# New addiction to the family



## Noddy220 (May 8, 2014)

Hello Ilovemycockerpoo

My wife and I have taken the life changing step to add a new family member. 
At present he is a 2 week old chocolate F1 Cockerpoo. He will be joining us on the 19th June when he is 8 weeks old. Today was the first time we met him and we are just bursting with excitement. 
We have been scouring the internet and buying books etc in an attempt to best be prepared for his arrival. 
However, nothing can replace personal experiences of time served cockerpoo owners. If you want to know ask someone who's been there and got the t-shirt. 
There are many trains of thought of what we should do. A lot of advice contradicts from one site, book etc to another. 
We are struggling with a name and just can't decide. This is important to us as he and us have to live with it so any help with this would be appreciated. 
Should he go in a crate?
Should he just be in a room with a baby gate or even be upstairs in our bedroom (Our late toy poodle Toby slept on the bed)
Whats the routine for feeding. How many times and how much of what?
How do you toilet train?
Whats the best methods of training? Sit, lay heel etc etc. 
Vet, injections, worming, ticks fleas, the best to use. 
We're thinking of using a harness instead of just a lead. Whats the best to buy. 
The list could go on and on?
Oh, and any other invaluable advice and guidance anyone can give us to make our new best friends arrival and future as happy as can be. 
Thanks everyone
Regards
Noddy220


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Ha ha that is a funny way to phrase it...an addiction, very apt!

What is so lovely about this site is that each of us does it slightly differently and it does not matter. Some of us keep our dogs off furniture, some sleep with our dogs, some crate, some don't, some have super high training expectations, others choose not to walk their dogs off leash....it is anything goes and whatever works for you is alright.

Some fundamentals about cockapoos though is that they are smarter than most dogs (from the poodle) and much more devoted to their pack than any dog I've met. Some also have an unbelievable crocapoo stage early on where biting and attacking anything that comes their way is the name of the game. You have to have a good sense of humour to get through that bit, most dog owners say all pups do this, but it is WAY worse than other pups I've met. Your pup will be a member of the family, so much so that many of us don't plan holidays without including our pups. They can be difficult to toilet train, you need to be diligent and work really hard to crack this one early. (I think that comes from the cocker?) 

My best advice is to find some dogs you'd like yours to be like and talk to their owners about where they did training and then go and watch some puppy classes. For me it is mandatory that it all be loving, fun and energetic.

Sorry if I scared you, I'll bet you'll get a second one soon, they are marvelous dogs!


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## Nessa (May 4, 2014)

I will be bringing home my F1 chocolate cockapoo on May 31st! I have named him Maxwell (Maxwell House coffee colored). I got my crate today. I got a 36 in with a divider. I also ordered a 'Piddle Place' (indoor potty) I'm actually going to put it on my patio so I don't have to take him out where there may be snakes at night. I've never used the pee pads or crate trained, but I do think the crate is the best way to go. I'm listening and learning as you are! Isn't it exciting


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## arlo (Mar 11, 2013)

Take a deep breath and relax.....You will be a perfect owner. At the end of the day as long as you love your puppy the rest will work out. If Toby used to sleep on the bed why not your new one? I never even considered crating with my previous dogs and felt if I didn't try it with my two now I was being a bad owner, as it has become the fashion. Arlo just didn't take to it, but thanks to her breeder Savannah stayed crated at night until she was spayed. They both now sleep on the bed. Your vet will advice you on all the right vacinations and preventative treatments. Have you any names in mind? Has your breeder let you have a photo we would love to see it. I can see one very pampered pup in the not to distant future, how exciting


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## Datun Walnut (Oct 15, 2013)

How exciting. Your vet is a good place to start. 
Ours has free puppy classes to get the pooch used to the surgery. If you can find one that does, do it - they will know the best feeding routines and worming details etc. He'll also mix with other pups there- In fact (right from the start) keep exposing him to dogs, kids, people, traffic and car travel (with plenty of praise and treats) so nothing becomes an issue later.

As for toilet training, We never used puppy pads as we felt it might give the signal that it was ok to wee in doors. They work for some people though but having tiled floors in the hall and kitchen made messes easier to deal with. We watched her like a hawk. Everytime our Poppy squatted - she was picked up and put outside to finish. Get to know the danger times - like after food, when excited - when waking up and going to bed and a routine will develope. Some people have luck with a bell that the dog is trained to ring when it needs to go out. Our Poppy would just chew it
Summer is great for toilet training if you have a secure garden as you can leave the door open and let him wander out. Everytime he wees outside, loads of praise.

