Preparing For Your New Bernedoodle or Australian Mountain Doodle Puppy

BEFORE YOUR NEW DOODLE PUPPY COMES HOME:

Hopefully your schedule allows for someone to be home full time with the puppy. If not, consider taking time off from work and other activities so you can make the most of those first days while everyone acclimates to a new schedule.

Pick up the essentials: a crate for sleeping in, the food they are currently eating, stainless steel bowls (never ever use ceramic or plastic), an adjustable harness and leash. If possible, a puppy play pen for contained play. Puppy appropriate chew toys to redirect their mouthing.  We will send your puppy home with a piece of fleece bedding with the scent of their mom and/or litter mates and you can add a towel or t-shirt with your scent on it in their crate at night to give them comfort.  

Puppy proof the areas the puppy will be in.  Think toddler!  Get down low and make sure no electrical, cable or phone cords are out. Start practicing not leaving your shoes and clothes lying on the floor, or leaving dishes or the remote control on a low coffee table.  If you have kids, make sure they are practicing picking up their stuffed animals and small toys and Lego blocks which all are potential chew toys and/or choking hazards.  Remove plants and lamps with dangling cords as well as all items on the coffee table (especially the TV remotes). Make sure all household cleaners and hazardous materials are out of reach. All trashcans in the kitchen, bathroom etc. should be the kind with a lid. Add baby or dog gates to the stairwell and any off limit areas. The puppy should be kept in a controlled, observable area when not sleeping in their crate or playpen until they earn more space.  This is the time to discuss with your spouse/kids/roommates etc. where the puppy will sleep, eat and be allowed to play and where it will be taken for potty.  I recommend the puppy sleeps in a crate in an adults bedroom so that you can hear when they need to go out.  Kids are often too sound of sleepers to hear them during the night.  You may need to move the crate at bedtime or consider two crates, one for the bedroom, one for the main living area or kitchen so they can take naps near you.  If you have a two story home, have one downstairs and one upstairs. Finally, check the yard to make sure the gates are secure and to prevent access to unsafe areas including around fruit trees that are bearing fruit with pits which are dangerous for them to ingest.

The puppies here use an artificial turf potty. You can use this for their first weeks at home either in a playpen, on a deck or balcony or just inside or outside the sliding door you will be using to take them out to the yard to potty. A small one would be useful for a long drive home and/or a stay over in a hotel. The one we use is on the My Favorite Things page.

Find a good vet and make an appointment for one or two days after your puppy comes home. They will need their first combo vaccination at this visit (between 8 to 9 weeks of age).  See note on vaccinations further down.  I recommend microchipping them closer to 6 months of age, possibly with the rabies vaccination but do not schedule both the Rabies and combo vaccines on the same day. Your puppy is more likely to have a reaction when multiple vaccines (Dapp, Lepto, Bordatella, Influenza) and/or oral or topical (flea, tick, heartworm) preventatives are given at the same time, There really is NO good reason for your puppy to receive a flea/tick/heartworm preventative (Simparica Trio is one example) at this first appointment. Until the vaccine series is complete at roughly 16 weeks of age you will likely not be taking them somewhere where they will be exposed to these types of parasites and these chemicals just aren’t good for your young puppy.

Plan for dog training and schedule your first lessons a few weeks out.  I recommend the whole family attends as this will ensure everyone is on the same page with which terms to use (off, wait, backup, settle in addition to sit, stay etc.).  The kids in the home need to know how to correctly communicate with the new puppy, what activities area allowed or to be discouraged and the puppy will learn to respect every member of the home.  Teaching good manners now sets you up for success. Again, keep it positive and calm, these breeds react much better to positive reinforcement then anger and/or scolding. They want to please you, they just need direction how.  Petco & Petsmart have early puppy classes and some locations have “puppy socials”. Getting your puppy out and about and into training in a safe environment is very important and has to be balanced with the need to keep them out of public areas where un-vaccinated dogs may have been. Discuss it with your vet. You can also look into an online option like Baxter & Bella for additional training in the safety of your home.

THE RIDE HOME:

Bring an extra person if possible and have a small crate with you. They can ride home on a towel on the lap of the passenger but it is nice to have a crate as a just in case and it will be a necessity if you are picking up your puppy alone. My favorite driving home setup is to have someone in the back seat with an open crate, safely secured and sideways on the opposite side. In the middle should be a dog bed, blanket or towel. The puppy then has the option to sit on your lap, in the crate or on the soft area in between both.

