all of these babies have found their forever families. We do not have puppies available at this time. Thank you.
happy birthday
Moki & Boaz are the proud parents of four squishy new babies: two girls and two boys. These little ones are absolutely precious. When first born, puppies depend completely on their mama, so we’re blessed that Moki does such a great job caring for them. She nurses them almost constantly it seems and snuggles with them. How sweet are these faces? Most puppies are born with pink noses that gradually turn black over the first few days. These precious little ones were born with gorgeous black points!
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 love cuddling around Moki as she snoozes contentedly, surrounded by her new family. Moki seems to love being surrounded by her tiny ones. She often has a pup lying on her leg or under her ear.
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. It’s amazing how quickly Ivy’s pups grow! At 48 hours old, the puppies weigh between 13-16oz. They’ve already surpassed their birthday weights and gained several ounces. Moki’s puppies twitch and pop in their sleep, as all healthy newborn puppies should. This activated sleep helps them build muscle tone.
Your puppy’s birthday is May 8th, and your puppy will be ready to come home with you July 3rd-6th.
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. Puppies are like little children – sometimes they don’t realize that you’re tired and need you to put them down for a nap. Puppies can get over stimulated and become overly tired just like toddlers. It’s your job to help regulate them. AKC gives some helpful insight into the importance of puppy sleep (You can read the whole of the article here.):
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.
one week new
Our kids thoroughly enjoy giving puppies their temporary names, and we’re excited to share their choices for these special pups with you.
Introducing: Mercy, Wilber, Ralph & Spot
Mercy is named after the children’s book series, Mercy Watson. She is on the far left in the group picture and has the cute light apricot curls. Mercy will have a pink collar.
Mercy couldn’t be the only one with a piggy name, so Mr. Wilber is next. He is a beautiful apricot color and will be wearing a red collar.
Ralph is named after the book Mouse and the Motorcycle. He has a lovely wavy coat and is the darkest of the four pups. He will wear a green collar.
Spot is a gorgeous cream puppy. I love the stark contrast between her dark black nose and her light coat. Spot is named after the toddler book series Spot and also is the only puppy with a spot marking.
It’s hard to believe that these four chunky munchkins are already one week old! They have grown so much! These puppies may still seem incredibly small but 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 becoming fat little sausages with adorable wrinkles and rolls. Everyone has passed over the 1lb mark in this past week, and some have almost reached the big 2lb mark. All that growing means that the puppies will be ready to move into their big pup collars. We use break-free collars to keep our littles safe from the risk of strangulation, but these special safety collars feel like “normal” collars to the puppies, so they’ll go home used to the feel of wearing a collar.
Even though the puppies spend most of their lives sleeping, they actually are doing baby workouts as they snooze the day away. These little pups twitch and pop involuntarily during their sleep, developing muscle tone for the near future. This phenomenon is known as “activated sleep.” In a few short weeks, these rolly polly puppies will be bouncing around playfully. Their legs, while still wobbly, have already gotten stronger and the puppies wobble around on them instead of just army crawling as they did initially.
The puppies have now had their toenails trimmed for the first time. When you take your puppy home, it’s important that you continue to regularly trim her nails. Right now we trim the puppies’ nails with human baby nail clippers. For our adult dogs, we use a dremel to keep their nails short. We like to keep the puppies’ nails short so they don’t accidentally scratch Moki while nursing. Plus nail trimming is going to be a regular activity throughout their lives, so we want to introduce them to it at an early age. We’ll continue to clip little nails frequently over the next seven weeks.
weekly puppy tip #2: make a puppy experience plan
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. Go ahead: start making a list of ideas for 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 stable, friendly, healthy, and will model good behavior for your pup). Keep in mind that 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.
2 weeks new
Isn’t it amazing how much puppies grow in just one week? They’re already noticing so much more like little dogs. And they all have their own look, too. Spot reminds me of her Grandma, Ivy, when she was a puppy. These babies are about 38% golden retriever, and I love seeing that golden retriever ancestry shine through.
You’ll probably notice how nicely they’re chunking up! But do you also see those tiny little eyes staring back at you?! Eye opening is a process that doesn’t happen all in one day. Right now, we keep the puppy room dim as their eyes adjust to seeing the world around them.
Moki is a great mama. The ever increasing rolls on these babies are strong evidence that Moki is doing an excellent job nursing her crew! At this point, the sleepy little dumplings still snooze away most of their days and fill any awake time with stuffing their bellies. The puppies are still in a calm, quiet, darker environment. We enjoy snuggling them every day, and the puppies have fun snuggling down for a nap on our laps.