Poppy was never a great one for using the crate - we did all the right things like trying to make the crate a safe haven and not a punishment - but she never really took to it. It got us through the sticky first few months though then we realised she was itching to sleep in a proper dog bed. The crying at a night ceased completely when she was left out of the crate.
As for night times, we didn't want to start a precedent by having her n the bedroom as we would eventually have to ween her of that too. We just toughed it out with her in the hall and our bedroom door open so she could her me snoring. She only really whined for 30 mins then fell asleep.

As for a collar / harness that's personal. You'll need a collar anyway so can try it out. We found that because the loop to attach the lead on a harness was further down the back, this gave her more chance to spin like a dervish than a collar. Harnesses can be great when off the lead as it gives you an emergency handle to pick him up if in danger or as a help over styles etc.

We kept putting off letting her off the lead and it became a mental hurdle for us. Once he's had all his shots, I'd take him somewhere safe and enclosed for a time off the lead and get him used freedom from an early age. 

My main advice would be not to worry too much about their upbringing and learn to enjoy it. It can be stressful but all the madness passes. It's fun watching the adult dog with all his eccentricities, foibles and personality emerging slowly.

Good luck


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## alexdo (Oct 26, 2013)

Oh wow a summer puppy - perfect time to litter train!

I am sure your vet will talk you through all the steps you need on the first visit.

I would also recommend puppy school, it's a great place to socialise your new puppy and you will get some valuable help with training! I did 2 courses with mine - money well spent!

I still use a harness, I like the PAH one, comes in blue, pink or red in various sizes. 
I started off with a flexi lead but binned it after a couple of incidents with other dogs - I would recommend just a normal lead.

Other than that not much to add. Mine was very slow with toilet training particularly at night, I think we went wrong by giving her too much freedom and leaving her crate open in the kitchen at night. The moment we started locking her in at night she was clean (at 6 months!).

Good luck, you will be fine!


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## Mazzapoo (Jul 28, 2013)

Datun Walnut said:


> How exciting. Your vet is a good place to start.
> Ours has free puppy classes to get the pooch used to the surgery. If you can find one that does, do it - they will know the best feeding routines and worming details etc. He'll also mix with other pups there- In fact (right from the start) keep exposing him to dogs, kids, people, traffic and car travel (with plenty of praise and treats) so nothing becomes an issue later.
> 
> As for toilet training, We never used puppy pads as we felt it might give the signal that it was ok to wee in doors. They work for some people though but having tiled floors in the hall and kitchen made messes easier to deal with. We watched her like a hawk. Everytime our Poppy squatted - she was picked up and put outside to finish. Get to know the danger times - like after food, when excited - when waking up and going to bed and a routine will develope. Some people have luck with a bell that the dog is trained to ring when it needs to go out. Our Poppy would just chew it
> ...


Neil, is this you? It sounds so calm and level-headed  Where is the part where you tear your hair out, curl into a fetal position and quietly sob? I like this new you and want to see more of it in action at home 

PS Poppy's got the babble ball......so you might want to stay at work a bit longer.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Mazzapoo said:


> Neil, is this you? It sounds so calm and level-headed  Where is the part where you tear your hair out, curl into a fetal position and quietly sob? I like this new you and want to see more of it in action at home
> 
> PS Poppy's got the babble ball......so you might want to stay at work a bit longer.


Hahaha - I kept on waiting for the advice on the importance of early aversion training to dead things, but it never came


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Mazzapoo said:


> Neil, is this you? It sounds so calm and level-headed  Where is the part where you tear your hair out, curl into a fetal position and quietly sob? I like this new you and want to see more of it in action at home
> 
> PS Poppy's got the babble ball......so you might want to stay at work a bit longer.


Haha - your funny Marion, you forget to tell him the bit about picking the wine up on the way home....... Well it is Friday, (not that that matters in our house - any day is wine day!! Fridays is G&T!) 
It did seem like a very informative serious post from mr walnut! X


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## Datun Walnut (Oct 15, 2013)

Oh shut it. The lot of you. I _am_ level headed but only with other people's lives. 
These are hard won experiences I'm passing on here. 
It doesn't mean I didn't scream like a cheerleader on a nightly basis.

And that babble ball!!


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

The Babble ball!! Dudley has one and only gets it for about 5 mins about once a month! that is for the neighbours sake as he goes mad barking at it, still can't quite work out if he loves it or thinks it is a thing that must be killed! I think it maybe losing a bit of its babble now - since my son put it in the car to take to grandma's - a 50 minute journey - babbling all the way!
Anyway , Hi Steve, how exciting for you and your wife, as others have said different things work for different people, as my hubby has asthma we decided to keep our boy downstairs, luckily for us he was ok in his crate (didn't love it but accepted it), hardly cried at all, I'm sure things may have been different if he had got stressed in it but for us it was a godsend, it meant he could be popped in there and we knew he was safe for a while when we got on with things, in fact I often said how on earth did other people cope without them.
For training have a look at you tube video's, there are so many, you will be amazed at how the time flies when you watch them! The perfect puppy by Gwen Bailey is a good book to start with (also shows how to train basic commands). Good luck, and of course we need pics. there have been a few threads on names, put puppy names in search bar, or maybe someone will be able to link a thread for you?


