“The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.” – Robert Falcon Scott
What sets Candy’s Cavoodles apart from the rest?
Our puppies go through a puppy enrichment program which include -
ENS - Early Neurological Stimulation - from Days 3-16
Grooming socialisation - clipper, dryer, claw clipping and paws being tickled and touched from Day 3.
Startle and recover - from 3 weeks old - loud noises being played
Weaning - from 3.5-4 weeks old
Toilet training - from 3.5-4 weeks old
Crate training - from 3.5-4 weeks old
Grooming - bath and dryer at least 3 times before going home
Sit and manding training - from 5 weeks old
Dog door training - from 7 weeks old
Socialisation and training - providing them with play equipment that moves, bounces, makes noise, household noises, interactive toys, cuddling, touching, tickling and all sensory experiences to help them be more confident and happy puppies.
Bringing home your puppy
For the safety of all family members and to abide by the law, your puppy should be secured in a moving vehicle. Puppy can go in a crate or a seat belt attached to his harness. Puppy can wriggle forcefully out of the arms and get injured in the vehicle.
Your puppy might be quiet on arrival at your home. This is because he has been separated from his litter, mum, breeder and is in his new surroundings. Take him immediately to the area he is to toilet and let him walk around to sniff out his new surroundings. If he toilets in the desired area, praise him. Have fresh water available for him. Don’t get worried if he doesn’t eat too much when he gets home. His appetite will pick up.
As there will be a new addition to your home, all family members will need to be careful when moving around the home as puppy WILL get under everyone’s feet. They are easily trodden and tripped on which can cause serious injury to both pup and family members. We recommend a cat collar with a bell so that you can hear puppy moving around your feet.
Your puppy has been vet checked, health cleared and received his first vaccination. Ensure he is not walked in public spaces (pavements, parks, dog parks, public grass) until he has received ALL his vaccinations and the vet gives clearance.
The first few nights
It will be difficult the first few nights bringing home a puppy. Due to the change in their surroundings, the absence of his mum and litter, it will be very lonely for your puppy. He may cry during the night. Some families will allow their pup to sleep with them in their bed, some in a crate beside their bed and some in the laundry by themselves. We found the crate beside our bed with a black tablecloth over the crate worked well for us. This became our nightly routine and eventually was moved out into the laundry. After 6 months you may choose to let them sleep outside the crate. Depending on what your family decides and what is best for your Cavoodle. A warm hot water bottle may settle puppy on the first few nights.
Puppy tricks and training
High value treats such as chicken or devon meat for puppy are great to reward puppy when training. Avoid over exertion, jumping tricks, jumping through hoop tricks etc. These can cause injury to a young pup as their joints are still yet to develop. Avoid stairs for puppy as they may fall and cause injury to their joints. YouTube is a great source for puppy training and teaching tricks.
Toilet training
Our puppies are introduced to grass from 4 weeks onwards. We train them to move away from their bedding and onto artificial grass to toilet. This is an intense training we do for two weeks to ensure puppy knows where to toilet and it becomes a life long habit to toilet on grass. Our families have been delighted that our puppies are using grass that is accessible to them to toilet. When bringing puppy home you might need him to toilet to a different texture that he has been trained to toilet on. The most important thing to remember about toilet training your puppy is that it takes time, patience and consistency. For toilet training to be successful, it’s important to establish a consistent pattern for your puppy and never reprimand them for having an accident. The actual action of toileting is rewarding for your pup. Puppies have tiny bladders of which they cannot control until approximately 16 weeks of age, so when they need to go, they need to go NOW! Therefore it’s up to you to take your puppy to the desired toileting spot on a consistent, regular basis.
Toilet Training Tips:
Introduce your pup to the desired toileting spot, not too far from the house;
Take your pup to the desired toileting spot every 30 minutes until you know their signals. You will need to get up during the night to take your pup to the toilet;
Reward your puppy for toileting in the desired location, every time!
Take your puppy to the same spot each time and instead of carrying them, encourage your pup to walk with you. Your pup will learn the trail quicker this way
Puppies generally toilet after; waking up, drinking, feeding, playing and every 30-60 minutes in between;
Keep alert and watch for the signs that your pup needs to toilet, including; whining, circling, sniffing, pacing or they suddenly stop what they are doing;
Introduce a command and use it every time they eliminate (eg. Toilet, wee wee);
The more often your pup toilets inside, the longer the toilet training process will take;
To prevent accidents in the household, restrict access inside by introducing crate training or a play pen;
Cleaners that contain ammonia smell like urine and encourage puppies to toilet in that same spot. It’s best to use citrus based products or Dettol.
NEVER punish your puppy during or after toileting in an undesired spot. Your puppy will relate toileting with punishment and in turn will become scared to toilet or hide to toilet.
Mouthing
Puppy’s mouth and bite to determine their environment, play, intermingle, establish bonds and determine order with their littermates. Unwanted mouthing can quickly develop into a serious problem though when your puppy’s teeth are replaced with adult canines, therefore its best to stop this behaviour as early on as possible.
Some tips to stop mouthing and biting are listed below:
Ensure your puppy has lots of their own safe, chewable toys and swap them around regularly;
When mouthing starts, stop touching or playing with your pup, remove your hands out of reach and stop all interaction and attention (negative punishment);
Redirect mouthing behaviour to alternative fun such as a favourite game, toy or treat;
Give a small yelp; your pup will stop play and you can redirect to a desired interaction;
Reward your pup for playing gently without mouthing
Remember: If you play quite roughly with your pup, expect them to mouth you as this is normal behaviour for a puppy. Never punish your pup for normal behaviour that you have initiated.