Everything you need to know…
Puppy Arrival Checklist
Before your new puppy or dog arrives, there are a few things you need to get ready to make sure they’re comfortable and happy in their new home:
Identification tag
Food & water bowls
Something to chew on
Toys to play with
Grooming kit
Stair gates
Bed/Crate
Your dog’s first food - a bag will be in your puppy pack
A collar and lead
Book your puppy or dog’s first visit to the vet
Pet insurance - I would recommend you continue with the cover we start for you
Puppy proofing the home and garden
Picking Up Your Puppy
Items to bring when you pick up your puppy : Bottled water and water dishTowels to place on your lap or line your backseat with if not using a crateWipes for clean-up!
Tips for picking up your puppy: Once you are in the car, your puppy can sit on a lap or ride in the crate. Safety is the most important measure - so judge which is best for you depending on how many of you come to collect.If you take a stop on the way home and you and your puppy get out of the car, please attach a lead and collar. Your puppy is not lead trained and attaching the lead is a safety measure.Hold and comfort your puppy – he/she may be a little scared - its all new to them!Do take your Labradoodle puppy home for quiet time with you and your family for the first 24 hours.Keep in mind that your puppy is not fully vaccinated until he/she has had its full course. Parks and pet stores are not a good idea until your puppy is fully vaccinated.
The Five Stages of Puppy Development
1. Neonatal period (0 to 2 weeks)
Puppies can touch and taste at birth, but that’s about it. During this period, they are going to be most influenced by their mother and littermates, and will start learning some simple social skills, coordination, and the ranking process. Mostly, they’ll just eat — new-born’s need to have milk from mom or a commercial milk replacer about every two hours.
2. Transitional period (2 to 4 weeks)
Their eyes open, they stand and walk, their sense of smell and hearing develops, they wag their tail, teeth start coming in, and they’ll even start to bark. By the end of this period, they should be able to use the bathroom on their own and see quite well on their own.
3. Socialization period (4 to 12 weeks)
This is the stage and timeframe where it’s incredibly important to introduce your puppy to other people and dogs. By five weeks, puppies are aware of their surroundings and start really enjoying playtime. Good experiences with people from weeks 5 to 7 will play a large role in how they continue to interact. But even though they’ll start being influenced by people after about a month, ideally you want puppies to remain with their mother and litter mates for eight weeks to learn inhibited play biting and other dog socialization cues.
By week seven, you may be able to start house-training your puppy. From weeks 8 to 10, your pup will go through a normal “fear” period that can be helped with training that is positive and encouraging. But the true training “golden time” is from 9 to 12 weeks, because your pup is actively working on social skills and paying attention to both people and litter mates.
4. Ranking period (3 to 6 months)
5. Adolescence (6 to 18 months)
Puppy Socialisation
Our puppies thrive from being raised in our spacious country home and having an enriched environment, we follow the enriched effect very closely, increasing stimulation at a gentle and steady rate throughout their growth.
Our puppies have an enriched play and bed area where gentle stimulus is added. This helps develop their minds and bodies.
As the puppies are raised in our home they are exposed to the normal hustle and bustle of an active family home.
Alongside this they have times of the day where they will listen to ‘sounds sociable’ – a track with a full range of sounds and noises to get them adjusted to everyday life in a confident way.
Young dogs get further enrichment as they get older by the way for formal training and socialisation.
FAQs
Are all Labradoodles non-shedding?
The Australian Labradoodle was specifically bred for allergy sufferers. If you have an allergy - you need to get a referral to an allergy specialist and get an allergy test and some advice. For allergy sufferers, your best bet is to get an Australian labradoodle with either a fleece or wool coat. This is the best bet for those families who are looking for a non-shedding and allergy friendly dog. Our dogs are tested for coat furnishings IC to ensure we only breed non-low shedding coats.
What are common health issues in the Labradoodle and Australian Labradoodle?
The Labradoodle and Australian Labradoodle are generally considered healthy dogs, but breeders should screen for hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia, as well as other general health issues - see the health testing section.
What are guardian homes?
Our guardian home programme allows families within 25 miles of Hereford to have one of our ‘pick of the litter’ puppies. The Guardian Home puppy or dog is part of the Guardian Home’s Family forever, while the breeding rights are retained by Minton Manor Labradoodles. Once the Guardian Dog has completed his/her breeding career, he/she will be spayed or neutered at our expense, and will remain a forever pet of their Guardian Family! These Guardian Home pups are placed for just a fraction of the price.
How long to Labradoodles live?
It is expected that a healthy Labradoodle should live between 14 and 16 years
Do Labradoodles smell doggy?
Our Australian Labradoodles are low odour and smell amazing - certainly not doggie!
Do you export?
We have experience in exporting and importing - please just ask us the question and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
How are the puppies allocated?
Puppies are viewed and selected in the order of deposits paid. The viewing normally takes place at 5 weeks of age. I can advise families of temperament and coat, however, the final decision is with each family. If you are unable to attend the designated viewing day, we can video call - Viewings are 30 minutes for each family.
Which is best - Male or female?
This is the most frequently asked question, the answer is simple - its all down to personal choice. When puppies are spayed/neutered there is no difference in the temperament of the dog.