If you were following along last weekend – we brought our new puppy Hudson home on Friday!!! We are finally puppy parents and you guys, we could not even describe the amount of love we have for this lil guy. Daniel and I have wanted a puppy for so long and it was just the best weekend ever getting to bring him home. I mean I think you KNOW you are going to love this pup so much but we didn’t know it would be even more than what we had imagined. We are about a week into puppy parenthood so I thought I’d share a little more about our process and how the first week went.
What kind of breed is Hudson?
A mini labradoodle! We have always loved doodles because of my parents two goldendoodles Zooey and Marshall. They are the sweetest and such a playful smart breed. We knew we wanted a doodle when the day came to get a puppy and we chose a mini for apartment living.
How big will be be?
He will be 25-30 lbs full grown!
Where did you get him?
We got him from Sutter Buttes Labradoodles. They were so great to work with! I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a mini labradoodle. They were so responsive, knowledgable, and really care for the well being of their puppies. I love how they keep in touch with their alumni and offer a lifetime of support.
P U P P Y L I S T
I made a little puppy list you can screenshot in case you need to start compiling ideas. Feel free to use this post as a research or a headstart for finding products that work for your puppy 🙂 We are also investing in puppy training starting at 10 weeks. I searched yelp and read lots of reviews before settling on our trainer. I looked for trainers that focused on positive reinforcement training and ones that started before 16 weeks of age (when most puppy classes are because of vaccines). This breed is known to be “too smart for their own good” so we knew it was important to get training on the calendar asap.
W H A T W E B O U G H T
I’ve gotten lots of requests to share things that we have gotten while preparing to bring Hudson home. I’ve broken it out into a few different categories. We also love HomeGoods – their dog section is fantastic! Lots of toys, beds, treats, food bowls, etc.
CRATE & HOUSING
We have pretty much heard from everyone and their mom that crate training is the way to go and I’d say a week in I would fully support that. The first night was tough because it was hard to stay strong and not give into his cries for attention but he started sleeping through the night by the second night!! He loves his crate so much and will fall asleep in there throughout the day. I think the key is to make it super cozy. In addition to the bedding below, we also put an old dark towel in there. The crate cover also helps to create some darkness and as soon as we put the cover over the front, he knows it’s bedtime 🙂 We put the crate in our room at night when he sleeps next to our bed then in the morning, we move it out to the living room and attach it back to the playpen.
GROOMING, HYGIENE & CLEANING PRODUCTS
We are pretty clean people so we are trying our best to potty train him well so that he doesn’t have accidents as an adult dog. That being said, puppies are pretty much furry babies so they are bound to make mistakes. We practice positive reinforcement to help potty train and we just say a simple no if he pees in the house then try to bring him over to his fresh patch on the balcony. This has been a lifesaver since we live in an apartment and don’t have a yard of our own. It really saves running down the stairs to let him out.
We grabbed the enzymatic cleaner to really deep clean areas where he has had an accident. These types of cleaners eliminate their scent completely so that they don’t go back to the same area to pee or poop. The bitter apple spray also came highly recommended – we haven’t tried it out yet (just got it in today) but you can spray it on pretty much anything you don’t want your puppy to chew on. I guess the flavor is just not pleasant to dogs so they will leave your cords and furniture alone.
We still haven’t given him a bath (read that their bodies can’t maintain body heat right now so we are holding off until he’s 12 weeks). We just wipe him down with a towel and water or use the pet wipes for his paws. I haven’t found a good shampoo yet so still in the market for that.
TREATS & EATS
We did a lot of research on puppy foods before we settled on Merrick’s. The most important thing to us was finding a dog food that was grain-free and used lots of whole ingredients. They said a key trick is looking at the ingredient list and seeing what is listed first. Brands are required to list out ingredients by volume so even if a bag advertises that they’re made of real salmon or chicken if you check the ingredients and it’s not the first item listed, there’s probably a lot of added filler.
