It's almost puppy pickup time!  Exciting times!  Are you ready????   It's time to roll up your area rugs and block off your carpeted areas and make sure all your power cords are protected.  

 

I wanted to get this email out to all the families that are getting a puppy from Trinity x Bo Jangles.  Hopefully this email will be filled with information that will help you prepare for taking your new addition home!

 

At the end of this email I'm going to give you a link to the Family Page which will have a ton of information available for you.  We created the Family Page during COVID.  Seems like back then everyone read it from cover to cover.  Now not so much.  So, I want to simplify everything and give you a couple of highlighted tabs that you can find on the Family Page but if you are running short on time these are the critical tabs that you need to have access to in order to prepare for your new puppy. 

 

First off the babies are absolutely beautiful and just thriving.  They are loving their bi-weekly car rides.  The puppies are gaining a bit more independence and a LOT more confidence exploring around the kitchen and living room while mom is kind of doing her own thing. She checks in on them often but is starting to wean.  The puppies started softened kibble today. They weren't sure what to think of that! LOL 

 

Speaking of food... Here is a link to the food we are feeding these babies.  Some of you getting a puppy from this litter have gotten 1-2 puppies from us in the past.  Yes, we recently went through a food change.  We have switched all of our dogs and our puppies to PawTree.  We have been debating over this change for about a year but after MUCH consideration and research we finally did it!  Our dogs are loving the changes!  PawTree offers both raw freeze dried that you can feed or kibble.  They offer has several different protein sources.  Right now the puppies are eating Salmon and also the Lamb.  The thing I like most about PawTree is the fact that they do not have any bi-product fillers, soy or corn in their food.  Those three items in dog food is one of the leading causes of cancer in the canine world.  In the past we've fed most major high end foods.  We've been feeding ProPlan for the last few years and before that we fed Life's Abundance and before that Fromm's and Farmina.  Life's Abundance changed their formula and we ended up with multiple dogs very sick.  We had a very bad experience and immediately switched to ProPlan.  I really like ProPlan but they have soy, corn and chicken bi-products in all of their lines.  So, we officially made the switch to PawTree.    Priscilla our personal dog is a micro-mini and she is the pickiest eater in the world.  Sometimes she will eat kibble, other times I end up having to cook something for her.  (Doing EVERYTHING I tell all our puppy families NOT to do) But recently she's just gone on a food strike.  We tried the freeze dried beef from PawTree.  Oh my gosh!  Since we got this new food she is front and center and hasn't missed a meal yet. If I don't have to cook for her, I will buy her her own bag of food!  Sometimes she will eat the Lamb or the Salmon kibble but the freeze dried raw has been 100% each time.

 

Right now Trinity's babies are eating a combination of the Lamb kibble, Salmon & Trout kibble.  All of PawTree's kibbles come in 10# bags.  Even if you order a 30# bag you will get 3, 10# bags.  I really like this!!  It keeps the food fresh longer and you are not having to lug around a 30# bag of food.  You can order a bag of lamb and a bag of Salmon or pick which one you want to feed. They will be use to both of them.  If you pick one flavor and later on you decide you want to switch it up you will want to slowly integrate the new flavor over a period of about 7-10 days.  Doing it this way will help to minimize GI tract upsets.

 

Here are some links to some of our favorite kibbles from Paw Tree:  

 

Lamb:  LINK

Salmon:  LINK

Trout LINK

Whitefish  LINK

 

If you decide at this time to order the Trout or Whitefish let me know and we'll send you home with a ziplock bag of food so that you can slowly switch your puppy over to the protein source that you want.  But as mentioned right now they have a 10# bag of Salmon and a 10# bag of Lamb and I just mixed them together.  So, they are used to both.   The white fish and the lamb are most likely the best options if you have a dog that has food allergies. 

 

Here is a link to the freeze dried raw Beef.  This is a very healthy stand alone food that you could switch them to or it makes a great topper if you need something different.  Honestly... if you want to feed raw this is a great product and even Priscilla loves it.  BUT, if you want a pup that will just eat kibble when you put it in front of them I don't recommend putting a bunch of toppers in their food and giving them a taste of other options.   It's a great way to create a picky eater: LINK

It is recommended that if you are going to feed the freeze dried raw that you add bone broth, water or warmed goats milk to help rehydrate it. Or if you have a picky eater who will  ONLY eat it dry, feed it dry but make sure they have full access to water.  

