To get ready, the most immediate items you’ll need include:
To get ready, the most immediate items you’ll need include:
Purina one lamb and rice dog food small bites:
K9 Sport Sack -Puppies can’t be on the ground in public until 11 weeks old or one week after the 2nd distemper vaccine. Size Small for Mini’s and Medium for Standards
And.or a Puppy stroller:
For Air Travel:
Crate:
Crate cover:
Chew proof Crate Mat (so you can see if she’s having accidents)
Riding in the car as a puppy:
(Use with easy walk harness below)
Harness (Petite/Small):
Should fit for 1+ month. Has buckle loop in front and also on the back. Ideally, you walk on a leash from the front chest loop, to prevent pulling. Attach from the back to the puppy/dog seat, when riding in the car. They could fall out of the window, at this age. Don’t leave it on them or they may chew it off. 😳
Leash: or any similar. I like silicone because they don’t hold odors.
Collar
7-10 in for Tiny
8-11 in for Micro/Mini
11-15 in for Standards
(They outgrow them pretty fast)
Puzzle games and Snuffle Mats:
(Great activity for crate time of feeding)
LOVE this product for grooming and brushing but only works if they aren’t matted and if exposed with treats (can be a little scary at first) !
Routine hair maintenance (2-4x/month depending on growth rate)
“Slicker brush” (only type for doodles) for Daily brushing
Teething Toys
Weather Gear
Waterless shampoo
Hawk Vest: If you live in areas with birds of prey
Puppy food
Food: Purina Pro Plan “Small Bite Lamb and rice SPORT kibble LINK: https://a.co/d/cpiZR3o
Avoid Chicken as it’s a known allergy amongst Poodles.
Just like with human babies when starting on regular food, limit to one new type of treat per day so you know if puppy’s tummy does or doesn’t agree.
When puppy is tested for parasites (for any reason), make sure they’re also testing for coccidia. Coccidia IS NOT usually included in the standard stool testing panel yet it’s very common around here. Now, puppy has diarrhea and a “negative stool sample”. This is how dogs end up on expensive prescription diets for their lifetime. When the vet office tests over and over for (limited types) of parasites but the puppy has a parasite that isn’t on that specific panel, you MUST ask for the lab report so we can see what they DIDN’T test for. Prescription food and lab testing is also one major way vet offices make a lot of money. Meanwhile, it’s usually the breeder that takes the fall for “producing puppies with GI issues” when that isn’t really the case. EMAIL ME if you have any issues and definitely before going on a prescription diet, even if it’s temporary!
Grain free vs. Kibble with Grains. ALL of the studies agree that grain free dog foods cause enlarged hearts and other heart issues. Using. Grain free kibble or food will void your adoption contract.
If you decide to switch foods at any time, make sure your food includes grains otherwise your health guarantee will be void. Try to stay away from chicken products as they’re a known poodle allergy. However, allergies do not run in MBD bloodlines.
An Adjustable Crate w/ Divider
A crate (or two, if you have two levels in your home) that can get bigger as your puppy grows. Your pup should be able to stand up, turn around and lay down comfortably, not more, or they will pee/poop on one side and sleep on the other, which delays house training considerably.
Consider a 2nd crate if you have an upstairs and downstairs where you spend a lot of time. It’s very important that crate training is done correctly to promote the crate as a safe and positive place. If crate training is not done correctly, it will take a very long time to house train your puppy and/or puppy could develop a phobia of the crate. Foundations Training is one week and the focus is to introduce your puppy to crate training, house training and muscle memory. Foundations gets you “over the hump” when it comes to the crying, howling, barking puppy in the crate during the overnight hours. Some puppies are sleeping through the night by the end of Foundations, Mini’s and Tiny’s, after level 2 training (smaller bladders).
When house training, ONLY use a white or light colors “crate mat” so you can tell if they have an accident in the crate. That is a hard habit to break so you do want to know.
A puppy front or “backpack style” puppy carrier
This will be important for the first few weeks whenever you bring your puppy out in public to socialize him/her. S/he will have to stay off the ground in public until 14 weeks old due to the risk of Parvo. Parvo is deadly to puppies in most cases.
A puppy harness (petsafe is a great harness, size is weight based so a XS or S depending on if you’re in a mini/standard litter) collar 8-16 inches, small tag and leash. Collar and harness sizes vary by brand. The collar should be 8-16 inches or so. Your puppy will need to learn how to walk on a leash (if they haven’t gone to Foundations Training ). The puppy harness will make learning to walk on a leash much easier on his/her neck. Front lead harnesses are best for teaching your puppy not to pull and for having kids walk the dog.
Winter Weather Gotcha Days
A dog or Puppy should NEVER EVER be shivering from the cold. If they are, it’s a life threatening situation.
For the cold months, bringing a puppy jacket/sweater is recommended. Puppies at 8 weeks old are like human toddlers. They don’t know they’re getting too cold until you tell them theyre shivering or their lips are turning blue lol. They don’t know that the water is too cold to go in.
