Congratulations on deciding to add a furry family member to your home! 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 number of free resources to help get you ready for your new bundle of fur.
These first two videos are about helping your puppy become accustomed to being touched anywhere and how to introduce different grooming tools so as to make the grooming process a pleasant experience for your & your puppy (the groomer will thank you!).
The next chunk of free videos are about your 8-10 week old puppy and cover topics such as structuring your day, crate introduction, puppy-sized training sessions, etc. Puppy Culture shows an example of what your puppy setup could look like when you bring your puppy home.
After that, we have helpful resources from Puppy Culture, AviDog, AKC, and others about puppies & exercise as well as socialization.
grooming & puppy bonding/ body handling exercise videos
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).
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.). Again, watch the above video from B&B about how to introduce basic parts of grooming in a positive manner. You want your puppy to become accustomed to being brushed and handled all over from a young age, which is where the bonding exercises shown in the video below play a huge role. Additionally, this bonding exercise helps your puppy learn that you are the leader and that you are allowed to touch her anywhere and everywhere.
Goldendoodles are a breed that like routines (thanks to those poodle ancestors), so it’s nice to do the bonding exercise every night just before your put your puppy in her crate for bed.Yes, your puppy will resist and squirm at first, but your puppy will come to LOVE and EXPECT bonding exercises each night. It’s easy to incorporate different parts of grooming into your nightly bonding exercise routine, just doing a little here and a little there since young puppies don’t have the attention span for lots of grooming at once. Take 30 seconds each night and do a round of bonding exercise with your pup. You’ll be thankful that you did (and so will your vet and groomer!).
the first 2 weeks with your 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 from B&B 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. I love that the videos are engaging and easy to watch. Plus B&B 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.
how to teach your dog how to react positively to stimuli
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.
puppies & exercise
Many puppy owners rightfully wonder: how much can my puppy exercise? While there are no easy answers and every puppy is different, this article by AKC provides some helpful insight and suggestions. Puppy Culture’s exercise chart, which breaks down puppies’ abilities based on activity and age, is an incredibly helpful resource. Avidog’s puppy exercise guidelines provides helpful examples of activities in which puppies should participate at different ages.
Socialization
It’s vital that your puppy is well socialized, particularly during the first six months of her life. We work hard to socialize your pup during her time with us, but the responsibility passes on to you when you bring your puppy home. This article by AKC explains the importance of socialization by comparing two dogs from the same breeder that were socialized differently.
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.
Taking your puppy with you to a variety of places helps expose her to different places, sights, sounds, smells, people, etc. Did you know some stores are pet-friendly? Find out where you can take your pup so she never misses out!