The puppies have all had their toenails for a second time. It’s important to keep their toenails short now so the pups don’t accidentally scratch mama Moki when they’re nursing. Toenails grow quickly. Be ready to trim your new pup’s nails every few weeks when she joins your family.
weekly puppy tip #3: age appropriate exercise
Glance over Puppy Culture’s exercise chart. Familiarize yourself with what sorts of activities are appropriate for your puppy at different stages of development. You want to give your puppy a variety of unique positive experiences, but your puppy is still growing & developing, so you don’t want to push your puppy too far. For instance, climbing up one to two stairs is an appropriate challenge but climbing a flight of stairs is not a good idea for a young puppy (a study done on 500 dogs showed that puppies allowed to climb a flight of stairs regularly before 3 months old were more likely to develop hip dysplasia). Remember, free running and playing is a great option because your puppy can rest whenever she feels inclined to do so. If you’d like to read more about puppy exercise, check out AviDog’s puppy exercise guidelines. This article from AKC also gives some helpful puppy exercise tips.
three weeks new
Aren’t these little pumpkins really looking like miniature dogs now? They are so stinking precious. The puppies sit awkwardly and walk around now, albeit a bit clumsily.
Look at those open eyes! When puppy eyes first open, they’re blue and cloudy but as the eyes change from their cloudy blue appearance, they open more and the puppy’s vision becomes crisper. Scroll back to last week’s pictures and notice how much wider the puppies’ eyes are open this week. The pups still spend the majority of their time snoozing, but they’re also starting to play with each other. Their clumsy play right now looks like it’s happening in slow motion, and you can’t help but smile when you’re watching them play together.
They puppies have recently discovered that they can bark, and sometimes a seemingly random high pitched bark rings out. They surprise themselves with the sounds that come out of their own mouths! They also wag their little tails and walk around on their feet, like real doggies do. Last week, their legs were still wobbly. This week, they’re legs are strong and they walk like they know what they’re doing. We put different items in the puppy pen for the babies to explore.
All of the time these babies spend eating shows! These chunky monkeys continue to grow like crazy. The pups already weigh around 4lbs (Moki is doing a great job growing her babies!).
The puppies have had their toenail trimmed again – I think for the third time. We touch the puppies’ feet regularly and snuggle them on their backs, preparing them for all kinds of handling when they join your family.
We’re loving these precious pups! It’s so fun to watch them grow and learn. I can’t wait to take them outside in the upcoming week.
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. (see the video below)
- 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!
Not quite four weeks 🙂
The puppies have had big few days! Our friends at Land of Goshen Doodles have a singleton litter, which means a litter of only one puppy. Their sweet little pup Lyra came over to socialize with our babies. Our pups often meet new adult dogs, but they don’t always have the opportunity to play with a new friend who is just their size. The puppies have also begun exploring Puppy Town. We’ll continue giving them new objects to explore over the upcoming weeks. For now, they’re busy exploring the space itself and having so much fun doing so. I’ve introduced the puppy slide and a few other objects, but it will be a little while before they actually start using it. Ralph did put his front to paws on the little step. If you have an Instagram account, be sure to check out today’s story video. It’s amazing how much sturdier the puppies have gotten on their feet even since last week. As you can tell from the pictures, the puppies have now been outside for the very first time! They’ve actually been outside 3 times now, but the pictures are from their very first adventure outdoors. They will continue going outside more and more, but there is something special about that very first time, so I just had to share a few pictures. The puppies continue to delight us with their sweet personalities. Did you see the Instagram story video yesterday of silly Spot trying to nurse upside down? These babies are frequently making us laugh with their little puppy antics. I can’t wait for you all to meet them!
four weeks news
I can’t believe how quickly these babies are growing up! The kids LOVE the puppies , and the puppies love the kids. The puppies go outside multiple times a day, and we’re working on getting as many potties as possible to happen out there. We continue to give the munchkins new toys to spark their curiosity. And we continue to snuggle them. They shower us with kisses (particularly Miss Spot!), and we shower them with kisses, too! The pups have sniffed noses with some other dogs besides their mama – and they’ve also had the opportunity to meet Heidi’s singleton puppy twice (with supervision). They’ve started playing with each other, and they thoroughly enjoy wrestling each other. The puppies have also started enjoying goat milk (shout out to our friends at Land of Goshen for providing us with amazing goat milk for these precious babies!) and will transition to eat kibble mush this weekend. They think goat milk is a delicious treat! And they’re gong to love kibble, too! the pups already try to sneak kibble out of Moki’s bowl any chance they get. The puppies still enjoy mama Moki’s nutritious milk, too. If you have not received an email from TLC about ordering puppy food, please let me know.
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 Ivy to interacting with each other, and giving us kisses! It’s so fun to watch all of that growing and developing unfold. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying the Instagram story videos of the puppies this week.
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 new
This is such a fun age! These puppies are cuter and fluffier every day! Their individual personalities are starting to show 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. And they already enjoy belly rubs, which is fun, too. 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.
The puppies have been sleeping confined in crates for about a week now. At first, the whole litter slept together in one crate, but now the puppies are sleeping 2 pups to a crate. They do a crate job settling down at bedtime and staying quiet all night long. We let them outside between 6:30-7:30am. Sometime the puppies don’t quite make it out the door before pottying, but we’re so proud of them for holding it until we let them out of their crates in the morning. They’re doing awesome for only being 5 weeks old (it was just a few weeks ago that Mama Moki had to stimulate them go to the bathroom and now they’re holding their pees until they are released from their crates – that’s pretty incredible if you think about it!).
