Dr David’s new puppy

By John Morgan | Dated April 30, 2013

My family has recently welcomed a new four-legged friend into our family. After much discussion and researching we now have a sweet little 9 week old cavoodle puppy.

She is more “cavalier” than “poodle” in appearance and so is short haired rather than curly haired. We are still in earnest negotiations about a name for her so stay tuned!

As she appears to be a slightly shy type we are trying to get her used to as many objects and noises as possible to build her confidence in our home and yard.

Years ago with my first puppy, a border collie, I made the mistake in retrospect of keeping her too much in isolation when she was young and didn’t get her out to socialize until she was over 16 weeks of age.

With my new pup I intend to isolate her for the most part till after 12 weeks but even before that I will try to introduce her to healthy pups of a similar age. So far toilet training is going well as my family regularly take her out on the lawn and she is getting the idea quickly that that area is where she is to toilet.

So far we have not had problems with night crying as we put her to bed when she is tired and willing to sleep. I have used an ADAPTIL plug in pheromone diffuser in her room at night which emits a pheromone scent identical to a lactating bitch’s pheromone which is a big helps in relaxing puppies.

I have also left a radio playing at low volumn in her room. We are using a training pad at night for her away from her bed so she is comfortable toileting there during the night if she has to. So things are going well so far and I will keep you up to date about our little girl because it is always a new learning experience with every pet you bring up.