# introduction to our little lady!



## cookiemonster1991 (Nov 27, 2017)

After months and months of research, God knows how many phone calls and emails, visits to three different breeders. We finally put our deposit down on this little lady who will be coming home mothering Sunday weekend!!
We're all so excited!! 
I'd love to hear people's must haves/recommendations for puppy products/accessories. Xx


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Awe. 

The usual, bed, bowls, collar, leash... small toys, a big aid to control the mouthing

Pick your food, consider transitioning her to a better food than the breeder. 

My tips for things I didn’t expect to be so useful
- wire pen, bought from amazon. I ended up getting 2. So useful to control their environment and let you do other things (I don’t mean leaving alone, just so you know what they can and can’t get to)
- hot dog sausage, cut into tiny thin slices and then into 4. Great training treats. Used these all the time to build a bond and start training


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

Awww so cute!! Congrats & the wait will fly by!!

The following stuff will be really useful! - 

A crate if you're planning on crate training (a 30 inch one will suffice)
A bed or two (I got 2, one for the crate and one for out)
Bowls
Toys of varying materials - Dexter LOVES the scrunchy sounding flat toys
Chews such as Nylabones for puppies
A pen or two is especially helpful if you have a large garden. We found Dexter would run off into the back garden when we let him out to pee at night & it was a real pain getting him back in as he'd also eat things off the floor. We popped a pen just outside the back door, and he's learned to use this area now to toilet in, we swept it & popped a square of astroturf on the ground to avoid him eating a ton of things / getting distracted from toilet training!
An enzymatic cleaner for toilet accidents - Simple Solution or Pets at Home do one!
Plenty of toilet towel for toilet accidents!
A brush specifically for Cockapoo type hair - it's really important to get her used to being brushed early on!
A puppy toothbrush & paste - as above!
A puppy shampoo - as above!
& ear cleaning solution - again, it's not something I really thought about but the sooner you can get her used to having her ears cleaned the better 
A couple of towels for muddy walks
A carry bag for when she can't go on the ground due to non-vaccines (I grabbed a My Pets & Me one for around £10 & it was SO helpful for carrying Dexter around everywhere with me to ensure he was well socialised before he could walk on the ground)
A small blanket with your scent on to pop in her bed at night
& a good food  check www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk for ratings

That's all I can think of so far


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## cookiemonster1991 (Nov 27, 2017)

Thankyou  I can't wait to get her home, although I've become very nervous the past few days! She is going to be called Penny.
I've added tooth brush and paste to the list, as well as ear cleaner. Is this like a liquid or wipe? And how often would you clean their ears? 
Also added towels and a doggy bag (my husband will kill me lol!)

What food do you recommend? I've spent hours on that dog food website but still haven't made a choice lol. I know we'd like a dry kibble.

Also, did you guy specific puppy sized things or just adult? I've bought her a small plastic bed and cushion for outside the crate but I'm unsure how long it'll last. The sizing of things is really confusing me, she's a show cocker cross mini poodle but I've no idea on what size crate she'll need as an adult or even things like bowls! 
What a mind field x


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

Ohh Penny's a cute name!  

Ear cleaners are a bottle of liquid, you squeeze a bit into the ears & massage the base for a little bit. It's the liquid part they tend to not like much! I clean Dexter's once a week which I think is generally a good time, although he's prone to quite pongy ears! 

Hehe my partner turned his nose up at the bag I bought but he was soon using it to take Dexter out to the pub!!  It was invaluable for the short amount of time he squeezed into it! 

We have both of ours on Millies Wolfheart dry kibble. Dexter was on Countryside Mix, but I've recently changed him over to Riverside Mix as it's a little higher on carbs for weight gain. I think they generally recommend Countryside for the breed / age. It's just a case of having a little explore & seeing what works best for Penny. I know a few other owners on here use Millies  I found it to be the best for my budget. Be sure to switch her over gradually though to avoid any tummy upset (we did 50/50 for a week) - & I wouldn't recommend switching her food at all for the first week just to allow her to settle into the new home. 
I also now mix in a wet food into Dexter's kibble called Forthglade 90%, it's a complimentary wet food you add with kibble to vary up the food slightly. It's great for stuffing into Kongs too to keep him busy! 

I generally picked up Dexter adult sized accessories, such as a bowl, beds & soft toys. All of which are still in use, although alarmingly he's actually outgrown his adult bed at 5 months  He has 15cm diameter bowls, and a Medium sized dog bed if that helps! 
I think it's best to stick to puppy sized things for non-edible chews such as Kongs & Nylabones as they're made with a slightly softer material for their delicate puppy teeth. 

It depends if you're planning on continuing with crate use. We stopped at 6 months with our older boy, and will likely be doing the same with Dexter. We have a 30 inch crate for him and we could use it for our older dog too really. He's 14inches to shoulder and around 11kg. Dexter is just VERY slender & long (he's a working cocker cross) & likes to fully stretch out, when he does the 30inch crate is probably a little too small for him as we can hear him crashing about but in theory it is the right size for him


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Penny is a nice name. 

I used Orijen puppy food for the first few months, Lucky did great on that. As the above poster, he is now on Millie’s Wolfheart (Hunter Mix) and I’ve also started using Forthglade as a topper. Up to around 7-8 months old, just the kibble, with no topper, was fine. Then he started to get fussy. 

My approach has been for a low carb (and def low sugar!) diet for him. My reasoning is to control too quick weight gain (fat rather than core body weight) and to give better energy usage/control, reduce the carb rush making him hyper too much of the time and let him develop some self control. 