The crate you purchase should be big enough for the puppy to stand and turn around and hopefully last for the next six months. The store you purchase it from can advise you on the correct size or you can see my recommendations on the My Favorite Things page.  The open wire crates with two openings and an extra panel to decrease the size of the interior will likely last the longest as the puppy grows.

Bring paper towels or wet wipes, plastic bags and an old towel for cleaning up accidents. A water dish and extra bottle of water. For longer trips some Nutri-cal (high calorie supplement) and Adaptil Travel Spray are recommended also. Bring a harness in case you need to make an emergency stop. I would wait to buy a collar until after you have your puppy as the correct size is difficult to get correct without having them with you. Remember, your puppy is not collar or leash trained and you and/or your kids can’t expect to put that cute collar & leash on them and trot out the door to their new home.

If you have a long drive, I recommend a pop up playpen or x-pen that you can put down with pee pads for them to relieve themselves and stretch their legs. You do not want them to potty at the rest stops or anywhere else other dogs have been going. A small artificial turf potty would also work well for the trip home in a car or RV.

WALKING ON A LEASH

 Walking on a leash is not an innate skill. A leash as not a "steering wheel" or "control device", it is more like a safety device like a seat belt, that neither you nor the dog should really notice except in an emergency.

You would never ask someone out onto the dance floor and say "Let's do the Tango" if they'd never learned the dance steps first. Nor would you yank them physically through those steps with a rope. Teach your puppy the dance steps OFF leash, THEN add the leash!

The harness we recommend is on the Favorite Products page. Almost all puppies that leave here would wear the XXS size. Yes they will outgrow it quickly but a properly fitting harness is essential for your pet’s safety. This one is adjustable around the chest as well as the belly.

Teaching your puppy to walk with both a harness and on a leash is a good idea. The dogs in our home don’t wear collars. It isn’t safe when they play because it is too easy for someone’s tooth to catch on the collar. Injuries to the delicate trachea of a puppy or dog are much more common with a collar than a harness. But it is important for your puppy to know how to walk with just a collar or martingale style leash because that is what your vet will use to walk them through their facility.

THE FLIGHT HOME - IN-CABIN:

If you are flying home with your puppy in-cabin here are a few details to make note of. Most airlines require a puppy to be 18lbs or under so that their total weight with their carrier is 20lbs or under. There are size restrictions for the carrier so that it fits under the seat in front of you at your feet. Please confirm both carrier size and puppy weight with the airline you are selecting by checking their website. Your mini or medium puppy will not weight more than 18lbs when they leave here at 8 weeks.

The airline does not typically require a vet certification or specific paperwork to fly in-cabin. They typically just ask weight, age and breed. Your puppy will be sent home with a puppy packet that includes their vet checkup as well as a summary page of all their info and either of these will work if the airline requests any documents. If your flight and/or state requires the APHIS Form Vet Certificate, we need to schedule and additional vet checkup to request this.

Some airlines restrict brachycephalic breeds (snub-nosed dogs) from flying as they are more likely to suffer respiratory problems under normal circumstances and are at heightened risk during air travel. These are breeds like Boston Terrier, French Bulldog, Boxer, Pug, King Charles Spaniel, Shih Tzu and some others. Ausstralian Mountain Doodles and Bernedoodles are NOT included on this restricted list.

Puppies go home with their families at 8 weeks of age. Recently two airlines modified their flight restrictions for puppy’s allowable age to fly. Delta now allows puppies to be 8 weeks of age (prior to March 2023 they required them to be 10 weeks of age). United Airlines, Alaska, Southwest, Jet Blue, American Air, Allegiant and Horizon Air all have 8 weeks as the minimum age for travel. Please review each airline’s travel requirements for pets in cabin on their individual websites. Each airline will have their own in-cabin carrier requirements so follow their rules when purchasing a soft sided carrier for your puppy’s flight home. I will say that as long as the dimensions of the carrier you purchase are close to theirs, you should be fine. You will need to check in with the puppy and carrier and pay the additional pet travel fee (usually $100 to $125) for the portion of your flight where they will travel with you.

Eugene (EUG) is our closest airport and Southwest Airlines has some direct flights to California. Portland (PDX) is a 3.5 hour one-way drive (not allowing for traffic/weather delays) but does have more flights in and out.

