There are so many nuances to dog breeding that the learning literally never ends. While the constant learning is an enjoyable aspect for some, new breeders can easily become overwhelmed. Here are links to various resources that will help aspiring and experienced breeders alike. (If you haven’t already done so, read our post about Getting Started Breeding Goldendoodles.)

Canine Anatomy & Locomotion

A cute face and a charming personality go a long way, but not every dog with a good temperament should be a mama or papa. Breeders should evaluate dogs for movement and structure before deciding to use the dog for breeding. A breed standard provides the written description detailing what ideal structure and movement should look like for each particular breed, based on that breed’s purpose. Correct balance and angulation are essential for every breed, even those with the sole purpose of being a companion or family dog. Dr. Battaglia, an AKC judge, wrote two very insightful articles entitled Breeding Better Dog’s Structure And Movement. Part 1 explains how to evaluate structure and movement in a standing dog and part two discusses how to evaluate a dog in motion.

• Breeding Better Dogs: Structure & Movement Part 1
• Breeding Better Dogs: Structure & Movement Part 2

Also read through the free sample pages of Helen King’s Picking Your Performance Puppy and read this blog post she wrote.

Looking to take a more in depth look at canine anatomy and locomotion? Here are a few resources available on Amazon that will be great assets to your library:

• Dog Locomotion & Gait Analysis by Curtis Brown
• Picking Your Performance Puppy and What’s Your Angle? by Helen King
• Dogsteps book and DVD by Rachel Page Elliot

Genetics

Looking for a basic understand of genetics? This canine genetic primer defines terms, explains different modes of inheritance, and other genetic concepts to help the average person make sense of genetics. Next head over the Paw Print Genetics and browse through the different diseases on the goldendoodle panel.

Shedding & Allergies

Shedding and allergies are a hot topic when it comes to doodles! After all, many puppy purchasers seek a doodle puppy for those two characteristics. Ashton Kent from Kent Family Farms does an excellent job explaining the roles different genes play in shedding and allergies in plain language.

The above table from Paw Print Genetics is a great visual way of explaining the collaborative nature of the furnishing locus and shed locus in determining the extent to which a specific dog sheds – and therefore how “hypoallergenic” that dog is. Read Paw Print Genetic’s detailed summary for more information. Some breeders choose to conduct genetic testing on all puppies in a litter to aid in matching puppies with F/F, sd/sd puppies with homes with severe allergies or asthma. Both shed and improper coat/ furnishings are included in Embark’s canine DNA test kit and are also available through Paw Print Genetics.

Goldendoodle Colors

As you’ve probably gathered by now, Paw Print Genetics is an AMAZING source of information for all things genetic! They even have a blog post explaining why it’s possible to breed two cream parent dogs and end up with a litter of black puppies. If you can’t find an answer on their website, their customer service team will happily have an answer for you within 24 hours. I regularly email them with questions.

Ashton Kent from Kent Family Farms also has a helpful explanation about goldendoodle colors. Curious about poodle colors specifically? Read about colors from a poodle breeder’s perspective on Bijou Poodle’s blog.

Be aware that certain physical traits can put puppies at an increased risk for blindness and deafness. Research indicates that blue eyes in piebald and merle dogs are associated with an increased risk for hearing loss. Double merle also puts puppies at increased risk for health problems.

Disease Prevalence & Health Testing

You purchased a puppy from two parents with “good” hip ratings and, much to your dismay, your dog’s hip ratings came back with dysplasia! How is this possible? Keller, Dziuk & Bell’s research article provides insight and the accompanying chart, shown below, provides a helpful visual explanation. The better the hip ratings of parents & grandparents, the lower the percentage of offspring with hip dysplasia.

As demonstrated above, it’s important research your dog’s pedigree. This involves doing a “depth of pedigree” analysis, examining the health testing for the siblings of each ancestor, looking particularly at hip testing and patella luxation. Learn about the strengths and weaknesses in your pedigree.

OFA provides disease statics by breed, which is helpful for learning about the prevalence of REPORTED health problems in your favorite breed.

