Congratulation's on your new Chase Creek Labradoodle puppy!

Thank you for purchasing a Chase Creek Labradoodle. I wish you many years of happiness with your dog. Please take a few moments to read over the documentation on this page and in the folder provided to you at pick-up.

The Bill of Health document will also serve as your receipt. You will take this to your vet for the first visit and have the vet sign it. Then you can either scan and send a copy back to me or mail me a copy.

You will also find here the information about your puppy vaccinations. Your puppy was wormed regularly by me with Strongid-T. Your vet may suggest an additional worming regime based on where you live and where you may be going with your puppy. I highly recommend getting the Kennel Cough vaccine if you plan to go to dog parks or your dog will be in puppy class or doggy daycare.

The microchip information is also included. The microchip info is in your folder and you can fill-in the form online. It is important you change the contact information with them so they can contact you instead of me.

Please keep in touch with me! I am here for you if you have any questions. I love to hear how your puppy is doing and love pictures!

Happy Doodling!

Nadine at Chase Creek Labradoodles

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Quick Tips for your Puppy's Transition

Your puppy is eating three times a day. You may start with about one half to 3/4 cup per meal and see what your puppy eats right away. You will soon know if that is too much or not. Your puppy may be a bit finicky at first because of the new place, but none of these puppies are shy eaters now, so I can assure you of that!
My puppy food right now is Costco’s Kirkland brand Nature’s Puppy kibble. I wet it with warm water (kind of makes a gravy). You will receive some of this food with your puppy. If you are going to change the food please mix it 50/50 for a while to allow your puppy to adjust to the new food. Please do not feed this puppy grocery store food as they contain corn and many other grains that dogs should not eat (also make more poop - filler).
Your puppy will want some toys to chew - a knotted sport sock is a low cost toy, braided rope bones are good, and the puppies like plush toys, but watch as your puppy gets older, as your pup may chew it up and get stuffing and squeaker toy out.
Your puppy should sleep in their crate with a bed. The pup may whimper the first night, but will soon get used to your routine. Lots of love and attention in the early days will help your puppy cope with this. That being said, set up your boundaries early as you also want to make sure "cute" habits are ones you won't to live with when your puppy dog is full grown. Sleeping in his crate allows you to control her going to the bathroom. If you take them out as soon as your pup wakes up, you may have very quick success with house training.
If you take your puppy outside right after eating, your puppy will likely have a poop almost right away. It is very important that you reward the "right" thing rather than punish the wrong thing. Hopefully, your puppy kindergarten uses this method. Puppy pee timing may be a bit hard to gauge at first. I find puppies pee about 2 minutes into first release from the crate. I think the exercise gets everything going! I would use a "code word" with her for going to the bathroom so that your puppy learns to associate your signal with going. "Label" this with your code word as your puppy is being successful and your puppy will soon associate the two. This will make life easier when you are in a hurry and need her to go. Also if you have a place where you want her to go in your back yard, you could always take her and "label" this when your puppy is successful as well. Eventually, you will let him out and say “kennel" (or whatever word you have labelled it as), and your puppy will go there to do her business. This will make your yard maintenance much easier. Some people get the pup to hit a bell tied to a rope on the door handle as a cue to go out. Basically through positive reinforcement you can teach your dog to do anything. It literally takes only a few minutes a day but you need to pay your dog immediately following the target behaviour (I use tiny bits of cooked liver I keep chopped up in a baggy in the freezer). Right now, your attention and praise will probably be enough reinforcement. It will be awhile before you go past this “minimum training wage"!

Frequently Asked Questions at Pick-Up

What should I feed my puppy and how much?

Your puppy is on a schedule of eating three (3) times a day and will stay on this schedule until they are 10-12 weeks, then down to twice a day. They are eating Kirkland Natures Domain Puppy kibble from Costco. You may wish to change your puppy over to a different food. Please do this very gradually by introducing the new food a tiny bit at a time with the Summit to prevent an upset tummy. Feed ½ cup at each serving. Offer water until 8 pm and then no water to prepare them for a dry night of sleep. A nice half hour walk before bed will tucker them out to sleep through the night.