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

Datun Walnut said:


> Oh shut it. The lot of you. I _am_ level headed but only with other people's lives.
> These are hard won experiences I'm passing on here.
> It doesn't mean I didn't scream like a cheerleader on a nightly basis.
> 
> And that babble ball!!


Your hard earned wisdom and knowledge is well deserved - you've passed and deserve a badge! 
When you getting poppy a play pal??


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## Datun Walnut (Oct 15, 2013)

Tinman said:


> Your hard earned wisdom and knowledge is well deserved - you've passed and deserve a badge!
> When you getting poppy a play pal??


When the doctor finally prescribes Prozac for me or I move out


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## Hollysefton (Sep 28, 2013)

Hello and welcome, soooooo exciting all these new puppies! The forums is great as It can put my mind at rest when i was stressing about contradicting advice! Basically I agree with everyone here, it's about what is right for you! I personally recommend the crate as i feel it's aided Murphy's toilet training, he was in our room for 1 week in the crate, then we gradually moved the crate to the hallway then downstairs.

I would advise the first few weeks to keep a note of wee poo and nap times, as it helps you predict their routine. 

Do your research, but don't get too obsessed (a problem I had!) every time something happened I was like 'the book didn't say that!' It's a lovely experience so enjoy it and remember, you actually can't do it wrong, something it might just take longer! 

The breeder should advise on diet and times and what they have been currently wormed/flead on. Then see your vet. 

Have a search if the recent puppy place posts or search for keywords, the forum really is a great help! 

Good luck and show us pics when u have some WE LOVE PUPPIES! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

We crated our first dog and tried to crate Rufus but he became frenzied and hysterical each time he went near it much less in it. Crates are great for toilet training, but also for convalescence, protection from and/or for small visiting children, travel, periods of quarentine, and for safety in general. Definitely well worth doing it.


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## Sue1248 (Feb 3, 2014)

*Addicted*

Don't worry, take it as it comes. Dylan is my first ever dog and I have come to realise that cockapoos are addictive and he rules my heart. He was quick to pee outside, hated his crate, chewed any shoe,sock,thing left on the floor but not the furniture and is the most loving, sensitive thing ever. Don't expect to go to the loo on your own


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## Noddy220 (May 8, 2014)

Hi All
Thanks very much for all your replies. I guess from what you've said theres no right way or wrong way just as long as he is cared for and all his needs are met. I will be taking him to puppy class and I will be training him.

I was going to attached a photo of him but can't seem to do it. 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks again. 

Steve


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

There are many trains of thought of what we should do. A lot of advice contradicts from one site, book etc to another. 
We are struggling with a name and just can't decide. This is important to us as he and us have to live with it so any help with this would be appreciated. 

Should he go in a crate?
We in the first two days of bringing Piper put her in her crate in the guest bedroom with a baby moniter, that didn't last long as she cried all night long. We finally decided to put her on my night stand, we used our "cat" carrier with the top off. It came in two pieces. This was when she was in "potty" training. We didn't want her on the bed due to "peeing". That worked the best until she was getting to big for it. By then she was sleeping through the night with no peeing problems.

Should he just be in a room with a baby gate or even be upstairs in our bedroom (Our late toy poodle Toby slept on the bed)
Piper sleeps in our bed. She does have her own bed on our ottaman. She does sometimes goes to her own bed, but for the most part sleeps with us.

Whats the routine for feeding. How many times and how much of what?
She ate 3 times an day, breakfast 8am, lunch 12pm and dinner 6-7pm. Now just eats breakfast and dinner.

How do you toilet train?
LOL Trail and Error. I tried to take her out as much as possible and sometimes "missed". You "may" have a lot accidents. I know we did. Piper was finally potty trained at 7 1/2-8 months.

Whats the best methods of training? Sit, lay heel etc etc. 
Took her to training classes at Petsmart and did some training on our own.

Vet, injections, worming, ticks fleas, the best to use. 
What ever our vet said. She comes to the house to give her shots.

We're thinking of using a harness instead of just a lead. Whats the best to buy. 
We have been doing a harness and just change to a collar. Piper doesn't pull as much on the collar.

Oh, and any other invaluable advice and guidance anyone can give us to make our new best friends arrival and future as happy as can be. 
Have patience. I thought I few times, what did I get us into. Your puppy will try your patience on chewing... Piper still does with us. She's 10 months now and still chews things. Just realize Piper chewed the wire for my desk phone.  Still haven't told hubby about that....  Anyways but she gives us a LOT of Love and I know the chewing will stop sooner or later. She has gotten a lot better.


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