When Are Those Puppies Coming?!

Dogs have a gestation period of 63 days, which means only 9 short weeks to prepare for those puppies. But how do you know whether your mama is overdue? Using a breeding date to determine a due date actually isn’t the most accurate practice. Avidog suggests that “whelping window” is a more correct terminology than “due date” and asserts that predicting whelping from the first day of diestrus is truly the best option.

Puppy Enrichment

Buy The Puppy Culture Bundle with the DVD set and workbook. Yes, you need both the DVDs and the workbook. I know it’s a bit expensive, but it’s worth every penny! If you really don’t want to spend the money on the whole bundle, start with the DVD and take copious notes. Puppy Culture takes you through each stage of puppy development step-by-step, explaining what to do, how to do it, and why you should do it. Puppy Culture also interviews a variety of experts. After you’ve watched the DVDs, join the Puppy Culture Discussion Group on Facebook.

The Neonatal Period

There are two main enrichment exercises you can do with neonatal puppies: early neurological stimulation (ENS) and ear scent introduction (ESI). ENS and ESI are done once daily from 3-16 days of age. Both of these exercises take very little time or effort on the part of the breeder and leave a lasting impact on the puppies.

Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)

Also known as bio sensor and super dog program, early neurological stimulation is a widespread exercise done with neonatal puppies. It’s an excellent exercise, but it does NOT replace enrichment during the transitional and socialization periods. The goal of ENS is to slightly stress neonatal puppies in a controlled manners thereby improving the pups’ ability to handle stress throughout their lives. ENS should only be done on days when the litter has not undergone any other stresses. Learn the details of the five simple exercises pictured below by visiting Natural Rearing Breeder’s Association.

Early Scent Introduction (ESI)

Early scent introduction is a program developed by Gayle of Avidog and Gaylan Golden Retrievers. This simple exercise involves holding a new scent item about 1/2″ away from each puppy’s nose once daily. Find a new item to introduce each day from days 3-16. It’s not difficult to collect 14 different scent items. Check your fridge for fruits and veggies and collect bits of nature like pine cones, leaves, and dirt from your backyard. Avidog has a one page ESI explanation and even a free ESI record sheet in case you want to record each pup’s reaction to different scents.

The Transitional & Socialization Periods

The Adventure Box

Avidog emphasizes constructing an adventure box for your puppies. An adventure box is a cube structure built out of PVC pipes from which various items dangle down. The goal of an adventure box is to challenge puppies and providing learning opportunities, thereby improving their physical, psychological and emotional health. Puppies become accustomed to different sounds as objects clang together. They also become accustomed to pushing through objects with their noses because the only way to reach the center of the adventure box is to push through hanging items.

Default Behaviors, Manding & Manners

Dogs learn best the first 16 weeks of life. This puts breeders in the unique position to mold and form behaviors that can impact puppies and their owners for many years to come. Avidog points out that “Puppies are ALWAYS learning, whether you think you are teaching them or not” so we need to constantly be aware of what our puppies are learning. This means that you may be unintentionally teaching your puppies unwanted behaviors. Making a few intentional changes to how you raise your puppies could set them up for success the rest of their lives. Here Avidog discusses four behaviors breeders unintentionally teach their puppies and suggestions for remedying that by teaching wanted behaviors. Avidog asserts that you should begin teaching your puppies impulse control around 2.5 weeks of age and explains how to do so in this helpful post. Puppy Culture likewise discusses the importance of teaching puppies how to ask for things using a behavior that is socially acceptable to humans, so be sure to watch the videos and then introduce the famous “box exercise” to your puppies. as you begin clicker training them from a remarkably young age.

Crate Conditioning The Litter

Just as programing puppies to ask politely can save new families hours of training and frustration, introducing crate training can likewise go a long way in smoothing a puppy’s transition into their forever homes. Susanne Shelton’s post about how to incrementally introduce a litter of puppies to crates is an amazing resource. Crate conditioning begins at 4 weeks of age.