In addition to your airline approved, soft-sided carrier, we recommend you travel with some wet wipes, a small ziplock bag, a few pee pads to place on the ground or in the bathroom for pottying and a small treat or filled puppy Kong toy to keep them busy in the carrier if needed. A collapsible bowl is helpful as you will want to offer some water to your puppy when you arrive at your destination and give them time to potty before the drive home. I recommend Adaptil Travel Spray, an odorless calming spray that you can use in their carrier, on a dog bed, in their crate etc. Bring their harness and leash although you won’t want to leave this on them while in the carrier. A small amount of their kibble which you can use to keep them busy or in case they need to be fed during a missed flight. We include a sample bag of their food in your going home pack for this purpose. They will have their fleece toy we provide also.

AFTER PUPPY COMES HOME:

Your puppy is coming into an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar people.  Do NOT just place them on the floor and let them explore.  They should NOT have access to all areas of the home. Take them out to the elimination spot you have identified and give them time to go.  Then bring them to where their food and water will be and try having them sit while you get their food ready.  After eating, take them out again to the elimination area.  You can show them the confined area they will be staying in. Hopefully you have already puppy proofed the kitchen or whichever area they will have access to. They shouldn’t have access to more than one room (unless your family room and kitchen are connected) until they are older and can reliably be left alone. Have plenty of toys in a basket (I recommend a non-chewable, low rubber bucket) which they can grab and play with and which you can use to re-direct their attention from chewing inappropriate items. Remember, they need to be watched at all times when they are not in their crate or safe playpen area.

Your puppy may be a little nauseous or car sick from their car ride.  If they were drooling in the car, they will be extra thirsty which means they will want to drink much more than usual and of course then need to pee much more than usual for the first couple hours.

Next introduce them to the rest of the family. Allow the puppy to go up to each person (preferably sitting on the floor) and smell them before they give affection. It is important the puppy goes to their people, not the people just scooping up the puppy.  Puppies jump on you and puppies bite. You and your kids will need to know how to appropriately turn their back to the puppy when it is roughhousing and/or jumping.  A calm family and calm kids will create calm in the puppy. Running and being excited will encourage the same in the puppy.

If your puppy is meeting another dog you have at home, make sure to introduce them in a neutral area like the sidewalk in front of your home.  But be careful to avoid areas where lots of dogs have been as the puppy’s immune system is still vulnerable to parvo and other illnesses.  Inside, make sure the current dog’s toys are all put away so they don’t become jealous if the new puppy pounces on one...which they will.  Always have more toys, treats etc. than you have pets so they are never competing for the same one.  You will need to feed your new puppy separately from your current dog. If you are currently leaving food down all day, you will need to practice now to pick it up when you cat or dog has finished so they are used to eating at meal time by the time the new puppy has arrived.  The puppy can have its mealtime in its crate, but it’s important to monitor how much it’s eating and not allow it to snack on other pet’s food.

Your puppy is used to being surrounded by its littermates, parent dogs and family. They will feel a little lost without their family and will want to be close to you. Keep their crate and/or playpen near to you, so they don’t feel isolated. Relegating them to the downstairs laundry because you can’t sleep through their crying is not good for your puppy. They are used to music, noise, tv news etc. in our current home, so play something softly in the background if they seem to be feeling lonely.  Short sessions in the crate while they can hear you nearby is good practice for longer crate sessions while you leave the home.  When you return home and they inevitably get excited, don’t rush to let them out and reward those antics. Wait until they have settled and relaxed, praising them in the process, then let them out on your schedule. Obviously if you know they are desperate to potty then don’t delay this.

Your puppy needs your patience, consistency and positive reinforcement.  Puppies like a schedule and following a routine will set you up for success. Your puppy will need three meals a day for the first six months, then it can be decreased to twice a day. You can start this at 4 or 5 months of age and just slowly keep making the midday meal smaller while increasing breakfast and dinner to make up the difference. Eventually you will completely replace the midday meal with a quick training session with treats. Keep them on the food they are eating currently for at least the first few months to facilitate potty training and if you switch, do it very, very slowly over a three week period. Fromm, Acana, Orijen, Evo, Addiction or Nulo are great brands to consider. As are some of the dehydrated and/or fresh delivery brands also.

Your puppy will need to potty when they wake up, immediately after eating or drinking, during and after playtime and just before bedtime.  Take them out to eliminate and praise, praise, praise if they go. You can bring them in for supervised play as a reward.