Most breeders will send you home with a few days supply of the food they were feeding them. You can either choose to continue to feed them that food or you can choose your own. If you choose your own, make sure you are slowly adding in the new food to not upset their stomach. We were lucky and he adjusted to his new food immediately. We did 75% old food, 25% old food for the first meal and then kept increasing the amount of new food as we went. He is fully on his new food now 🙂
When he first came home, he was NOT into treats at all. We were actually getting pretty worried because labradors and labradoodles are supposed to be very food motivated. I read a few forums and articles online that said it can take them a week or so to adjust and you should try a few types of treats to see which they like. One of the dogs I follow on IG (@the.dood.bruce) his mama recommended the Soft Puppy Bites below and you guys he finally ate a treat today!! I was so glad. I think these are a lot softer than the other treats we had gotten him so they’re easier for him to eat with his tiny puppy teeth.
I also read it’s great to stimulate their minds with puzzle toys to get their food. He loves his flipboard and figured out how to use it so quickly. We also got him a Kong, which is a really popular toy you can stuff treats in and keep them entertained for hours.
ACCESSORIES
Of course you have to make sure you get a leash and collar before bringing your pup home. We got his adorable lobster collar from Petco and then a lighter leash for right now while he’s a puppy. The leash below will be his more permanent leash when he’s older and heavier. We also got a harness for times when he’s out and about to get a better hold on him.
I actually didn’t know this until I started researching but puppies cannot walk on the ground until they’re done with vaccinations at 16 weeks old. We still want to bring him out in public a lot to socialize him and have him meet lots of new people. One article I read said he has to meet 100 new people by the time he’s 16 weeks – isn’t that crazy! Puppies can actually die if they contract parvovirus and puppies are highly susceptible to the disease. There are two strains one that makes them very sick and one that is fatal 🙁 To take extra precaution with this, we do not let him on any public ground. I have a sling that I carry him around in when we are in public or we have a soft old blanket we carry him in around in as well. We have our annual family trip to Apple Hill after Thanksgiving to go get our Christmas Tree so we got a little wagon for him too LOL I know.. so extra haha. BUT we figure it’s a great investment for when we have kids. 😉
TOYS
Hudson LOVES toys! It’s so cute – he jumps from toy to toy and will spend hours just playing around with them. Puppies love chewing everything because they are teething so giving them toys to divert their chewing will help save you, your furniture, and your beloved shoes. He has been eyeing my favorite Tory Burch Miller Sandals since the day he came home LOL. Anytime I see him chewing on something he shouldn’t, I replace it with a toy and slide that into his paws/mouth. This has worked really well for us. He doesn’t care much for squeaky toys but LOVES anything that makes a crinkly sound. I can’t link them below but the toys from Barkshop are so cute and so fun! He really like the Bucket of Apples, the PSL, the Dumplings, and the Selfie Stick. The rope ones have also been a lifesaver because they’re affordable and he loves chewing on them. I listed the bully sticks under treats above, but those also entertain him for hours.
U S E F U L R E F E R E N C E S
I loved listening to Debbie Cilento’s Your New Puppy Podcast while we were waiting to bring Hudson home 🙂 She is so informative and her voice was really easy to listen to. She gave awesome tips and insights to dog behavior. I especially loved her podcast about how to prevent bad behavior. I also watched a few of Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution videos on Youtube. We will still do formal training for him but I think these are so informative and helpful! I also googled SO.MANY.ARTICLES about dogs and dog behavior. It was so great to learn more about them and why they they are they way they are or do the things we do.
W H A T W E L E A R N E D T H E F I R S T W E E K
- The first night is HARD. It’s no walk in the park, you probably won’t get a lot of sleep that first night or maybe even for the first two weeks depending on your puppy. But we tried to focus on the fact that he was sad and missing him mom and littermates so it was natural for him to cry for attention. By night two, he was sleeping through the night.
- Puppies sleep A LOT – i’m talking 18-20 hours a day
- Puppy cycle during the day is eat, poop/pee, play, sleep. Repeat x10
- They don’t know anything.. and don’t really know right from wrong so it’s up to us to teach them how WE want them behave. I mean really, lol he has no idea that pooping inside on our carpet is any different from the balcony area. Practice makes perfect 🙂
- They watch everything you do and are such fast learners
- Puppies make our lives and hearts full – you know it’s just crazy how much dogs just make our lives.. better 🙂
I hope that this post helped all you future puppy mamas out there! 🙂 We are still learning every day and can’t wait to watch this little dood grow up. He’s our whole world!