At one year of age, I also give my dogs one wild salmon oil capsule in their breakfast ( I buy the human ones at Costco - no need to break capsule, they eat it on their own)

Where should my new puppy sleep?

Your new puppy will feel disoriented transitioning to their new home. I can provide something with the mom and litter’s scent. You will want to place this in the crate with them for a few evenings. Your puppy will be looking for reassurance their first night home and I recommend that you let it sleep in your bedroom near you. This way, you will hear puppy stir if it needs to go potty during the night. A couple of friendly fingers poked through into the crate will be greeted with a thankful puppy kiss at times of insecurity. If this is a challenge for sleeping, place puppy in an area where you cannot hear them and turn a fan on to comfort them. The upside of this whole method is that you, your family, and your puppy will have a good sound night’s sleep! Gradually, after the first few nights, when your puppy realizes that it has found their permanent and loving home, you will be able to move the crate to another part of the house if you wish. I have found that putting the crate in the family member that is the deepest sleeper works great! The crate should be just large enough for puppy to lie down and stretch out, but not large enough to walk around in. Puppies dislike soiling or wetting a small sleeping space so the right sized crate will prevent accidents.

Was my puppy dewormed?

Your puppy was wormed every 2 weeks with StrongidT. Tell this to your veterinarian when you go for your first visit.

How do I potty train my puppy?

Puppies need to eliminate quite frequently. The time it will take to teach your puppy to go potty in the designated part of your yard will depend not on your puppy, but on you. Vigilance is a must.

Puppies will go poop or pee after eating, drinking, playing, or on waking up from a sleep…plus some extra times in between. CARRY puppy outside approximately every hour and a half during the day (I set my microwave timer as a reminder), and put down in the spot where you want it to eliminate. My puppies are used to wood pellets (the kind sold at Canadian Tire for pellet stoves). The smell of this will let your puppy know this is where you want him to eliminate. WAIT. Give puppy time to get over the excitement of being outside (the fun of chasing a leaf or seeing new and stimulating things may take its mind off what it is out there to do) or when you take the puppy back inside, first thing it may do is pee or poop…inside. This is NOT what you want to happen. When puppy eliminates outside, praise him/her. If there is an accident inside, do NOT PUT PUPPY’S NOSE INTO ITS OWN MESS. This serves no useful purpose other than to confuse and frighten the puppy.

Restrict the area your puppy has to run about indoors to one room or part of one room, unless you are prepared to watch it EVERY MINUTE. Crating for two or three hour periods during the daytime will help puppy to strengthen its bowels and bladder and to teach it that it does not always go immediately when it feels the inclination. Puppies are neither “clean” nor “dirty” with elimination. They are creatures of habit. So the fewer the mistakes that happen indoors, the sooner your puppy will become reliable indoors. I will also tether a pup using it’s leash to a chair leg (under direct supervision of course). This boundary prevents the puppy from getting away from any elimination and puppies like to run away from their poop and pee. I will tether a pup near where I am working to reassure them that they can see me.

It is a difficult balancing act deciding whether early socialization is worth the risk of contracting disease when a puppy has not finished its course of shots. Be guided by your vet and your own common sense. Highly contagious diseases, such as the deadly killer Parvovirus, can be carried on car tires, on people’s shoes and clothing, as well as being transmitted by direct contact with an infected dog. I do not take my puppy for any excursions until the second round of shots have been completed.

When or how do I socialize my puppy?