Puppies can’t regulate their body temperature until they’re 6 weeks old so they are still fragile at 2-4 months old.
Limit their paws exposure directly to the snow/Ice or try puppy booties. (beware of hot pavement in the summer). I recommend buying booties or Mushers Paw protector for the winter. A puppy or dog shivering from cold is an emergency. Be sure to dry them off AND brush them after getting wet, even just a little. Doodles have hair like we do which will turn into dread locks without daily brushing.
Veterinary Visits & Vaccinations:
Puppies staying with us for training will receive vaccinations on schedule. Vaccinations are included in the cost of their training
The rabies vaccination is the only one a licensed veterinarian is required to administer and is given at 6 months old, alone, without any other vaccinations.
The Distemper (DHPP) is the vaccination that protects against Parvo and must be boosted 2-3 times in order to develop immunity. It takes one week for vaccinations to become effective.
2nd Distemper should be given when the puppy is 10 weeks old.
3rd Distemper at 14 weeks old
Rabies at 4- 6 months old, depending on your town municipal laws. We do not recommend giving more thanthe rabies vaccination at this particular appointment. You don’t want to overwhelm their young immune system. We will go over this in more detail on Gotcha Day!
Teething Toys – Puppies teeth until 8-9 Months Old
DURABLE AND WASHABLE TOYS. I recommend buying at least 15 different toys (squeekers, crinkle toys, kong, etc) and rotating them every day so they do not get bored of their toys and start going after your toys! Puppy Kong’s and the Kong branded toys, in general, are awesome. As they get older, freeze the kong with yummy treats inside and it’ll provide hours of entertainment! Marshall’s/TJ Maxx/Home Goods has a great assortment of puppy items and for a lot less $$$ (avoid cheap, flimsy toys with squeakers that are easily destroyed). A 12 inch Bully stick is great too BUT be sure to get a bully stick holder so they don’t choke. Elk Antlers with the marrow exposed are popular for teething puppies. Take it away if edges become sharp and definitely when it becomes brittle.
Swallowed and Poisonous or Harmful
Absolutely no cooked bones. Brittle and dangerous. I have banned bone-in chicken wings from my property. Doodles are smart.
Absolutely no Christmas Flowers (the red ones) are poisonous
Absolutely no raw hide type chews (choking hazard and GI blockage hazard)
Absolutely keep a 5 day course (2 boxes, OTC, weight based on Amazon or chewy) of safeguard in your medicine cabinet for your dog/puppy. Safeguard is OTC and will resolve most parasitic infections. Be sure to clean poops up immediately during treatment to avoid reinfection! Puppies become infected in many ways but most commonly from other asymptomatic dogs or from eating bunny/deer poop. Its common.
If your puppy has explosive, watery diarrhea they must go to the vet immediately due to dehydration. Do not use safeguard in these cases. Only when the poop is very soft and not formed.
If your puppy eats something poisonous such as chocolate covered espresso beans, you can safely induce vomiting using 1-2 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide.
DO NOT USE IF YOUR DOG ATE COOKED CHICKEN BONES!!! Give them a generously buttered or petroleum jelly sandwich, in chunks, and proceed to the ER immediately.
The “Golden Rule” so you’ll know if a treat doesn’t agree with puppy vs. vet visit, labs, money, etc only to find out it was a treat that didn’t agree with your puppy… ONLY one new type of treat per day.
Puppy bedding –
We don’t recommend bedding in the crate until puppy is totally house trained. Even then, it may be too hot for puppy. Bernedoodles tend to run HOT. Be sure the bedding is Extremely DURABLE AND WASHABLE -A bed they can’t chew up & definitely a washable and/or a removable cover with waterproof insert. I don’t recommend any bedding in the crate until s/he is crate and house trained b/c If s/he does have an accident, you won’t
notice until it starts to smell bad and by then, it’s become a habit for puppy.
Water and Food Dish
Limit water during the day to a cup of water every two hours. 2 if it’s hot out! Don’t allow them to chug as much water as they want or they will pee a lot more.
1.5 Cups of kibble twice a day
Their Gums should always be wet/slimy, never sticky/tacky indicating dehydration. Stop water 2 hours before bedtime. Buy a bowl that is heavy enough they can’t tip over or with a raised/adjustable base. If puppy is a very fast eater, get a “slow feeder” at the pet store.
Baby Monitor or Bedroom?
During the night, you must be able to hear your puppy’s cries or s/he will pee and poop in the crate, a very difficult thing to stop once it starts. When puppy has been sleeping and then wakes up in the middle of the night crying, s/he has to go outside. If you plan to have your puppy sleep in another room, you’ll need a way to hear them when they signal for a bathroom break. A baby monitor allows you to hear when s/he needs to go outside during the overnight hours. I recommend having the puppy sleep in your room for at least 2-4 weeks until they have adjusted to life as an independent puppy, without their siblings around them. However, if this isn’t possible then a baby monitor is a must have.
