Lucy’s Spring 2022 Goldendoodle Puppies

7 Week Update

It is hard to believe this is our last update! Next week, these sweet things are going home with you!

The most important update from this week, is that all of Lucy’s puppies got a great report from Dr. Baum at Hopewell Animal Hospital. Each puppy is healthy, microchipped, and received their first round of immunizations. We are thankful for Dr. Baum’s fantastic care of our dogs and these puppies.

The puppies have played hard this week. They have enough energy and stamina to play around the entire barnyard. The heat this week kept us in quite a bit, but we enjoyed a few trips around the pond this weekend.

By now, you know which puppy is yours. This coming week, these puppies really transition between the puppies we’ve cared for and your little dog! Please reach out with any questions you have as you prepare for their homecoming.

6 Week Update

I’ve talked a lot! This whole blog is me talking!

What are your questions? How are you feeling getting ready for your new family member? I would love to hear your questions and thoughts… send me an email or text to let me know how I can be helpful as you prepare for this puppy to come home with you!

I put together a Goldendoodle Puppy Shopping List for you to reference in your preparations. Even if you have already gone shopping, its good to cross-reference and make sure you didn’t forget anything.

Your puppy has started sleeping in a crate at night. We make sure they are good and tired before they get in their crates. They calmly rest in their crates with their crate buddy. Puppies are not sleeping alone, each has one or two buddy. We also add a pee pad in the crate. While we don’t expect the pee pad to be dry in the morning, occasionally they are! We are late night people, and so we usually don’t get them into crates until 10:45. The puppies wake us up to let us know they need to go out around 6:00 am. As soon as we hear their little voices, we take them out and everyone immediately pees and poops. We leave the crates open and available to them during the day, and frequently I will find a puppy snoozing in a crate in the afternoon.

These pups personalities are coming out on a whole new level this week! Its fun to see which ones are the leaders and which ones follow, which ones are pack oriented and which ones find adventures on their own. There are definitely some love bugs and some that are more independent. It seems like everyday they find something new to explore. In the picture above, yellow puppies is trying to figure out about those pond weeds!

Weekly Puppy Tip #6

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 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 the need 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.

5 & 1/2 Week Picture Update

5 Weeks Old

This week all the puppies made their first lap around the pond on our property. Watching all their little happy faces bound around the pond is just too adorable. I am looking forward to continuing this in the weeks to come. They are learning to wrestle and are starting to behave a lot more like little dogs. They love to come when you call them and give kisses! I love the confidence with which they approach new toys and environments. I put a wobble board in their space this week, and they sniffed and explored it immediately. It’s amazing to me that they went from barely being able to walk 2 weeks ago, to being strong enough to steady themselves on a wobble board this week! Oh, and they are quite sure that pork jerky treats are basically the best thing ever! 

Weekly Puppy Tip #5

Be the Leader your pup 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 worthy of the role by being the leader. Some easy ways to establish your leadership include: 

• Do bonding exercises each night with your puppy to establish that you’re allowed to touch your puppy anywhere and everywhere. I can’t speak enough about this one! We do this with our adult dogs and it makes a big difference. Check out this video for more details

• Set boundaries so there is at least one place in your home that your puppy isn’t allowed to go (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. This is a big one in our house and I’m so thankful we did this with our dogs. Our doors are open enough that they would have plenty of time to escape, but they don’t! They wait for us. When they are old enough to start walking freely up and down stairs, teach them to wait for you to finish climbing/descending the stairs before they 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 they are eating, reward your pup with a yummy treat, and return the food bowl. You could do something similar with toy trading! You give me the toy you have and I give you a yummy treat and its a win-win.
• 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. This keeps them from interrupting your conversation and teaches them the human table is not the place for them to find food.

4 Weeks Old

These puppies are half way through their stay with us, and are only a month away from going home with you! It has been a really big week for the puppies, and it has been really fun to watch them learn to play this week.

We all went outside for the first time this week. They spent time exploring in our gravel driveway as well as the grass. We’ve been outside several times since then.

We introduced crates this week and expanded their space quite a bit. They are loving the crates we have out. They quickly learned it is a great place to nap! At this point, the crates are mostly available for them to explore and use as they desire, which they do! I have started putting their food bowls in the crates as well to help with that positive association with a crate.

The puppies started eating puppy food this week! While they still nurse on Lucy, their new teeth discourage her from staying with them too long. They are also getting big, and ready for that puppy food. I let their food soak in water for some time so that it is good and soft. This helps them since they are just learning how to chew. Additionally, they have gotten their first bones… which they weren’t entirely sure what to do with. Their first treats, however, they figured out were delicious really quick!

Your puppy will go home eating Diamond Natural’s Large Breed Puppy Food. You do not have to keep feeding them this food once they are home with you, however we do recommend keeping your puppy on this food for a few weeks as they adjust to your home. This food will be one of the only things that remains the same about their life during their first day home with you. Picking out a dog food is a bit overwhelming, because of the number of options available! Checkout our blog about choosing dog food to help you narrow down all the dog food options.

Weekly Puppy Tip #4

Get ready for grooming! Your puppy has had their nails clipped with us and we will likely trim the hair by their eyes before they go home with you, so they have already had their initial introduction to their lifetime of being groomed. Take him/her to the groomer for a puppy clip after their 16-week immunizations. The groomer will bathe them, trim the hair out of their eyes, give them a sanitary clip, and trim their nails. Since your pup will need regular grooming throughout their life, both your pup and the groomer will benefit if they becomes accustomed to being groomed from a young age, even before they are ready for a full haircut. 

The wavy, curly 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. Timberidge Goldendoodles has a few nice write ups about hair cuts on their blogs that I would recommend reading through. While you should wait for that adult hair to come in before you cut their hair, don’t forget to regularly brush your pup! Without regular brushing, that puppy hair can get matted making that initial haircut a little more dramatic than maybe you had hoped!

