[Jenna2020]

He is here. He arrived Friday and so far things are going well. He sleeps in his crate at night and can sleep till 630 am. We put him to sleep around 11pm. He has had one accident which was my fault. He hates his leash and is scared of city noises. But so far he is fairly mellow. I have run into my neighbours who have an 8 month old golden doodle and they keep telling me ‘wait for him to get comfy then he might change’. But so far so good. I am kind of glad I didn’t get him till almost 11 weeks old. I think it is easier than if I had brought him home at 8 weeks.

 

[Johanna]

What a pretty apricot color! I do suggest you start getting his face, feet, and tail base clipped right away so he gets accustomed to grooming. A puppy who is not groomed frequently will grow up to be a groomer's horror! Besides, clean faces and feet make for easier housekeeping!

 

[PeggyTheParti]

He is adorable! And it sounds like you're both getting along nicely. Does he have a name yet?

 

[Jenna2020]

You know he actually doesn’t have a name yet! . I feel awful about it but nothing seems to fit right now.

 

[Dechi]

Very nice looking puppy ! Congratulations !

 

[Starvt]

Adorable! I got my standard boy at 10.5 weeks, and there definitely were benefits! It took me a week to settle on his name, and another couple weeks for me to stop calling him "puppy" lol.
I will say that the first week he was ridiculously quiet and easy, and then settled in and became much more active, vocal, and started chewing etc. However he is still and has always been relatively chill, compared to many poodle stories on here!

 

[Dogs4Life]

Stunning color! Can't wait to find out the name when you decide!

 

[Mfmst]

What a handsome little guy! Let us know when you decide on his name. Enjoy puppy daze

 

[PeggyTheParti]

You know he actually doesn’t have a name yet! . I feel awful about it but nothing seems to fit right now.

Don't feel awful. That's just the way it goes sometimes.

We encountered similar difficulty with Peggy. I finally told my husband to just pick a name (any name!!) and he chose Mabel. I'm not sure how long we tried it out for. A week? Maybe two? Until one day I just knew she was Peggy Sue. I'm so happy he was okay with changing it, but I felt kind of silly telling friends, family, her vet, her breeder.....

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

What a cutie! He's guaranteed to cause people stop and ooh and aww if you carry him around with you.

 

[cowpony]

He is adorable. I love his color.

Regarding the leash, I walked Galen on a harness for his first few months. I thought it was neither fair nor safe for him to learn leash manners by having a collar dig into his windpipe whenever he goofed up. By around 7 months he understood leash walking pretty well, plus he was physically sturdier. I now switch between a harness and a martingale, depending on my mood.

He does still chew on the leash occasionally. It's usually due to excitement or frustration. I keep a tennis ball in my pocket and have him carry it when he starts getting bitey.

 

[dogsavvy]

Congratulations. Beautiful color. I usually take at least a week or so to give the puppy time to show me his/her personality so that I can pick a good name.

Mine are all named after characters from movie, TV, or books. I've a friend who names hers after her families' favorite vacation places. Everyone has interests that can help with naming. Take the time it takes.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Happy'sDad]

Handsome pup. Congratulations.

 

[codys_mom]

He's so cute!

 

[Austen]

Aw, what a handsome fellow! Our pup wasn't sure about the leash at first. To help him get used to it, we'd put his leash on and let him walk around the house pulling the leash behind him (always while supervised) for short periods of time.

 

[Jenna2020]

The last 24 hours have been rough. The honeymoon period is over and now the biting and craziness has started. Also I thought he was getting the hang out housetraining but then he went and peed on my sons bed the minute I turned away. Argh. I don’t think I am loving him as much as I should be. Like I don’t feel terribly bonded to him yet.

 

[Rose n Poos]

I didn't feel bonded with my little boys for quite a while, several months to be honest. Puppies are adorable but as with any infant, human or poodle, they're inadvertently selfish. It's up to the humans to help them thru this still helpless period. He's been uprooted from everything familiar and has no feeling of Home until he adjusts.

As for housetraining, soft surfaces are an accidental target. For true control, their urinary and GI systems will not be mature til they're around 6 months old. They'll understand the concept of eliminating where you designate far sooner than they'll be able to physically hold that urge. Until they recognize what that urge is, and are able to hold it, you won't have a housetrained pup. He'll likely need to go asap after waking up, after eating/drinking, after napping, after playing, basically after any activity - even resting ones.

What is he biting and what is your response to it? What is the craziness you see?
I know it's very early days here, and everything is new to you all, but if you'd describe your planned daily routine for him, there might be some things we can suggest.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

Congratulations🎉! He is so cute.

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

The last 24 hours have been rough. The honeymoon period is over and now the biting and craziness has started. Also I thought he was getting the hang out housetraining but then he went and peed on my sons bed the minute I turned away. Argh. I don’t think I am loving him as much as I should be. Like I don’t feel terribly bonded to him yet.

Basil peed on my bed during week 8... twice. I remember it fondly. I had to keep reminding myself, "this is what you signed up for" and "daddy still loves you". You're doing great!

 

[LakeSpoo]

We just entered (or re-entered) the world of puppy hood about a month ago when we brought our 8 week old Spoo home. Just wanted to encourage you with the bonding thing. It is a lot of work having a puppy. They are exhausting and, in many ways, a huge life disruption. Putting on top of that that it takes time to bond, it's the perfect recipe to feel the "puppy blues". I remembered feeling that way 5 years ago when we got our shih tzu puppy, so was prepared to work through it. I did have occasional bouts with "did we make a good choice" with our Spoo as well in the last month. But it has only been when I was frustrated. Now, a month later, I can see that myself, my husband, and my kids have all bonded to Dixie. Our shih tzu has accepted her. It will get better! It just takes time!

One thing that helped me bond with Dixie is training her. She has gone from completely ignoring me, to knowing sit, shake, down, working on speak and leash training... And teaching her eye contact with me has helped with all of that. There is also something bonding about her eyes looking at me and seeing the smart, obedient future dog we'll have if we don't give up. Really though, she is the smartest and easiest puppy we've ever had, but it still took time to bond and it's still hard work.

It will come. Give yourself and your pup time