 

Training Treats.... PawTree has some great soft, chewy training treats that are great for repetitive training so they don't have to sit and chew for 2-3 minutes in between training tasks. These treats are soft and chewy and break apart so you can use one treat for 5-6 different training tasks. 

Beef     Pork     Lamb

 

Ear cleaner and shampoos...  Shampoo,  Ear Cleaner Your puppy is used to getting a bath and blow dry.  They may not LOVE it but don't let them fool you.  This is something I highly recommend you do with them at least once a week while a young puppy.  The more you do it the more accustomed to it they are.  If you bathe them and blow dry them they will know you are going to do the same things as we did.  We trim all of their nails with a Dremel starting at day 2.  We do it once a week at least between the ages of 4-8 weeks.  Blow drying your puppy is super important.  When they go to the groomer this will be done.  Please do your part to keep your puppy used to this.  Also with an adult doodle you do not want them to self dry.  It will make brushing much more difficult if you do not blow dry your dog.  

 

The puppies are doing great with potty training but chances are you are not quite potty trained and it might take a bit to get you both on the same page.  If that's the case this sanitizer will help remove the urine smell :  LINK

 

Toys... Oh My GOSH!!  If I could recommend two toys, these are it.  The green stick lights up.  This hands down is the house dog's favorite toy!  And it appears to be indestructible.  At least at the toddler stage, so far.  Roux and Little John are trying their best but no pieces are missing yet!  The red chew toy is a second favorite!  These types of toys will help save your furniture!  Green Stick.     Red Chew Bone.  Additional Toys

 

Much like humans, dogs do great on pre-pro-biotics and fish oil.  If I could only give one supplement to all my dogs it would be fish oil!  Fish oil helps develop the brains, heart and helps with their skin and coat.  Pro-biotics just help everything run better!   These two items I feel are a really good addon to any dog's life for the rest of time.  

Fish Oil,  Pro-biotics    With the fish oil just add a couple of drops to the top of their meals.  Start slowly with the fish oil.  If you give too much you can cause loose stools.  The puppies are getting fish oil with breakfast every morning right now. I want smart little babies... so we are helping to promote healthy brain cells. 

 

Tips: 

Okay... I have some discount codes for you all to try out.  

1. To get 10% off your order of up to $100  INTRO4U10

2. To get 20% off your order  INTRO4U20

3.  If you purchase three qualifying items monthly and put it on an autoship you will earn free shipping.  So, if you need food, training treats, probiotic, fish oil, ear cleaner??? Change it up monthly based on what you need but take advantage of the FREE shipping!  

 

On the Family Page there is an Amazon Shopping link.  On the link you will find brushes, grooming equipment that you will want to have and an electronic potty bell!  This potty bell is amazing!  I highly recommend it!  Potty Bells

 

Car Seat... it's on the Family Amazon Shopping page.... We finally had to break down and get a second one!  We have too many toddlers at this time!  Ruby LOVES this car seat.  It elevates the pups so they can see out the window and it gives you a way to harness your puppy into the car and them in one spot.  It's much safer if they get in a car accident.  Car Seat

 

I will be sending contracts out very soon.  Please take your time and review the contract.  If you have any questions please reach out to me and feel free to ask any questions that you may have.  If not, you are welcome to sign the contract now.  Once the babies reach 7.5 weeks of age we will stack up the puppies and check out their structure.  In addition we will be doing temperament testings so we can help better allocate each puppy to each family and make the best possible match for both the puppies and the families.   We can provide you with the cutest puppy possible but if the puppies mindset will not thrive in your home it's not going to be a great fit.    Once we work through the puppy allocation process I will go into DocuSign, sign the contract, add your puppies litter name and microchip number.  We do need everyone to register your puppies microchip number prior to coming to pick up your puppy.  For safety reasons we do not allow puppies to leave our home without their chip being registered to their new family.  AKC REUNITE

 

