you found your new best friend. now what?

An internet search will bring up varying opinions on how to care for your puppy. We believe that you need to choose a method that works best for you and your family. Listed here are things we found useful to us in raising our pups. We won’t say our way is the only way, but hopefully you will find something valuable for your puppy in this resource!

Feeding your puppy

Puppies between 8 and twelve weeks old need 3-4 bowls of food a day. Follow the guidelines on your dog food bag to determine how much each serving should be. (One recommendation is Purina Pro Plan). From 3-6 months old, your puppy needs to be fed 3 times a day. Six month old puppies can move to 2 feedings per day and at 1 year old, one bowl of food is all that is needed. At this point you can choose to have a feeding time or put out the food and allow your dog to free-eat. If your dog begins to have weight problems, we recommend a designated eating time.

crate training

We have all chosen to crate train our pups. Our first tip for this is to remember that your puppy is an animal that instinctively wants a den. The den is its safe place and one it does not want to soil. Puppies also need lots of rest. They can get overstimulated and not automatically sleep when they should. Putting a puppy in its crate most the day when it is young will help it learn when to potty and allow it to rest.

The standard rule of thumb is that a puppy needs to go potty every 2 hours if 2 months old, every 3 hours when 3 months old, every 4 hours when 4 months old, etc. until it can go about 8 hours.

When you bring your 8 week old puppy home, let him potty outside, then put him in the crate. Ignore whining and crying (we know that’s hard)! You may want to put a sheet or blanket over the crate so that the puppy cannot see what is going on around him and he will want to sleep.

After about an hour (err on the side of less time), let the puppy outside to potty. Do not interact with the puppy except to say, “Go potty.” Do not make eye contact. (If the puppy will not go potty, put him back in the crate for 10-15 minutes and then try again). Once the puppy has gone, lavish him with praise and cuddles. Now it’s play time! Let him interact with you and the family for about 15 minutes. Then back into the crate for a nap!

Repeat this process until bedtime. At night, the new puppy should be able to go 2-3 hours in the crate, quickly working his way up to sleeping through the night.

As the puppy gets older, lengthen the time out of the crate. If you are attentive to your pup, you will be able to sense when he is getting overstimulated and it is nap time again.

If your puppy detests the crate, help create the feeling of it being a safe place - it’s den - by feeding the puppy in the crate with the door open. Other ideas are tossing treats in to make him want to enter, or putting a toy inside. Do your best to make the crate a place your dog is content to be.

the first few nights

Your puppy will be sad to be away from his mother and littermates at first. It will take a little time for him to recognize that you are the new alpha and your family his new pack. This often leads to crying and whining. If you can, get a small blanket or toy with his mother’s scent on it from the breeder (but airlines will not allow this when shipping a puppy). Place your puppy’s crate in your room or sleep by your puppy’s crate the first few nights so he knows he is safe and can bond with you. We have even had the oldest child in the family have the responsibility of sleeping by the puppy’s crate for the first week - and we had no whining!

Training

Begin setting expectations of good behavior right away. Remember learning about Pavlov’s dog in psychology? This is your chance to implement that learning! You need to condition your pup to be obedient and to know the rules of your home. This is a good time to point out that it is in your puppy’s best interest for YOU to remember that he is a dog not a person. He does not think like a person!

Be consistent. Reward with treats! Discipline by not giving your attention. And remember that yelling about a puppy 5 minutes after an incident will not mean anything to him - you must correct behavior in the moment. The best way to correct behavior is by praising and encouraging good behaviors. Dogs (especially Aussies) are very in tune with emotions and can easily tell when you are upset without any yelling or physical force. They want to please and Aussies are easily trained with treats. And again, be CONSISTENT. If the rules keep changing, it will be really hard for your pup to follow them. As your dog gets older, you may want to look into an electronic training collar if further training is needed.

nipping

Puppy nipping is normal and even more so for Aussies who instinctively nip at heels to “herd”. It is important to let your puppy know it is not okay to bite his humans. This is done by making sure he knows you are the alpha: keep yourself (and all children) above the dog at all times (don’t bring him to your level). Turn your back on him and cross your arms when he is nipping. Teach children to do this also. Puppies think they are playing. They must understand that you are in charge and do not want to engage in this type of play. If the puppy still nips, put him in his crate for a “time out”.

It is also good to make sure the puppy has toys he can bite and tug on. Give him lots of opportunities to get his energy out! This puppy phase can seem long when you’re in it, but soon you will have a trained, well-behaved dog and be glad you put in the time training your puppy to behave!

foods to avoid

A lot of people think that any table scraps can be thrown to their dog. They are unaware that a dog’s system cannot tolerate all foods and some of our foods are even poisonous to our dogs!

Here is a list of foods for your dog to avoid:

• Chocolate

• Grapes and raisins

• Onions

• Garlic

• Macadamia nuts

• Avocado

• Coconut Products (causes digestive upset)

• Dairy Products (causes digestive upset)

• Xylitol

bathing and grooming for miniature australian shepherds

Mini Aussies have a long-haired, double-coat that should be brushed often for good air circulation, insulating the pup from both heat and cold. Daily brushing is recommended. It is not recommended to shave a Mini Aussie’s coat. We use a rake brush and occasionally an undercoat brush (like the Furminator).

Trimming is optional but not necessary. Using a high velocity dryer and blowing out the undercoat in the direction you want it to lay is helpful for Mini Aussies’ coats. Miniature Australian Shepherds only need to be bathed every 3-4 months. Frequent bathing can dry out their skin and coats.

bathing and grooming for minature aussiedoodles

Aussiedoodles have hair (like a poodle) rather than fur - and little to no undercoat. Because they have hair, they should be groomed several times a year. They also should be brushed often to remove tangles and mats. It is helpful to invest in a slicker brush for small matts and knots, a pink brush for loose hairs, a rake brush to remove dead hair near the skin, and a metal comb for finding tangles.

A monthly bath is enough - less is okay and more can cause their skin and hair to dry out. Every 4-6 weeks do a sanitary cut: trip face, feet and rear to prevent matting. They can be groomed shorter all over as you see fit - usually a few times a year. We utilize a professional groomer, but clippers can be bought on Amazon and there are many tutorials on the internet.