Depending on how well she generally settles in, you’ll find out how sensitive she is to food changes. Some are super sensitive, others near bullet proof, or some way in between. One you understand how she reacts it will give you more choices what to feed her. I’d advise not mixing raw with non-raw in a meal and sticking to the same food for a body cycle (I.e. until they poo). It seems to me this mixing in one go that causes the problems more so than just the change. 

For chews, Lucky never got on with nylabones. Bulls pizzle are his fav and the best I’ve found. Better quality ones will last days, a week when very young. Lesser ones can be devoured in one go when 6 months old. It’s hard to get the better ones reliably but they are great. 

For sizes, there will be some things you’ll need puppy sized - collar, brush, bed, etc. These will be outgrown in months. Lucky is on the same bowls as a pup. 

The tiny puppy stage will fly by. Make the most of it. The first few weeks and months is a lot of development, you’ll read about things like socialisation. In retrospect it was helping teach him to learn that I didn’t read about. Simple things like rewarding for an action, the basis of any learning. And hand touches for a reward and bonding. Do a lot of this very early on and teaching will be much easier after. Same with a Kongs, it can take some time to teach them but worth it. 

Control their environment, manage their state (don’t let them be hyper all the time), and give them a routine. At first I was doing hourly toilet breaks in the day. He only ever did a pee in the house 3-4 times and a poo once, most of those my mistakes. House training like that was super easy. Maybe we were lucky.


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## cookiemonster1991 (Nov 27, 2017)

Thankyou some fab tips there! Would you mind if I asked how much it usually costs a month to feed a cockapoo millie wolfheart? this is one if the foods I've got my eye on aswell as Eden x


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Lucky, at 11 months, has about 200g of Millie’s Wolheart Hunter mix. At £58 per 14.5kg, that gives 72 days of food. So probably £25/month for the kibble. 

I also use some kind of topper, currently Forthglade. So I actually use a bit less of the kibble to compensate. I’d get through 2 packs of that in a week, so probably another £10/month. I’ve used Millie’s wet food as a topper too but most of the time some Waitrose pate... yes really!.. a pack last a week as it’s only a bit smeared over the kibble. Up to about 7 months he didn’t need a topper at all, started to get fussy getting older. I’m sure if I put my mind to it I could get him back on only the dry kibble. 

The treats probably add up too... hot dog sausages are good for early training. These days I tend to use thick sliced ham. If you cook things like chicken yourself you’ll get lots of scraps off that - the fatty skin is a fav. Bulls pizzle add up too, you can get them £1.50 online, often £2+ in pet shops. As a pup 1 a week, now he’s older 2 maybe 3. 

He’s pretty spoiled!!!


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

Dexter at 5 months is on 230g Riverside. I buy a 12kg bag at £42 (We don't buy the larger bags as we have 2 dogs and are short on storage space!) But a 12kg bag lasts around 2.5 months for Dexter, so around £18 a month  

I think the Countryside worked out it lasted 2 months as they sell it in 10kg bag for the same price, so around £20 a month.
The Forthglade topper (I buy this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FKWPFC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) works out at £13 a month. He has 1/3 of a tray a day & at the moment we're not taking his kibble amount down. 
So £31 total a month on food ^_^ 

As Lucky says, treats can get a bit expensive, I buy an 8 pack of Pet Munchies training treats every month for £10, which last the whole 30 days. I then also stuff Kongs with a little of his forthglade allowance each day & top with cream cheese or peanut butter. We give him carrots to chew on, and I'll nip to the pet shop once a month or so for a couple of bulls pizzle / other chews. We also always have Primula cheese spread stocked up in our fridge as it's great for recall training!

Inc treats I probably spend around £50 a month I think! I don't really tend to think about the treat side, as they're bought fairly ad-hoc.


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## LuckyCockapoo (May 29, 2017)

Great tip on Forthglade from Amazon - subscribe and save too!


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## cookiemonster1991 (Nov 27, 2017)

Thankyou for that, it definitely seems that paying a bit more pays off in terms of the quality of the food/ingredients. I seem to be spending so long the all about dog food website and getting no nearer to picking a food lol!
Your cockapoo's sound very spoilt.. and why not! 
What is the 'usual' weight of a fully grown cockapoo, Penny is a show cocker x miniature poodle (who is 14" to the shoulder). x


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## beckymnd (Oct 17, 2017)

It's really difficult to tell re: 'usual' weight, as there are so many factors & it mostly depends on the breed / size of the parents. 

Bailey, our older Cockapoo is 8 in May, and is an American Cocker x Miniature Poodle. He's a little overweight at 11.2kg, I think his ideal was 10.5kg - he's 14" to shoulder.

Dexter, our puppy who's now 5 months, is a Working Cocker x Miniature Poodle & is 14" to shoulder already & weighed 7.7kg this morning. I suspect he'll be a little bigger than Bailey


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## Sian Jenkins (Feb 22, 2018)

*Congrats*

Congratulations. Must is kong which you can stuff full of treats. Give it to your poo when your leaving him home for a short time as he wont get so anxious.

Enjoy!


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## cookiemonster1991 (Nov 27, 2017)

Thankyou everyone. We're getting so excited now, 11 days til she comes home!
We went to visit Penny today! :whoo: (pics attached!)
She's got a bit curlier since we last saw her, and definitely more playful. I'd love to see what she'll look like as an adult, we're all smitten already


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