Pet Insurance... you can find a link to Trupanion on the Family Page.  There is a link on there that will give you a free month of insurance for your new puppy.  It must be activated 24 hours +/- of taking the puppy home.  Here's my feelings on pet insurance:  Puppies are susceptible to various things until they are fully vaccinated.  They are fully vaccinated at 16 weeks for Distemper, Hep and Parvo if you follow the vaccination schedule that will be in your go home folder.  Prior to that if they catch Parvo you will be spending roughly $7K-10K to try and save your puppy.  If that kind of a vet bill gives you a reason to pause I would recommend getting pet insurance at a minimum for the first 3 months.  Trupanion Insurance Link for FREE month

 

My daughter recently had a puppy go home.  The puppy received its first vaccination the day before they went home at 8 weeks of age.  Their vet gave a follow up shot at 12 weeks and another at 16 weeks.  When that puppy turned 5 months old (fully vaccinated) the neighbors adopted a rescue pup from overseas.  That puppy contracted Parvo and shared it with the new puppy who should have been fully vaccinated.  For some reason the puppy did not get the antibodies from the vaccines that it had been given.  Even though they got the vaccines at the correct times and did everything they should have done.  Something went wrong.  The last two vaccines the puppy got were from their local vet and had the same batch number.  So most likely it was from a bad batch of vaccines.  None the less they spent a little over $7K, took two weeks off work so that they could be there to administer medications as needed throughout the day.  They had insurance and the insurance company covered most of it.  The vaccine company picked up the rest. 

 

So, just kind of think about what your threshold for a painful vet visit would be and go from there.  We used to insure every dog we have.  But found that we just never had sick dogs.  But then when you have a sick dog or an emergency happens and you don't have insurance it makes you think twice. 

 

Feeding instructions: 

When the puppies are ready to go home they will most likely be eating about 1/4 cup 3 times a day.  

We feed breakfast around 7 am, lunch at 12 pm and dinner at 5 PM. We cut food off at 5 pm and water off at 7 PM. (For potty training purposes)

 

As your puppy grows the nutritional needs will increase and decrease and must be managed by the human or your puppy will get skinny or be overweight.  MOST doodles are great at self regulating their weight but not all!  Trinity is an absolutely foodie!  While she has been here and nursing she has been eating upward of 5 cups of food a day + raw beef meatballs, cooked salmon and her favorite grass-fed steak.  She is now eating 1/3 cup twice a day and thinks we are the meanest people in the world and can't figure out why her food supply has been minimized.  Your puppy MIGHT get to a point where you will need to increase the food to 1/3 cup 3 times a day.   I can't not see them ever needing more than that.  We recommend feeding 3 times a day until they are 4.5-5 months of age.  At that time you will most likely be able to take them to 1/3 cup twice a day and they will maintain a healthy weight.   We put a little video together and posted it on our website to show you how to feel your dog to see if they are too skinny or too chubby.  Keeping your pup at a healthy weight is critical to having a healthy dog.  Golden Retrievers are VERY prone to cancer and if they get overweight they get cancer. Doodles not as much but other things creep in like joint issues, pancreatitis, diabetes.    I hope this video helps you to manage your pups weight.  Doodles typically have a lot of coat.  The coat will hide chub and will also hide ribs.  You have to put your hands on your dog and run your hand down their spine on a weekly basis.  It's the only way to stay on top of your dog's weight and nutritional needs.

 

I had a doodle recently that we were raising for someone else for three months.  We hit a point with her that she was eating 2 cups of food 3 times a day.  She will only mature to be about 25#'s but she hit a growth spurt for about two weeks and the only way we knew she needed more was because we were putting hands on her all the time.  That is the most extreme I've seen with a doodle.  Also, IMPORTANT to note... once your pup is de-sexed (spayed/neutered) you must monitor how much your dog is eating.  Their metabolism will slow way down and they will not need as much as they did before.  Most likely as an adult your pup will need 1/3 cup twice a day.  They might only need 1/4 cup.  You will just have to put hands on them.  Here is a video demonstration of how to tell if your dog is at an appropriate weight:  Video link

 

Groomers are difficult to find.  If you don't already have one you will want to start looking for one now.  I would recommend scheduling an appointment for when they are 4.5 months old.  Take them in and ask for a sanitary cut, puppy cut.  I would recommend starting out slowly and not going for the gusto all in the first session.  On puppy go home day we will take some time with each family and show you the equipment we use and show you how to keep your puppy looking great in-between grooming appointments.  We show you how to trim up their ears so you can show your groomer how you want their ears to be.  The breed standard is the ears must be trimmed up to the end of the leather.  They should be short and cute.  Long hair on the ears can cause airflow issues which can lead to ear infections.

