Okay, so you have this cute fluff ball that you recently adopted and you want to socialize and take them everywhere and wait!  It's summer, right before the 4th of July where there are Fireworks.   What do loud booms to a new puppy mean?  The END of the world.   It is a fact that the day of the year that the most dogs panic and run off (and get hit or hurt) is July 4th.   

If you have a new puppy, please do the right thing and consider that they are still unsure about you and their new home.   Taking them out to meet new people during the day is fine, but taking them during fireworks is not going to build a POSITIVE ASSOCIATION with new people.   Think about it - imagine you are a young child, a toddler perhaps.   Your parents take you out to a really busy place, where there are a ton of people.   You've only met a few dozen people in your life.   You are small - these people are big - you can't see over them.   You are probably in a bag (and hopefully not on the germ filled ground when you have a stressed low immune system).   People are nice but your parents forgot to bring treats to give you when people pet you so you can associate good things when strangers come at you making loud noises and putting their stranger hands on top of your head (and effectively reinforcing dominant behavior).   THEN, the world starts to end.   You hear these loud BOOMS and you are freaked out and shaking - or if you feel the inside of them like some dogs do, you are having a serious panic attack.   You jump out of your bag, you pull so much you slip your collar, and you're off running because your new parents don't seem to understand the world is ending - and WHY doesn't that hurt their ears so much too?!   

Stay HOME!   Turn on a loud fan, turn the TV on....give your pups HIGH VALUE treats (this means meat or dried meat - see Plato Pet Treats small bites) while the fireworks are going off.   

Also, don't forget to do this during thunderstorms.  

Some of you may know already, but I was involved in dog rescue for many years.  I saw all sorts of things - abuses, starvation, aggressive, food issues, potty training problems, over energy - and many really good dogs without issues too.  

We have chosen to breed for a 'breed' that is naturally a kind, funny, lower than average shedding dog.  They are amazingly smart - so smart, they often get into trouble as puppies.  You don't often see Goldendoodles in shelters - and if they are, they are scooped up within hours.   With that said, any puppy, especially a really smart breed/mix, is a TON of work and will out smart you in a hundred ways.

I was just yesterday talking with one of my friends that is still helping out with rescues, and she said something that was really impactful.  She said she never worries about the puppies being adopted.  The puppies are always adopted at the shelters.  The real issue is that they often come back as adults with behavioral issues because people don't set up training!   Some people think they know it all already and others want to save money and do it themselves.    

She said people will get a puppy and then days later call the staff at the front desk (who are not dog trainers) and ask them questions - "how do I get puppy to stop nipping the kids?", "how do I potty train?", "I didn't realize they needed this much exercise to be calm", "it's been a week, I want to quit - nevermind that I am disrupting this poop puppy's life by bouncing her around, but I need to bring her back."  

But she said they RARELY ever ask for recommendations of a trainer's name/number.    

We don't want this to happen to our puppies.  We state on our website and within our application and contract agreement, that a trainer is a MUST.   Puppy socialization classes AND an in home set of visit sessions.   Goldendoodles and doodles in general are very smart - so smart, they know how to get what they want. Even if you grew up with dogs, you still should get a trainer.  

We were born with dogs, and we still have a trainer at least once a month work with us.   It's worth the money.  We use a bunch of different ones - as they all have different philosophies and talents.  

Your puppy is a family member.   Shouldn't you pay for your puppy's schooling like you would your child's?   Shouldn't your children also learn how to work with puppy in the house?    Shouldn't you make sure that your puppy can be the best dog he can be?  

Have you asked or said any of these things?
"How do I get my puppy to stop nipping?"
"My dog pulls on a leash - how do I get her to stop?"
"Puppy won't calm down."
"Potty training isn't working."
"Crate training isn't working."
"My dog jumps on people - how do I get him to stop?"
"The puppy growls at the kids (never mind that the kids have been too rough or challenging to the puppy)."

It's YOU - not the dog.  

99% of the time it is not enough exercise and not enough practice with rules/structure.

Before you get a puppy, think - do you have a bunch of kids that are running around to sports games?  Do you really have time to add in puppy training classes?  Is everyone in the house on board with meeting with a trainer that comes to house? Do you go out with your friends a lot?  Do you travel a lot?  Are you not into exercise and walking a lot?   If the answer is yes, please do not get a puppy.  It's not fair to the puppy who could have a life with someone else that will invest time and money into their long term well being.  
 
The other thing to consider about training is that nowadays it sure is fun. Contemporary times mean that games are now being played (dogs LOVE games), positive reinforcement is the primary reward, and socially, dog people are a lot of fun to meet up with.  

The young girl "suffers from tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), lives in Suwanee, Ga., with LilyBelle. TSC is a rare genetic disorder which can cause seizures, developmental delays, and epilepsy."