In the beginning, your puppy will probably need to wake up at least once during the night to pee, most likely around 2:30am and possibly twice during the night. Make this a perfunctory task. Take them outside with no stopping to play, eat or drink, praise them for going and take them right back to their crate after wards. You want them to know waking up in the middle night is not party time but that you understand they need to go.  Once back in their crate, try to ignore any protests if you know they have gone but be sensitive to the fact that they may have peed but not pooped and a 2nd trip might be needed .  In the first weeks, carry them outside to avoid any accidental stops on the way out the door.  Slowly start placing them on the floor further and further from the door so they have to hold it as they wait for you to open the door to let them out to the potty area. Eventually they can come out of the crate and will be able to wait until they are outside. You will find they slowly sleep longer and longer until they can make it through the night without any potty breaks.

WHAT NOT TO ALLOW:

I do not recommend you allow your puppy to chew your hands, feet, shoes etc.  This can be a terrible habit later. I use “leave it” for objects I don’t want them picking up or anything they should leave alone.  You can use an “ah ah” sound or “wrong” for chewing on your hand and teach them “drop it” to give you something they have in their mouth. I recommend you quickly discourage any grabbing or nipping at pant legs so you don’t inadvertently encourage “herding” actions.  Same with chasing games which you may regret once they are bigger. If you are throwing a ball, keep it low and long rather than teaching them to jump in the air as this is terrible for any dog’s joints, especially as a puppy.

Never allow the kids to hold a toy over the puppies head as this encourages them jumping up. Do NOT play tug of war with any toys.  Your puppy should always allow you to take a toy from them at any time, and this is something we work on and encourage while they are in our care. Playing tug of war sends the wrong message that they don’t need to release something to you.

I do not recommend allowing the puppy on beds and furniture in the beginning. You can always allow it later with permission but they can hurt themselves jumping down at this young age.  If you are sitting on the sofa, place a blanket or dog bed directly at your feet for them to lay on and be near to you (if they are not in the crate). No jogging or prolonged exercise until they are at least 1 year of age.

Do not give them rawhide bones.  Antler splits are a much safer and satisfying alternative. Remember to always have one more of any toy or bone than you have dogs so there is always an alternate.

HOUSEBREAKING & CRATE TRAINING:

The trick to housebreaking is to strongly praise when your puppy goes where you want them to and to ignore or use “uh oh” in a low voice for the wrong thing.  Anticipate and prevent.  Knowing when they need to go and then giving them the opportunity to go in the right place and be praised increases success.  Your puppy should not have free run of your home until they are completely trustworthy.

Accidents will happen. Do not punish, just clean it up. Chances are you gave your puppy unsupervised access to a large area of the home, too soon.

 I strongly recommend crate training as it provides a “den” environment which they will not want to eliminate in.  The crate should be used for short term confinement only. When removed from the crate, your first stop should be the “correct” elimination area you have decided on.  This method helps teach your puppy to have bladder and bowel control and provides you with an opportunity to praise them for using the right spot.  Crates are NOT intended to be used for extended periods of time or while you are gone at work during the day.  

To encourage them to enter the crate, use the phrase “go in” or “crate” or whatever you decide and point inside. Then use a treat to lure them into it & reward them. This method will ensure they always go in on command.  A small Kong toy from the pet store filled with some peanut butter will entertain them for a long period until they fall asleep.  You can freeze them when the puppies are teething.

A small area for longer term confinement like a puppy playpen or a laundry room with a baby gate can be used to restrict mistakes to a small area with a washable floor.  This is not to be confused with crate training. The puppy will not want to eliminate in the crate and this facilitates training if used correctly for short durations.  The playpen gives them a safe area to play or without wandering off to an area you can’t see to pee behind the sofa or to chew on the lamp cord, TV remote etc.   You can read more about playpen training under the Info & Links area of our site. If you are not watching them, they need to be in their crate or confined to a playpen or in a contained, observable area.  As they get a bit older and more trustworthy, you can tether them (see Leash training & tethering below). We use “Poochie Bells” on our back door and our dogs ring the bell when they need to go out.  This is an excellent way for them to let us know when we are in another part of the house, but be warned it can also feel like they are training you rather than the other way around.

During the day, take your puppy out every hour to go potty. Each time you let them out, put on the leash and once outside give them about five minutes. If they do not eliminate, simply return them to the crate. If they go, reward and praise and give them playtime either outside with you or in the controlled place you have arranged inside.  Baby gates will be your friend at this time.  Frontgate has (slightly expensive but attractive), wider width free-standing gates for larger areas.

Most of all, enjoy your new puppy! There will be frustrations, a little less sleep and likely something cherished will have little puppy teeth marks on it. But remember this will all pass. Your puppy wants to please you and wants to understand what you want. Every week your puppy will understand more of what you want and your shared bond will strengthen. All too soon, those puppy antics will be a memory and you will have a lifetime friend.