# Puppy Update



## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

I realized last night when considering when to schedule the 12week vaccination appointment, that DaVinci turned 12 'weeks' old the day prior! Though not quite 3 months based on the day he was born... which is what I was going by.

So this absolutely adorable puppy that I have has grown, probably quite a bit, though hard for me to notice. I realized he had grown when he could no longer fit between the bars on the baby gate at the top of the stairs... lol. It's nice, knowing I can use the gate without worry when he is upstairs. Though, he can still fit through the stair railing on the bottom step, so I have to place the baby gate strategically above the bottom step for now... lol.

He has been an absolutely amazing addition to our family. My 6yo commented that having a puppy isn't as annoying as she thought it would be. I think she expected a hyper puppy who would be running and jumping at every chance it got... lol. Both my husband and I are constantly commenting on how well behaved and relaxed he seems as well though. Not sure if DaVinci has something in store for us in the coming weeks or months; hopefully not , but so far he has been absolutely pleasant! So pleasant that I have already begun considering bringing another cockapoo puppy into our family a year or so from now.

Now, as pleasant as DaVinci is, we all know he isn't perfect. Pleasant does not equate to perfection. House training is going well, however there are still accidents. If he doesn't have access to a rug or carpet, then his poopy accidents occur right by the door we use to take him out to the yard to do his business. And that has been the situation right from the start, so he is smart in that manner. On occasion we get a random bark, which seems to mean he has to go poop, and we take him outside and he goes. But the bark only comes on occasion, and only when there is no access to a rug or carpet. He seems to feel free to pee or poop on carpet (area rug) when he pleases. Not sure if that is normal puppy behaviour or if it has to do with the fact that he was raised using pee pads before we brought him home at 8 weeks. We don't get mad at him when he has his accidents, as I believe it is our fault for not having taken him out sooner. Sometimes there is no blame, like the other morning when I took him out, and he pooped and peed. I brought him in the house and set him down, and he went straight to the mat in our front entrance and pooped. Not 30 seconds after coming in the house from pooping. I was in disbelief, as it was totally unexpected on my part, but just cleaned it up like the others. Pee puddles occur anywhere on the tiled floor he feels, or on carpet when he has access to it.

Crate training is amazing! He still sleeps upstairs in his crate, but as he started sleeping through the night just before 10 weeks, we have since moved his crate farther away from our bedrooms. He wakes up between 6:45 and 7:00am on weekdays, and sometimes a little bit later on weekends (usually he goes to bed a little later on weekends). I have started giving him more freedom during the day, when I need to get things done. Instead of just putting him in his crate as I used to, I now use 2 baby gates to keep him restricted to the tiled areas (no rugs or carpet), and leave his crate door open. Sometimes he whines a little when I leave him to go upstairs, sometimes he doesn't whine much at all. I usually sneak to take a peek to see what he is up to, and he (so far) has always been curled up in his crate in his bed napping. So far, no accidents. It feels like everything is one the right track so far! He also goes and lays down in his crate on his own terms, sometimes while we are eating dinner (sometimes he lays at my feet while we are seated around the table), sometimes in the midst of playing with the kids, he goes in and lays in his crate or plays with a toy in his crate solo for a short period of time.

He is doing well going upstairs (supervised), but is carried back down. I have tried to see if he can sort it out himself, with me there for support, but he whines and has fear of coming down the stairs still. He also whines if I get up from the couch as he wants to follow but can't get off the couch. 

He is doing well with his feeding and eating (meals are given and taken away afterwards if he doesn't eat all). Treats are typically food, but on occasion they are a bit tastier. Training is amazing, when I take the time to work on it with him. He learned "paw" and "high five" by 10 weeks of age and has pretty much mastered it now. He knows sit (when he wants to listen), though needs work to perfect it so he does it on command, instead of walking away at times, which he does now. He has been working on "lay down", seems to understand "quiet", though it's mostly used at night when we put him down and he doesn't settle right away. Then we tell him "Davinci, quiet, it's bedtime." which then turns into "quiet, bedtime." if it needs to be repeated. He has been doing well with "down" though we are transitioning that to "off", and even did great his first day of learning "leave it".

He is still timid with things, and being able to go for walks in public will help with that I'm sure. He does pretty good in the car, too.

Oh, and the nipping is going pretty good. He nips, and we tell him "No biting" and/or "Gentle" depending on how/why he is biting and what we are willing to tolerate (when our hands/fingers are in his mouth). But nothing crazy as yet. His bites are very, very sharp when he really clamps down, but thankfully that doesn't happen too often.

He is great with our kids as well as other kids so far, even when they coddle him, pick him up, and carry him all around, at times like a baby, etc. It's like he just eats up all of the attention. There are times when I feel the need to take him, just to give him a break from the constant coddling (I feel like at some point he needs and deserves a break, and to have his paws on the ground, instead of being held constantly) from our kids friends who come over to play. He has nipped (not too bad) on the odd occasion with other kids (he nips our kids more often), but nowhere near what I expected, and I am quite thankful for that! There are tines when I have to remind our kids that he is a dog, and has 4 legs, and is quite capable of walking across the kitchen floor himself! 

We all adore him so much, and we are very happy we (more like I) decided to bring a puppy (and did the research to decide upon a cockapoo) into our lives. I'm thankful I found this forum to share my experiences (whether good or bad) with others, and to ask for assistance and advice or ideas, when needed.