 

Pick one day a week for a dog spa day.  

• As a minimum do their nails once a week with a Dremel.  We have been doing this with them since they were a couple of days old.  They are absolutely used to it.  But if you stop doing it they will quickly learn to protest.   Dremel

• Get a good ear cleaner and a wet wipe and clean your babies ears. Ear Clearner

• Brush... you will want to brush your dog at least every other day.  When brushing you will want to make sure you have the right equipment.  A Christianson T-Brush and a comb are the most valuable tools you can have.  90% of the time this is all we need.  When we goof up and skip days then we may need to bring out the more intense brushes which do not feel as good on them.  But making sure you are brushing all the way to the skin is super important or your pup will mat and have to be shaved.  It is not humane to try and save a felted coat.   The better care you take care of your dog the more your groomer will appreciate you and in turn take good care of your dog while your pup is in their care. Best Doodle Brush

• Trim up your puppies eyes once a week.  If you do not, the hairs will start growing into their eyes and will poke them in the eyes causing their eyes to begin to weep.  This hurts and can also cause an eye infection. Getting an inexpensive grooming kit on Amazon is absolutely the way to go.  When you come for puppy pick up we will show you how to trim up this hair.  The curved scissors are great for their eyes and keeping their feet trimmed up and nice. Grooming Kit

• We just got a new little tool for keeping the hair out of their feet pads.  Coming into winter we just went around the house and used this tool on all of the dogs.  This I think is my new favorite tool:  Favorite Tool

• If your dog is now older and gets mats every once in a while this brush is amazing to help with the occasional mat.  This brush is NOT an everyday brush as it doesn't feel good.  This brush is a brush to be used when you've goofed up and forgot to brush your dog and he/she has a few small mats.  This brush should not be used to try and demat a dog that should just be shaved. Trying to brush out a felted dog is inhumane and will cause your dog to not trust you and will inflict pain. Dematting Bush

Kennel training.... The puppies have been kennel training since they were 4 weeks old.  They go in the kennel at least once if not twice a day for 30-60 minutes at a time.  When you are going to put your puppy in the kennel make sure they have just gone potty. Set them up for success.  Give them a chew toy.  Feed them their meals in the kennel.  This will help them to love their kennel.   I would order a 27-32" kennel for this litter.  Kennel training for night time is a safety issue... I totally recommend doing this.  Put the kennel by your bed (sometimes for the first night or two only) we end up having to put the kennel in our bed.  The first three nights are the most challenging.  But if done correctly can be very rewarding.  It's the safest place they can be while you are sleeping.  I very much recommend putting your puppy in the kennel during the middle of the day and leaving the house for at least an hour.  This is your time to get errands done.  At the same time you are teaching your puppy that they are going to live even though you just left them.  Put them in front of the TV or turn the radio on and leave the house. There is an art to raising a confident puppy.  This is one of the best things you can do to help ensure your puppy develops coping skills and confidence.  Our favorite kennel

 

When you are night time kenneling.... when you take them out of the kennel first thing in the morning pick them up and carry them to the door.  Put them down in the same spot every time you take them out.  Say, "Go Potty".  Give them a training treat and say, "Good Potty!"  If you let your puppy attempt to walk from the kennel to the outside they will piddle before you reach the door.   

 

Here is a link to some great books that will help you prepare for your new addition.  If you've never had a puppy before I highly recommend reading, The Art Of Raising A Puppy! Books

 

We do have one piece of homework for you.  We need to know as much  about you, your family and the dynamics in which you live.  It will help us to help you pick the right puppy for your home.  Let us know what your life looks like.  Tell us what you are hoping for and what your daily routine looks like.  We use this information to help with the puppy allocation process.  Family Dynamic Form

 

I think this about covers all of it... sorry for how long it is but trying to cover all the basis.  Here is the full version:  Family Page