Bringing home your new Goldendoodle

As seen at http://goldendoodleworld.blogspot.com


This article offers a few helpful tips regarding what you will need to know after bringing home your Goldendoodle. I had always assumed everyone has owned a dog at some point in time throughout their life, but I was mistaken after becoming a breeder and meeting so many new people through the sales of my Goldendoodles. I was surprised to learn that there are plenty of people in this world who has never owned a dog before. If you are an inexperienced doggie person or if owning a dog is new to you, perhaps you will find this article of some assistance.


CRATE TRAINING


Expect your Goldendoodle puppy to cry a lot. This is very common. Even if your Goldendoodle puppy is weaned away from its mother, he or she is still use to sleeping and hanging out with its litter-mates. Separation anxiety occurs with every puppy regardless of breed or hybrid. Separation anxiety with young puppies can be lessened, however, especially with Goldendoodles who love having constant companionship when there are lots of kids around or other pets to help keep them busy.


This anxiety will last sometimes just a few days, but can last for up to 2 weeks. Every day that you have your new Goldendoodle….puppy or adult…will get better and better. When bringing home a young adult, re-training is common because you are new to the dog and the dog is new to you, your family, your pets, your home, your friends, your environment. Time is necessary for the dog to settle in and become acquainted to a new life and for you to learn about your new pet.


1. Before putting your Goldendoodle in his or her crate, make sure that you have taken your new Goldendoodle outside for a potty break. If you don’t, your Goldendoodle may think that the crate is a place to use the bathroom.


2. Your Goldendoodle may whine, cry or bark after you place him or her in their crate. This is normal. So long as you know that your Goldendoodle has been fed, had enough water to drink and has already used the bathroom, let them whine, bark or cry. If you cater to the noise that your Goldendoodle is making simply to get your attention, this will reinforce the behavior that its acceptable to do these things in order to get you to pay attention to him or her.


3. Some Goldendoodles are not crate trained or need to be re-trained for crate training. Start slowly. This means to allow your Goldendoodle to stay in his or her new crate for a short amount of time in the beginning. I never recommend using a crate as a way to house any dog for hours upon hours. This is not what a crate is for. Crating your Goldendoodle or new doggie should only happen if you are leaving home for an hour or two and you do not have a fenced in yard or secure area where your Goldendoodle can be safe when you are away from home; a safe place for your Goldendoodle to sleep at night; a safe place to spend time when he or she can not be supervised when you are busy. A crate is NOT a place for your Goldendoodle to spend every single day, for hours on end. This can lead to serious health problems including damage to your Goldendoodles’ joints and bones. As time goes by, you can increase the time that your Goldendoodle can spend inside of the crate and eventually, you can just leave the door open and your Goldendoodle will go into the crate automatically on his or her own.

What type of crate should you use?


Goldendoodles and most social dogs can become claustrophobic if they are housed in a plastic crate with few openings to see out of. The best type of crate to use is a powder coated metal crate where your Goldendoodle can see all the way around. Most Goldendoodles will whine or cry less if they can see you. Make sure to place your Goldendoodle’s bedding in the far back of the crate and put newspapers to the front. Do NOT use a divider inside of the crate to create a smaller space inside of the crate. It is NOT true that a dog will be less likely to use the bathroom inside of a crate if their area is smaller. What will happen is that your Goldendoodle will use the bathroom if an accident happens and they will not have any where to move out of the way. This will cause your Goldendoodle to step or sit in urine or feces and you’ll be doing a lot of bathing. Give your Goldendoodle as much room inside of his or her crate as is available. I always tell my doodle customers to buy an extra large crate and let the Goldendoodle puppy grow into it. If you buy a small crate just because your doodle is small at the time….you will be buying a new crate in a short amount of time. Crates can become expensive if you do this and you can save yourself unnecessary expenses by just buying an extra large crate right from the start!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave a collar on your Goldendoodle when crating! I can not even stress this enough. Accidents happen and your Goldendoodle can accidentally choke itself if the collar gets tangled on the crate somehow. This can result in death. Keep the collar close by and you can always keep your leash close by as well. Do not put your Goldendoodle inside of his or her crate with a collar on.


Crates are great for teaching your Goldendoodle to become housebroken. Ensure that your Goldendoodle has used the bathroom before placing him or her inside of the crate. Unless you are going to be away from home for longer than four hours, do not leave water or food dishes inside of the crate. Goldendoodles love to play in water and they won’t hesitate to use the dishes as toys. This can create quite a mess. Giving your Goldendoodle a couple of toys to keep him or her busy while you are away is a better idea. DO NOT leave any toys inside of the crate that has buttons, bells, bows or any type of plastic that can be easily removed by sharp teeth. Before letting your Goldendoodle out of the crate, do not create excitement. Simply open the door and make your Goldendoodle sit quietly while you place his or her collar around its neck and then immediately take your Goldendoodle outside for a potty break. Do not play with your Goldendoodle while outside until AFTER he or she has used the bathroom.


This continuous motion will teach your Goldendoodle to wait until he or she is let out of the crate to use the bathroom. This will also help your Goldendoodle to associate the outdoors with going to the bathroom. Repetitive motions with your Goldendoodle helps your Goldendoodle learn new things quickly. If you create excitement upon leaving your home or coming home, your Goldendoodle can become anxious. Staying calm and not creating excitement helps keep your Goldendoodle calm. Remaining calm and being consistent is the key to pawsitive training!
Our next article will discuss helpful tips on housebreaking!

About the author:

Dee Gerrish established Goldendoodle World in 1999. Dee is prior military and has owned dogs all of her life. Dee became a private, professional, hobby breeder for Golden Retrievers in 1996 and began her Goldendoodle breeding program in 1999 after falling in love with her first Goldendoodle litter. Since 1999, Dee Gerrish has written extensively about the Goldendoodle hybrid. She has researched, photographed and documented the Goldendoodle hybrid since 1999 of which she enjoys sharing with others on her website and through many articles and blogs. Visit her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ to view more information about the Goldendoodle dog.