I know someone will ask for a picture (it's like a rite of passage on this forum) - these are of him at 11 weeks of age. If they don't work in this post, I will add them from my phone, later.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Sounds like things are going very nicely indeed 

He is also absolutely gorgeous  well done on complying with the photo demands - that ball and rug are going to be great measures as he grows too in future photos


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Thank you! Yes, I like the rug for that! And I hadn't thought about using the ball for reference, I will have to make sure I hang on to it despite how it ends up! 

I see I wrote quite the novel too... lol... oops!


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

I guess it will be nice to have this novel to look back on, later, as a comparison. Especially if he does have something in store for us for the future!


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## Aly (Mar 27, 2015)

He is gorgeous.
My Lucy will be 12 weeks old in 3 days. I have all my rugs lifted up at the moment, can't wait to put them all back down.
Lucy's favourite is my 3 year old grandson who completely ignores her! He runs round the garden amusing himself and Lucy just runs around behind him, they are so funny to watch.
It is amazing how fast they grow.


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks for the update. Sounds like things are going well except for the potty but that will come in a bit more time. The photos are awesome, I love the first two.


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## petentialpete (Mar 9, 2015)

Thank you. Great to hear your experiences Picking up our little Pippin on June 1st so will see how she compares. It sounds like you are doing wonderfully.


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Aw, Lucy and DaVinci are only days apart in age!  

I lifted up the small rugs in our kitchen, however the large rug in the pictures has cords runding under it so it keeps them hidden. I block off that room with the large rug when needed with a baby gate. Typically only if I worry he may use the washroom because he didnt go when I took him out.

Aren't they all just so cute at this age! And it's as though they just get even cuter as they grow! The cockapoo is proving to be an amazing breed, and the right choice!


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Thank you for the progress report and lovely photos. He sounds quite perfect. Cockapoos are on the list of difficult to toilet train dogs, I think people who breed them like to keep this fact a secret. You'll crack it eventually.


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

fairlie said:


> Thank you for the progress report and lovely photos. He sounds quite perfect. Cockapoos are on the list of difficult to toilet train dogs, I think people who breed them like to keep this fact a secret. You'll crack it eventually.


I guess I was lucky. Maggie was really easy to train.


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Interesting; I had no idea they are on the hard to house train list! I thought due to them being so intelligent, they were on the easy to potty train list, lol. It'll come in due time though. He's getting the hang of it, and once he can go for walks I expect that should help some, as he will have plenty of time and places to empty himself completely.

Lindor - sounds like you are lucky Maggie was so cooperative!


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## Sassy (Mar 20, 2015)

Thanks for the delightful update. I pick up my 8 week old puppy tomorrow! Can't wait. (Name is still under debate. Buff-colored female.)


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Sassy said:


> Thanks for the delightful update. I pick up my 8 week old puppy tomorrow! Can't wait. (Name is still under debate. Buff-colored female.)


Congrats! That is such an exciting time for you! I remember how excited (and nervous) I was to pick up our pup. 

Have you made a list of names? Once you see her, I'm sure you will find the perfect name that suits her!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

What a lovely update.
More pictures anytime please 
My two were both really easy to house train, much easier than Inzi who was a pain!


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

I would have guessed a border collie would have been super easy. Max (lab shepard cross) peed in the house two or three times tops, then she got it. Rufus learned quickly to go outside when asked, the trouble was teaching him *not* to go inside as well. Like any statistic there will be outliers at both ends...but the average time to train is significantly longer than the average of all breeds. It makes sense when you think of some of the dogs on here who were still having issues well into six months and on. Thank God for maternal amnesia.


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## Humspoff (Aug 26, 2014)

Obi is seven months, put our rug down on Saturday, Obi threw up on it on Sunday...


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

That made me chuckle. I hope he feels better now.


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## Humspoff (Aug 26, 2014)

Best thing was that I was away over the weekend! Child and OH had to sort it out! Obi unfazed!


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## bearthecockapoo (Mar 17, 2015)

Wow! Look at those eyes! Sounds like your training is going really well.


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Aw, Obi! That made me laugh, too!


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks! Yes, DaVinci seems to catch on quickly but could use more work with the house training.

I may need to treat more - kind of got into the habit of praising really well but not providing treats for pottying outside. I've wondered too, if it matters if I treat while he is going, vs. waiting until I bring him inside after he has done his business? If anyone can comment on that it would be appreciated!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Very quick reply but I wait until totally finished before treating (or even moving in Chances case) if you dive in with the treat they may well not finish off and then come back in and need to finish .....

Chance (lab x collie) is the only pup I have had (others all adopted as house trained adults) but she was quite frustrating to house train as she would go out, sniff for a second and then see something really interesting - leaf, bird, blade of grass  and examine that, then bounce a bit and totally forget what she had gone out for. Even now she is incredibly picky about where she will go to the loo and spends ages selecting a spot, almost going, getting distracted, selecting a new spot ....


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

Such a cute puppy!! A beautiful little face - great name too!


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

2ndhandgal - Thank you for your reply. I was worried about that too - I used to just give him a treat when we got inside but have fallen out of that habit, as we Hve always highly praised him while he goes and again when we come inside. 

Distraction is big with DaVinci - could be a leaf, a weed sticking up from the ground, a twig, or a rock... doesn't matter - he gets distracted and it becomes play time - sometimes with me going after him to get the rock out of his mouth that he picked up - which he very much enjoys! I'm hoping that once he can go for walks (hoping for by the end of next week) it won't be such an issue since he will have plenty of time on his walk for all sorts of distracting things! 

I will go back to treating all of his successes when we bring him in. I think I will put a container by the door that I can store some treats in so that we always have them on hand when he comes inside. (That was our issue and why we fell out of the habit of treating).


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