As I mentioned last week, the puppies have started eating softened TLC puppy kibble. 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. Moki continues to nurse them throughout the day.
The puppies trot about, exploring the world around them. They enjoy playing with the different toys in their pen, and they enjoy playing with each other, too. 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 (as you can tell from this week’s pictures)! In between their short bursts of energy, they still spend much of their time snoozing.
The pups have also been on a few road trips in the past week where they’ve been able to explore new environments and meet new people. We feel that it’s important for puppies to experience different environments starting from a young age, so we work hard to start that socialization during their time with us. When you take your puppy home, that responsibility passes onto you and then it’s your turn to continue the socialization process. Hopefully you’ve worked on a puppy experience plan like we talks about in puppy tip #2! It’s been a fun week for these little pups, and we’re thoroughly enjoying them. I can’t wait for you all to meet them at the meet & greet on Saturday!
weekly puppy tip #6: select and register 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 about 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 – there are even a variety of resources to help you now as you prepare for your new furry family member. 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. Additional free puppy training videos are linked at the bottom of this blog post, so if you haven’t already checked them out, please take the time to watch at least a few of them. Remember, the best thing you can do to prepare for your new puppy is to prepare yourself!
six weeks news
Boy, it’s been a HOT week here! The puppies are going outside regularly to potty still, but they have not been interested in playing outside. They look for any shade they can find and plot down for a nap. All this heat makes you tired, especially when you’re wearing a fur coat. The warm temperatures were the perfect excuse to introduce the puppies to a little water play! We let them wade in water, which was fun for everyone, human and puppy!
The puppies are so very curious and playful and friendly. We let them run around the main part of our house for small segments each day now. They have a blast sniffing noses with the older dogs, exploring every nook and cranny, looking for chews that belong to the big dogs, and feeling the carpet squishing between their toes. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the Insta videos of the pups in action! Their Aunt Ruby stayed with us while her family was traveling, and she LOVED the puppies! The pups had a great time playing with her. We made sure to supervise any interactions and to provide a safe place where the puppies could hide if they felt that Ruby was a little too overzealous to play. When you introduce your pup to new canine friends, you’ll want to do the same. Always supervise, especially the initial interactions with a new dog. And always provide your puppy with a safe “get away” spot in case she needs a break. For our home, the pups could duck under the couch and pop out at will, giving them the freedom to control their interactions with Ruby and the other big dogs. Outdoors, a kiddie picnic table or something similar works well. Additionally, be sure to provide the big dog with a way to get away from your puppy in case he becomes overwhelmed with the puppy energy. Being around other safe dogs is great for your puppy!
weekly puppy tip #7: get ready to groom!
Your puppy has had her nails clipped and hair trimmed during her time with us, so she has already had her initial introduction to a lifetime of being groomed. Take her to the groomer for a puppy clip after her 16-week immunizations. The groomer will bathe her, trim the hair out of her eyes, give her a sanitary clip, and trim her nails. Since she will need regular grooming throughout her life, both she and the groomer will benefit if she becomes accustomed to being groomed from a young age, even before she’s ready for a full haircut.
When should she have her first big girl haircut? The wavy 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 (at least that I can find), 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 her 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 girl 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 shared on weekly puppy tip #4). 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.
seven weeks new
he 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. 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. The puppies have gone on several road trips this past week. They’ve also had their bottoms trimmed with clippers for a second time and toenails clipped again. Believe it or not, I also trimmed the hair out of their eyes a few days ago! It looks like Ralph and Wilbur could already use another round of hair trimming. It’s amazing how quickly that puppy coat grows!
Aren’t these pups adorable? Now scroll back and look at their newborn pictures. Isn’t it marvelous that in just seven weeks they’ve transformed from little guinea pigs into gorgeous, fluffy puppies?!
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 child/puppy 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
getting ready
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 (stuffed puppy with a heartbeat) to bring with you on meet & greet day (or mail it to us if you live out of town). 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.”
the best way to prepare for a new puppy is to prepare yourself!
Baxter & Bella: first 2 weeks with a new puppy videos 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 doodle puppy.
- Puppy pen & day one crate introduction
- Impulse control
- Toy trade game and 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!.
service & therapy
If you plan to do service or therapy work with your puppy, the harness introduction and “touch” Baxter & Bella videos (above) are both important to start working with your puppy on. In addition, consider what environment(s) you’d ideally like to go on therapy visits and make a list of things your puppy might encounter there. Will you puppy meet people in hoodies with the hood up? Will you puppy meet people in lab coats or masks? Will your puppy encounter mobility assistive devices? As you prepare for your new puppy, check GoodWill or Facebook Marketplace to find items such as a cane, crutches, walker, wheel chair, strollers, etc. that your puppy may encounter during therapy visits. You’ll want to familiar your puppy with those items beginning at a young age.