Huffington Post, August 2013: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/goldendoodle-nut-allergy-meghan-weingarth_n_3727032.html


Do you know a Goldendoodle that has a 'helping' story to tell?  Let us know and we would love to do an interview and write up a story.  Email us at RiverValleyDoodles@gmail.com

Ew. Gross. Really?!

Yes.  That's correct.  Your dog is rolling on worms.  And sometimes even eating the tasty earthwormy morsels.  They'll dig holes in the yard while on 'hunting expeditions' for earthworms.  They know the squirmy, lubricated brown beasts are out more often after a good rain.  And, yes, your dog even knows that it bothers you (from all the crazy noises you're making) - and doesn't really care.  

Ever think your dog smells 'earthy'?  Think your dog is just scratching his back on the grass?  Yea right, try, more like, rolling on worms; preferably, dead, squishy, messy worms.  

There are conflicting reports if earthworms are harmful for dogs to eat...so, our philosophy is if we don't know if it harms, the answer is 'no, no'.  Some people report that earthworms digest bacteria that could harm our dogs.  Others report their dogs often eat worms, with no issues.  Here, we don't want to find out.  

How do you get your dog to stop rolling on worms?  While your dog is obviously hunting or trying to roll, clap your hands or make a loud 'psst' noise to distract them from their worm hunting, eating, and or rolling.  Replace the behavior with a toy and try to actively engage the dog in a game of fetch or play to distract them from their earthy desire.  

Besides, we're sure you really don't want to get a face full of 'worm burp' later on, or let your furry kids on the couch if they have smashed earthworm guts on their fur.  

I took a call from someone that had puppy questions that tipped me off that she had a bad puppy experience.  At first, I thought she was worried about the puppy being bad to her kids, then, I realized she was concerned about how her KIDS were going to be with the puppy.  I finally got out of her that they had a puppy this past summer and the kids squished it and it died.  Her kids didn't know any better (very young), and were, unfortunately, unsupervised - it only took a few minutes for the disaster to happen.  Yes.  Wow.  My stomach hurts thinking about it.  

I looked on the internet for stories of kids accidentally killing puppies.  I was shocked how many stories there were.  While I don't have kids, I know a ton of kids and, yes, I know most little kids are not naturally gentle with puppies or cats or little animals.  They need taught to be gentle.  My sweet 3 yr old niece is an example.  She tries to carry mom's huge cat around (much to his dismay), she wants to help feed the fish and will dump the whole container of flakes in the aquarium, and while she was very good with the puppies when they were tiny, as they got bigger she would try to carry them.  She's just a bitty thing, so carrying anything more than a few pounds is way too much for her to do safely.  She just doesn't understand that an accident can happen - it does not mean that she's a mean kid.  She's a sweetie.  So, we don't let her off a chair or the couch when she is puppy playing - and she is NEVER unsupervised.  

You all might be wondering what I said to the woman that called me.  Well, perhaps a surprise due to my love for puppies and dogs, but I was nice to this woman because I felt it was a sad, bad accident and she wanted to make it right.  Of course, I had to lecture her that puppies are babies - they are not resilient and able to handle kids' rough housing.  They haven't seen anything of the world yet.  Everything is brand new.  The first things they learn of humans shouldn't be rough handling.  They are fragile, they have tendons and bones that are growing, and they also need gentle handling so they don't think kids are toys and learn rough habits that are dangerous for all (and not fair for the puppy who is being hurt and defending itself by snapping).  Their mouths are their hands.  They don't know what is toxic and they shouldn't eat.  They don't automatically know to stay off roads away from traffic.  They don't know the kitty is not a toy, or that not all humans are nice (and some are just outright dangerous).  They don't understand why we put a collar on them and why we keep them tied with a leash.  It is our responsibility to introduce them to the world, to show them how to walk and run on a leash without pulling, one step at a time - and give them the same consideration and gentleness and patience that we would our human kids.  Puppies are babies!

So when people call me and ask, "are your puppies good with kids?" - I'm going to ask them, "are your kids good with puppies?".  All of my puppy owners are so good with their puppies - but no matter how good everyone's intentions are - Accidents do happen to good people and good kids (and good puppies)!  

I don't judge good people on accidents (but, that doesn't mean I won't lecture and if you've made a mistake - like I have many times - be big enough to stand for the lecture and learn from it).  When I was in college, my stepdad accidentally ran over a puppy as he was backing out of the driveway.  He's been tortured about that forever.  

Of course, this doesn't mean we're going to allow one of our puppies go to a home that has questionable supervision and consideration.  This woman is going to take awhile to heal and she knows that she's not going to be able to get the dog of her life that she's been waiting forever for until her home and kids and life are 'puppy safe'.  She's taking the right steps and having a dog trainer come over and teach them about animal care BEFORE they ever consider getting another, and she's going to wait until they are older and get an older puppy/dog (probably one over 3 years old).  A very hard lesson to learn, but the horizon is bright for her and her family!