A Wyze cam – (amazon sells them for $30 each) and a micro SD memory card (amazon sells them for $10). This way, when you aren’t home, you can keep an eye on your puppy and anyone else who is watching him/her. You can also view the playback to see if s/he had any difficulty while you were away.
Grooming Appointment or Equiptment
Your puppy should be groomed for the first time when s/he is 16-20 weeks old, after the 3rd round of vaccinations.
In the meantime, you must brush their hair at least once a day. They have hair just like we do. When we don’t brush our hair after showing, it becomes _________! Yes! Correct! Matted!
The 1st grooming appt should be a short visit, full of praise and rewards for being good. The 1st grooming visit should consist of ONLY:
A. A Bath
B. Blow dry
C. Hygiene shave (so poop doesn’t get stuck on their bum)
D. Ears cleaned and plucked (important)
E. Nails trimmed
Be specific with your groomer and how you want your puppy cut once they use the clippers. If you like the puppy look, ask for “the puppy cut”. If you love certain features (ie; brown eyebrows or long eyelashes) tell them to keep them! Otherwise, generally speaking, they shave them right off. Eyelashes included. Some groomers do wacky things when they hear the word “doodle” – like poodle paws lol
MOST IMPORTANTLY: establish directly with the groomer before you leave your puppy as to whether or not s/he is matted.
You If you don’t take these steps, you will come back to a shaved down puppy. Why?
You pay the same price either way
Shaving down is the 1st thing groomers learn in school
The groomer is behind
It’s the holidays and they want to fit everyone in
The groomer doesn’t know how to clip doodles or
The groomer doesn’t like grooming doodles
The groomer is in a hurry
The groomer is in a bad mood etc etc. you see the point.
Better yet, post on the FB MBD group page and ask the group for groomer recommendations in your area! Same for boarding and doggie daycares. The MBD group is amazing and very helpful.
A “slicker” brush ,a type of brush, not a brand and the only type of brush you should use. Dry shampoo & puppy shampoo. I like lavender scented.
Nail trimmers (cat or puppy because they’re smaller and easier to use on puppies) and
kwik stop (Incase you cut the nail too short by accident and it bleeds). If you don’t feel comfortable trimming nails, you’ll want to find a groomer who does “walk in” nails (usually $10) and take your puppy/dog every 2 weeks while they’re growing and every 2-3 weeks once they are done growing. The quick will grow into their nails as the nails get longer. Therefore, to keep your dogs nails short (the way they should be), you’ll need to keep up with their nails being trimmed. I will show you a trick on Gotcha Day so you’ll never cut a quick!
Electric trimmers for hygiene shaves
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/iaP7PDW
Amazon link:
Flea, Tick and Heart Worm preventatives ARE MANDATORY to keep your contract valid.
Ticks (those nasty little buggers) are active anytime the ground thaws, even if there is a one day thaw in February. I highly recommend the
Seresto collar ($57 on amazon) for a couple of reasons:
A. It acts as a shield so ticks won’t even jump on your puppy and then decide they don’t like him/her and jump off in your house! I haven’t found one tick in my house or on my dogs since I began using them.
B. They work for 7-8 months! This is a cost savings when compared to monthly topical treatments or ingestible tablets ($30+/mo) and you will find ticks in your house (eeek!) once they realize Fido doesn’t taste so good. The only exception to this recommendation is if you have children who have hands in their mouth a lot. I’m this case I recommend
Frontline Plus is OTC and safe for pregnant dogs which means it’s safer for your puppy.
Nexguard if you have small children, which is given orally each month and provided by your vet with a prescription.
Tips for seresto collars: Get the large size and trim it down but don’t trim it too short. Leave the collar long enough to allow 7 months of growth!
Be sure to take any collars off at night to allow any moisture to dry and so you can adjust the collar as your puppy grows bigger each day!
Make sure it’s fitted correctly with 2 fingers (only) between skin and collar. It’s heat activated and won’t work otherwise.
If you ever notice your dog isn’t acting normally, get him/her tested for all tick borne diseases. Anaplasma is known to cause aggressive behaviour in infected dogs!
If you find a tick on your dog, get doxycycline ASAP. If your vet recommends waiting and testing, find a new vet. Most ticks carry Lyme if not anaplasma, babesia and ehrlichia. By the time antibodies show up on the tests, it’s too late. The bacteria is already too entrenched to do anything about. It’s only during the 1st month of exposure that effective Lyme (and other) treatment is possible. The same is true for humans but I’m not a doctor!
If you have small children or children who put their hands in their mouths, I recommend Nexguard which is a monthly chewable.
Heartworm Prevention
**Do not give your puppy Symparica Trio** you will void your adoption contract because the seizures side effect is TWICE as high as the others. Instead, ask for a prescription HeartGuard Plus (safe for pregnant dogs) and send it to any online pharmacy