CHILLIWACK LABRADOODLES PUP DATE!

 

Good Afternoon Chilliwack Labradoodle Families. 

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In the last Pup Date, we gave you information about the importance of Socialization and Training, How To Get Your House Set-up,  and Planning for your Puppy's arrival. As well we provided you with our website link to a list of "Our Favourite Supplies," and of course, your Litter Announcement!​ We packed a lot of information into that one Pup Date!

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For today's Pup Date I will keep it light, by speaking to you a bit about why a dog's crate and bed are important.

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Naptime is so important for puppies. Without quality sleep, just like ourselves your puppy cannot learn as well and will not perform up to its usual standards. Whether we are talking about their crate or bed you want them to feel safe and comfortable so that they receive the best quality sleep they can have.  Puppies need time to decompress especially during the first 16 months of life as they are experiencing and learning everything for the first time, this can be very exhausting for these little fur babies.  It is very important to give them time and a soft, safe, and secure place to sleep. A place no one will disrupt them.  In order to achieve this choose a smaller crate, with a nice soft crate mat preferably with a ledge for them to rest their heads. 

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For the children in our families, this is the most exciting time and they love to be with their new best friend whenever they get a notion to.  They love to rush up and cuddle with their puppy/dog, pick them up while they are sleeping, and quite often be with them every chance they can get. This is the deep bond we like to see our children have with our dogs. This is an opportunity to teach our children about understanding and the responsibility they have for their puppy's needs. While your puppy needs to know that their crate is a safe place and know nobody can get at them and they don't get out of on their own, our children need to understand this as well.  Our children need to understand when the puppy/dog is in its crate they are not to be disturbed.  Your puppy/dog will need a quiet place to have their alone time from the children.  Once the puppy is well-rested he will return to his/her usual self, be refreshed, and ready to start the next adventure. A good equation to follow when you bring your puppy home is an hour out of the crate should equal the next hour in for nap time. 

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When choosing a crate pick one that is not too large. Dogs instinctively never sleep where they go to the bathroom. If your crate is too large he will have room to go to the bathroom in a corner. To start we suggest a plastic crate. This will give your puppy the secure feeling of being in a den.  A good size plastic starter crate for your puppy would measure approximately 28"L X 20"W X 21"H As your puppy grows into a full-grown dog he will probably prefer a metal or wire crate. These crates are cooler, especially in the summer months. The measurements of our medium size Labradoodles wire crates are 35"L X 22"W X 24"H.  Chilliwack Labradoodles will have already begun to introduce your dog with the crate, your dog will be familiar with her crate and see it as a safe place, "their den." Using a sheet to cover a crate is sometimes very helpful for a puppy that has a hard time settling down and shutting out distractions. Often puppies and dogs also like the idea that no one can see in, this can be comforting to them.

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Guideline for how long a puppy can be in a crate for a single period of time?

It is said that the equation for this is one hour for each month the puppy is old. For the first three months, I would say that is a bit excessive. When you bring your puppy home I would suggest one-hour intervals in the crate would be more the norm. Except of course when your puppy is sleeping, if they fall asleep in the crate and are sleeping for hours that is perfectly ok let them sleep. If you have to run out every now and again once in a while, three-hour intervals would be perfectly fine for a three-month-old puppy. As discussed we want your puppies crate to be a place they want to be, whenever you put them in the crate get in a good habit of putting their favorite bone or a stuffed Kong into the crate. They will be content to be in their crate and able to exercise their brain as well as help with their teething. 

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We will have started an introduction to crate training with your puppy, so when your puppy comes home she can usually sleep in her crate for up to six hours during the evening. Now because your puppy will be transitioning to your home, all of his/her routines and familiar sights, sounds, smells not to mention Momma and Litter Mates are gone your puppy may regress a bit in all or any areas and you will need to work up to the six hours of sleep. 

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For the first two weeks of life, the puppies rely on their mothers for every basic need! Puppies cannot see, hear, regulate their heat, or even eliminate when they are born.  Their nose is the one sense that they have to rely upon. As you may guess they can detect scent with their nose, their nose has another very important purpose, their nose can detect heat and it leads them right to their one and only heat source, their mother.  They rely on their mother to stimulate them to potty, she provides them with all of their nutrition, keeps them warm, and attends to their every squeak or cry.

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This second week of life for our puppies has been an accomplished one. While  Momma still needs to help the puppies eliminate and cleans up after them they are starting to do some of this on their own.  For the past week, the puppies have scooched around on their tummies working on building strength for the big day when they could stand on all fours.  This week we have watched each of them begin to pull themselves up onto all fours and wobble about like Bambie. It is truly beautiful to watch.

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 This week their eye slits have started to open, in the upcoming days, they will completely open revealing a whole new world for them!   Our Labradoodles are born with blue eyes, this will change over time turning to brown, or hazel/green. When the puppies' eyes open they can see outlines and shapes but they still cannot hear. Their ears start to open closer to three weeks old, it will often take longer than three weeks for this to occur.

 

​Lets take a look at how each of our Australian Labradoodles are doing this week.​​​