Young puppies, just like young babies, need a lot of sleep in order to develop healthy emotional and physical systems. RESTRICT the playtime of children with the new puppy and give puppy its own chilling out time where they learn not to disturb their new playmate. RESIST the temptation to cart your new puppy about to introduce it to your friends and neighbors during the first week. Puppy’s tail may be wagging nonstop, and it may have a great appetite and not appear stressed, but change of home is stress, whether from around the corner or across the world. There will be plenty of time later for showing off your gorgeous new puppy. But in the meantime, be considerate and give puppy time to find its place in the world, and to bond with you… its new pack.

How much rest will my puppy need?

Your Chase Creek Labradoodle puppy has been raised on nothing short of the best. No expense of time and energy have been spared to give your puppy the best possible start in life. Worming has been done every two weeks, and should be continued as recommended by your vet. I recommend that you schedule a vet appointment within 72 hours of arrival for a complete health check. This will ease your mind that you have a fit and healthy puppy, and also give your vet an opportunity to give you guidelines on proper care. This will also be in keeping with the Chase Creek Labradoodle contract.

***If your puppy develops diarrhea within a few days of arriving at your home, please go immediately to your vet or your local vet hospital. Stress diarrhea, caused by the stress of a move and an opportunistic “bug’ called coccidia can make your puppy very sick and possibly even take his/her life! Immediate attention is required. Chase Creek Labradoodles will reimburse for medication if coccidia is found.

When should we see the vet?

Early training is a MUST! Your brand new puppy is old enough to learn to sit, walk by your side without pulling on the least, come when it is called and be tethered for periods of up to an hour. Labradoodles are extremely intelligent. Leave the training too late, and your puppy is more likely to train YOU than the other way around! As you know, we recommend the book Puppy School by Gwen Bailey. Please also head over to our Training Tips, as this will help you immensely!

When do we start training?

All puppies nip and bite. It is natural. But this should be IMMEDIATELY corrected right from day one. It would not be tolerated in the dog pack, and puppy needs to learn right off that it is LAST in the order of the pack, even down to the tiniest child. One bop on the nose with a sharp “NO!” followed by praise THE FIRST TIME the puppy nips may be the last time this correction may need to be given. Nipping and biting can develop into such a serious problem if left unchecked that it is one of the few occasions where negative training is recommended. We also remind our children that we do not call it biting but nipping so that the children do not have fear associated with the term.

If nipping continues, remove anything that puppy wants to nip from his mouth’s area. If he nips your hand, do not pet him until he is fully settled. Nipping is 100% normal and is in no way a sign of aggression in a puppy. It is a behavior to be readdressed. Offer a chew toy as an alternative.

What do I do with my puppy's biting and nipping?

Teach your puppy to stand or lie down for grooming right from the start. This will be good practice for the day when you may need to groom your dog later on. Some coat types may start to matt from between nine and twelve months of age due to the adult coat pushing out from under the puppy coat and tangling. A non-shedding dog needs to have the old puppy coat stripped out weekly during this transitional phase, which could last for a couple of months. Please follow instructions on my Grooming page!

How do I groom my Labradoodle?

Though this is unlikely, it is possible. In the event that you ever have to part with your Chase Creek Labradoodle, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, as I may be able to help you re-home your Labradoodle.

Rehoming a Labradoodle

Puppy Developmental Stages

Puppies are puppies before they are a well-behaved adult Labradoodle. It is very important that you have a real understanding of your puppies developmental stages, so you can prepare yourself for the challenges that may arise with a new puppy, and so you realize the importance of your training to help shape your puppy into a well-mannered adult dog who doesn't drive you crazy with a lot of bad habits that could have been prevented.

Puppy Developmental Stages

Your Puppy's Vaccination Schedule

Consult your vet on your first health visit for your continued vaccination schedule. A schedule outline is located in your take-home folder.

Thanks again for purchasing one of my gorgeous Chase Creek Labradoodles and I hope your puppy brings you complete happiness. I wish you the best of luck!

Please join the Chase Creek Labradoodle page on Facebook and follow and tag me on Instagram, as I look forward to updates on my doodle families!

Nadine at Chase Creek Labradoodles