Claire discusses the basics of successful house-training for your new Labradoodle puppy. Learn the most important things to have in place to set you and your puppy up for success.
I am about to get a labradoodle puppy from you guys in the spring and I am so glad I looked at this so that I know where to start with my little munchkin!!
We just got our precious lil guy Saturday he will be 8 wks old in 3 days.Our word is potty & I made some bells for our door yesterday:) I had a bunch of biger jingle bells and tied them together with twine. Good luck to everyone 💓
Thank you for these tips. We are already doing a few of these exercises with our 4 month. I like the idea of a designated space. Is it too late to designate an area in my back yard?
HI Steven, It's never to late to set up a designated area. It may take a bit longer for your pupper to learn what you are after but by all means go for it.
You are wonderful Claire, I purchased a book in preparation for the arrival of my puppy, but after listening to you I realize that I didn’t need it!👍❤️
I am glad you found it helpful. Now let's see how it works in real life. Remember, be kind to yourself and don't get upset if it takes a bit longer than you think it should. All dogs learn at a different pace. Just be consistent, patient and all will be well. Good luck and enjoy your wonderful new little bit of joy.
Hi Claire: How does house training in a 3rd floor condo work? I plan to set up a pee pad station on our balcony for urgent use, and also carry the puppy downstairs frequently. I expect I would train her/him to use bells or "knock" to exit the sliding door to the balcony. Eventually (soon) I hope to transition to going outside all the time. Will the puppy be confused with this plan? I do not think installing a doggy door is an option. Thank you. Turkish Coffee pawrent-to-be.
Hi Yvonne, When we have our Zoom Q and A session we will go over how to do this at that time. Don't worry, we have lots and lots of dog living in condos and happily housetrained.
Hi Claire, how would I get to buy one of your pups? I have a labradoodle, Charlie who was 6 on Feb 14. Just this past week lost his playmate sister Buttons due to Congestive Heart Failure at age 11, so you see Charlie has always had playmate. He’s been depressed not eating very much , not playful just not being Charlie. I’ve seen a number of your videos and I have enjoyed them & decided You are the person I would want to buy my next doodle from. You are sooo right when you say this is a very intelligent, fast learning breed. I’ve had Dobies for over 25 yrs and I thought they were fast learners but Charlie picks thinks up so very very fast. There is one thing I hope you can answer for me? What is the fastest easiest way to clean the hair from there ears???? Please let me know about getting a beautiful little puppy from you. Charlie , Mom & Dad need to have our family whole again. 🤞😁🙏Thank you.
Hi Arlene, I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of Buttons. I am sure Charlie must be wondering where his buddy has gone to. At this point I am afraid we are not accepting applications for our puppy as we are fully reserved through to May 2021. Please be sure to follow along with us on our Facebook page and check our website for announcements of litters that may come up unexpectedly. Just a note that we only sell our companion puppies within Canada. Thanks for enjoying my puppies - I sure do!
Hi, Claire! We have had our 9 week old Australian Labradoodle for about a week now. Because we live in Wyoming, we are getting a lot of snow and harsh temperatures right now, and our sweet little pup insists on going potty on the deck because she doesn't want to go out in the snow. Do you always take your pups out on a leash to their potty area, or do you carry them out and wait while they potty in the yard? Also, I think our puppy is confused about making the connection between ringing the bells, going outside, and then doing her business outside. She's having an accident about once a day. I just want to fix the issue as quickly as possible. Your videos are so informative and helpful. Thank you!
Hi Lisa, It's a bit of a challenge in snow and cold temperatures to convince a puppy that going out is a great idea for peeing and pooping. If you can put some artificial turf on the deck for the winter then that might be a good solution and make it easier to get the puppy trained. If there is a specific spot in the yard you want puppy to use, then yes, carrying puppy out to that spot is your best bet. Otherwise, just letting them out on the leash will work well. As for the bells, I find them not to be my favourite choice. What usually happens is the dogs figure out very quickly they only have to ring the bells for you to jump up and let them out. Whether they need to go out or not! If you like them though, then just be patient, they will catch on in a couple of weeks. If there are accidents happening then probably the best bet is to keep puppy tethered to you with a hands free leash whenever you are not able to keep your eyes on puppy full-time. Good luck and I hope it warms up soon although I guess it will be a few months before that happens.
My puppy is coming home at 8 weeks in two weeks. I wanted to know, does the pup do his business at the same spot on my block? I live in Brooklyn, NY. I don't have a backyard.
Hi there, Congratulations on your new puppy! Your puppy may choose the same spot each time but it isn't necessary at all. Some people with a backyard just prefer to have the puppy go in a designated area so they don't have pee and poop all over their yard.
We are considering getting a puppy, but we have a lot of stairs to navigate to the outside back deck that leads to a gate and then our woodland backyard. Any suggestions?
To keep your puppy safe and developing properly you would need to carry your puppy up and down those steps for the first 6 months and then for months 6 to 12 allow the puppy very occasional use of those stairs. A baby gate at the top and bottom of the stairs will keep your puppy from using the stairs before you can pick the puppy up.
All the products we use are sourced in Canada. If you are Canadian, please email me at claire@vanisledoodles.com and I will provide you with the information on where to source everything.
Our dog is almost three months; I went for a walk, and our neighbor’s dog, who doesn't wear a leash, was playing with my dog. I had a leash because she's learning how to walk outside and doesn't know our neighborhood. When is the best time to go unleashed?
They sure do. And you can teach an old dog new tricks so don't give up. If you have had your dog since puppyhood and are having troubles with house training, I would suggest having a visit with your vet to be sure something isn't going on such as a persistent UTI. And a good trainer will be helpful too if this is an older dog who is continuing to struggle with mastering house training.