3 Weeks Old

Lucy’s sweet puppies are officially three weeks old! They weigh about 4 pounds this week. We’ve been able to watch their ears open this past week as we watched their changing reactions to us coming in and out of their space. Their main goal this week was to learn how to walk! They are mobile enough now, that Lucy nurses them standing up.

We completed the practice of ENS this past week. Our socialization strategy is in full swing. At this age, socialization is still pretty basic. After all, they have only been outside of Lucy for 21 days, so everything is incredibly new!

We’ve started playing habituation music each day. This is a series of noises including car horns, sirens, babies crying, fireworks, dogs barking, busy chatter, etc. Even when they are just barely awake, you can see their little ears react to the noises. They got to hear their first vacuum this week as well. This is part of helping them get accustomed to what they might experience in their life with you as well as build that sound stability!

Since their legs are getting stronger and their walk is more stable, I’ve started adding little obstacles in their pen. Today, I rolled up a towel and they are learning how to climb over it. Tomorrow, I’ll trade the towel for a pool noodle. These are new objects for them to see and to feel, but also they help to appropriately challenge their new walking skills.

We like to take evening walks around our pond. This week and carried a few puppies with us as we walked. I’ve sent emails with them in my lap this week. They have also had their first human visitors (that they can see at least)! I love this age! They can see and hear, but are still the most snuggly soft things ever!

Weekly Puppy Tip #3

Pick out and sign up 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. This article from AKC gives some pointers about what to look for in a puppy class. Many dog training facilities will allow your new family member join their puppy class around 12 weeks of age, once they have received their second set of immunizations. Allison Camp from Pups Unleashed offers a local puppy class. She will be temperament testing the puppies here in a few weeks.

We prefer in person puppy class over virtual hands down, but it’s not always possible to attend a class in person. Our friends at Timberidge Goldendoodles have partnered with Baxter & Bella. Check out what Adrienne has to say about Baxter & Bella: “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. Even if you participate in an in person class, I think you’ll find Baxter & Bella is an amazingly helpful resource.” Use the discount code TIMBERIDGE to save 25% when you join Baxter & Bella! To Preview some of their content, check out this short video about helping your puppy respond positively to a doorbell!

2 Weeks Old

Your puppy is officially 2 weeks old! Its been a big week here, as the puppies have hit one of their first big milestones… their eyes are open! Their eyes look a little frosty and unfocused like you may expect from a newborn baby, but they will continue to develop in the coming weeks. Despite them all being able, Barnie was the only puppy interested in keep her eyes open for pictures this week!

Their legs are getting stronger, and their wiggles to move around are starting to look a little more like walking around. I wouldn’t say they are walking just yet, but they sure are trying hard!

This week the largest puppy is officially 3 pounds! The smallest is close behind at a 2.75 pounds! As they get bigger, stronger, and more developed, we expand their area. This week they upsized from the whelping pool they were born in, to a puppy pen. We added small beds to their pen in order to create a nest for them. Even this young they have instincts that tell them to move from the nest before urinating. They aren’t perfect, but those instincts are the very merger beginnings of potty training. Keep your eye out for updates on how we expand their area in the weeks to come.

Weekly Puppy Tip #2

Make a puppy experience plan! Compile a list of places you want to take your puppy and experiences you want your puppy to encounter. We have a thought out socialization plan, working hard to expose your puppy to as much as possible during its 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 them 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 the pup.

Start developing ideas of 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 he/she is 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. In the wake of the Covid-19 virus, meeting so many new people can be challenging. Check out Avidog’s ideas on how to socialize your puppy in a safe manner!

1 Week Old

Lucy’s sweet puppies turned one week old today! The puppies are busy growing. We weigh the puppies twice a day, and almost all have already doubled their birth weights! They received their first nail trim today. It is important to keep their nails trimmed at this age, so that they don’t scratch Lucy while they nurse.

We have started implementing Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) with the puppies. This is a series of short exercises that cause acute stress to the puppy for a short amount of time. The main goal is to wake up the neurological system of the puppy and strengthen it while it is still growing. The benefits of performing ENS are truly amazing. Puppies who experienced ENS have shown to have stronger heart beats and better resistance to disease. I wrote a blog post all about Early Neurological Stimulation where you can find more information.

Weekly Puppy Tip #1

Think about a napping place – Puppies spend most of their lives sleeping right now, and your new fur baby is going to need lots of sleep when you bring them home, too. Puppies require naps throughout the day. When your puppy is sleeping, try to allow them to rest untouched (it’s okay for noisy life to carry on around them while they snooze, but it’s best not to physically disturb). This may mean that you need to guide them to a different spot than the one they’ve initially chosen. AKC gives some helpful insight into the importance of puppy sleep: 

Happy Birthday Puppies

Lucy proudly welcomed 10 healthy goldendoodle puppies on Saturday, April 30! She had 8 sweet girls and 2 beautiful boys. Lucy is doing an amazing job taking care of them. When she is not nursing them, she is laying with them to keep them warm.

They cannot regulate their own body temperatures yet. They are born with an amazing instinct that allows them to sense heat and wiggle towards it. This helps them find Lucy for food. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “dog pile”! They are asleep almost the entire day right now. In their sleep you can watch them twitch and move. This is called activated sleep, and it is how they build muscle at this age.

Puppies are born with their eyes and their ears closed. They will stay this way for about 2 weeks. You might also notice in the pictures, that their noses have already started to darken up from when they were born. They will continue to darken up over the coming weeks.

We had an extra exciting day on Saturday around the farm. We also released fish into our pond. Because of that, we themed all the puppy names around the fish-y things.