I am please to report that all seven puppies are healthy! The pups received their first of three doses of the DHPP vaccine. You should schedule an appointment with your vet for your pup to receive a second dose when she is around 12 (around 01.24.21) weeks of age and third dose at 16 weeks of age (around 02.21.22). 

getting ready

The best thing you can do for your puppy is to start preparing for it now before she comes to join your family. Here are a few free resources to help get you ready for your new bundle of fur.

Baxter & Bella: first 2 weeks with a new puppy

These are all short 1-3 minute videos that are helpful to watch. You’ll learn how to teach your puppy and get ideas for establishing good behaviors from day one. These videos show Amy Jensen training Chili, her young goldendoodle puppy

• Puppy pen & day one crate introduction
• Impulse control
• Toy trade game, building a marker
• Mat work & teaching your puppy to settle
• Teaching your puppy to sit to say “please”
• Settling in a crate, redirecting
• Come
• Keeping an eye on your puppy while you’re being productive & preventing resource guarding
• Helping your puppy enjoy being brushed
• Introducing a harness or therapy vest
• Walking on a leash
• “Drop it” command
• Example of a puppy-sized training session (training sessions should only be 1-2 minutes long for an 8-10 week old puppy)

If you’re eager to learn more, Baxter & Bella’s online resources, virtual classes, and video training tips are an amazing option for every puppy owner. Plus membership is for a lifetime, so you can access Baxter & Bella’s tools repeatedly over the years ahead for each and every furry child that joins your family. Use the discount code TIMBERIDGE to save 25% when you join Baxter & Bella!

Puppy Culture: first 2 weeks with a new puppy

You will have to put the free course into your cart and check out. Much of this program you can just listen to without actually watching, so this is a great have this on hand while you’re driving. If you only have time to watch part of this course, I recommend watching: Class 1 part 2 about setting up your puppy’s spot at home and Class 2 part 1 about structuring your puppy’s day.

Puppy supplies

We’ve created a puppy shopping list to guide you as you prepare to bring your new pup home! Go ahead and pick up a Snuggle Puppy (with a heartbeat) to bring with you on meet & greet day. If you have a crate, you’re welcome to leave that with us that on meet & greet day as well and we’ll start getting your puppy used to her new future “bedroom.”