Share Your Sources!

As you stumble across more great resources from which other breeders might benefit, please share them! We’re always looking to add to our compilation of breeder resources to help all be as educated as possible.

Did you know that a surprising number of dog toys sold in the United States contain carcinogens? I find this new terrifying, both for my dogs and for my toddlers! We recently started playing with Jolly Pet dog toys because they’re all non-toxic (and they’re fun!).

Jolly Pets was founded in 1994 as an offshoot of the parent company Horsemen’s Pride. Horsemen’s Pride has been designing and manufacturing horse toys for over

Horsemen’s Pride, the parent company of Jolly Pets, designed and manufactured the original Jolly Ball for horses over 40 years ago. As a result of the company’s good reputation and success creating horse toys, they started  designing durable dog toys under the name Jolly Pets in 1994. Jolly Pets now produces over 20 unique, long lasting dog chews, balls, animals, and discs. Best of all, Jolly Pets dog toys are non-toxic and many are made in the USA. Additionally all toys are backed by a manufacturer’s guarantee. Here are a few products you might want to try:

The Jolly Tuff Treader

As soon as the package arrived, our dogs somehow knew it was for them. Their obvious excitement even before we opened the box only increased when we pulled out the Jolly Tuff Treader and bounced it across the room. Jolly Pets makes some awesome dog products both dogs and their humans are sure to love.  Are you looking to spice up the game of fetch? Is your dog a tug-of-war fan? Does your dog enjoy tossing toys into the air? If so, the Jolly Tuff Treader might be your dream come true. Our dogs love playing with this toy. The bouncing nature makes for an entertaining game of fetch, especially on our hardwood floors. The tire’s haphazard bouncing delights our dogs. This uniquely designed tire with a handle is also perfect for dogs who like tug-of-war. Since it’s made out of tough rubber, the Tuff Treader has received raving reviews from many power chewers. In our experience though, the Tuff Treader is a great option for moderate chewers but may not stand up to power chewers. It also might not be the best toy choice for teething puppies.

The Jolly Tuff Tosser

If your dog loves tennis balls (and what doodle doesn’t?), you need the Jolly Tuff Tosser! Jolly Tuff Tosser is the favorite Jolly toy at our home. It’s friendly for power chewers yet perfect for fetch.  Every doodle parent should spare the $5 to give this ball a try! The Tuff Tosser is durable, it bounces, and it dispenses treats. We periodically stuff our dogs’ kibble inside, allowing them to exercise their brains while eating breakfast. Nosing the ball along allows causes the ball to easily dispense the kibble. While it’s not the most challenging treat dispenser on the market, it does make a great slow feeder. The 3” ball holds about ¾ cup of medium sized adult kibble and 1 cup of puppy. The Tuff Tosser is carefully designed with two holes so it won’t accidentally suction to your dog’s mouth. Note: this ball does not float

The Jolly Bounce-N-Play

Is your pup an Aussiedoodle, borderdoodle or sheepadoodle? Does your dog love playing soccer? For herding breeds and dogs that enjoy nudging objects with their noses, the Bounce-N-Play is a sure hit. This ball is designed for dogs to push around with their noses rather than carry it in their mouths. Since Bounce-N-Play balls are too large for most dogs to wrap their jaws around, they’re a great toy option for power chewers. If your dog manages to make a rough area on the ball with her teeth, sand it down and it’s ready for more fun. With 4.5 stars on Amazon, the Bounce-N-Play is a toy you want to try!

Which Jolly Pets Toy Will My Dog Like Best?

Because every dog is unique, Jolly Pets has a toy finder that helps you determine which Jolly toy is best for your individual dog based on her size, preferences, and tendencies. Here’s a quick comparison of the three Jolly Pets toys in our home:

This post contains affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, we receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This commission helps keep our site running. Thank you for your support!

Timberidge Farms may have received some of the reviewed products for free in exchange for an honest review.  Thoughts and opinions expressed here were not influenced by the manufacturing company in any way. All of the products we review we have personally used with our own dogs.