How often you should groom your dog really depends on you, your dog, and your lifestyle together. Personally, I like a clean dog and a clean house. The better my dog looks, feels, and smells, the more I want to pet, cuddle with, and spend time with my dog. Most people are probably the same way. I’ve noticed our dogs seem to feel better when they’re recently groomed, as well. The males like to look and feel fresh and handsome, and the females like to look and smell pretty, and it just makes them feel good, like you do when you get out of the shower or put on a clean outfit and spruce yourself up. It’s better for your dog’s health to be clean and sanitary. Poodles and Doodles especially need extra grooming. It’s recommended they’re groomed at least once a month, every 6 weeks max, and the more your dog is in weeds, dirt, or puddles, the more your dog will need grooming. If you can groom your dog every couple weeks - even better. Grooming is an opportune time to bond with and train your pet. Many dogs learn to like that one on one time with their human. They feel cared for by you when you groom them. They learn to trust their human when they’re groomed in a gentle and compassionate way. Start grooming your puppy right away. From bathing to nail clipping to ear cleaning to tooth brushing, to a weekly or daily brush, your puppy should get used to your touch and care giving. Even if puppy doesn’t like it, it must be done for puppy’s own sake and health. Like children, your pup may whine and cry and make you feel like you’re hurting him or her, but puppies can be very dramatic to get their way, like children. If you can’t or don’t want to groom your dog, you must have a groomer or someone else do it regularly. Sometimes groomers get booked, and have long waiting lists. During COVID, dogs had to wait months to see the groomer. This is why it’s important to make sure you know how to and your dog will let you groom your dog. Have grooming equipment and supplies on hand just in case. You should at least be the one to groom your dog every once in a while, so that when you NEED to groom your dog, your dog will be used to you doing it, and will let you. We’ve had clients during COVID who always took their dog to the groomer, and then the groomer was booked out for 2 months+, and their dog wouldn’t let them bring a brush or nail clippers anywhere near him or her. I can’t stress enough - start grooming puppy while he or she is young and small, and do it often, and let a groomer or someone else groom him or her occasionally, too. You never know when you might have surgery or an arm in a cast, and you can’t groom your dog yourself, so in that situation you want your dog to accept grooming from someone else. YouTube videos are great for grooming tutorials.

Whether you’re doing potty training or teaching puppy not to bite, all training should begin IMMEDIATELY. Don’t wait until you have more time or puppy is older. That’s how bad habits take root, and you may never be able to undo the bad habits without a professional trainer’s help. Puppies don’t just “grow out of it” or mature and learn to choose to do what’s right without having some training, and instruction along the way. They must be TAUGHT to do what’s right so that they KNOW to do what’s right. “Train them up in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 doesn’t just work for children. A little biting may seem cute or okay while puppy is small, but if you let him get away with it now, good luck trying to convince him to stop it when he’s 6 months old. Don’t let your small children - or anyone else’s - play with your pup unsupervised unless you’re certain the child can assert dominance over the puppy and will enforce the “no biting” rule. When our kids were small, we got a new puppy, and when we weren’t looking, the kids would let him nip and tug on them and their clothes, and chase them. When he became too big for the kids to handle him, they realized he could be getting too dangerous for them to play with, and they had to ask their dad to intervene and reestablish proper play behavior between them, which wasn’t easy for anyone by then. MOST dogs and children do not just naturally KNOW how to play with and handle each other. They MUST be TAUGHT. Yes, there is the rare child or pet that seems to have a natural ability to understand the other species and how to treat them, but most must be taught. I was taught by my mother when I was very small how to hold and interact with animals. I’ve taught my chidren when they were babes as well. We’ve had folks call us asking us to let their kids and children with special needs meet our puppies so they can see how their kids will interact with a puppy, and whether they should get one for their child. Kids are NOT usually NATURALLY good with a puppy. If you’ve never seen your kid around a puppy, and you don’t know how that would go, it’s a given you’ve never taught your kid how to hold or treat a puppy, and it won’t go well. We’ve had people and kids come visit our puppies, and they’ll do things like drop the puppy on its head, or try to pick it up by one leg. Needless to say, we’re a lot more careful about visits these days. Our puppies and dogs can come out of it injured or traumatized. If it turns out your child isn’t naturally gifted with animals, chances are your child just needs some instruction, and that will take more time than one afternoon visit. That said, not every child will ever be good with animals, and it will take an investment on your part to figure that out, but USUALLY you just have to DECIDE to TEACH your child how to hold and treat a puppy, which means YOU must first know or learn how to hold and interact with a puppy. It is very rewarding for you, your child, and your puppy if you do take the time and put in the work to do that. It’s so worth it to have a great dog and see the fruit of your labors with him! If you or your spouse didn’t grow up with a puppy, and you aren’t a dog person because of that, you might want to get trained up on all things puppy before you think about getting one for your child. Personally, I don’t take financial advice from people who don’t have money and manage it well, and I don’t take advice from people about raising dogs or children from people who don’t have a dog or child, or they have an unruly one, so look for someone who has an adult dog that you consider to be a great, well-trained dog, and if that individual trained that dog himself, ask that person for advice on dogs and what he did to get his dog so loveable and well behaved. Ask him how he taught his dog to sit and stay for a treat instead of jumping on him or snatching it out of his hand. Ask him if he can teach you how to give his dog commands. We’re big believers in the Bible around here, and raising animals and children according to it, and I’ve found it to be true when it says that man has been given dominion over the animals and the earth (Genesis 1:26-28), that we usually have a desire to care for them, and not usually the other way around, and that our Creator has caused animals to fear and respect us (Genesis 9:2). If we let that get out of order, the animal will turn on us and try to dominate us, and that can be dangerous for us all. That said, we are to take seriously that authority and responsibility, and we shouldn’t abuse it or the animal, which can also cause the animal to turn on us. We respect those who respect us, and animals also respect those who respect them. We should remember the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12 and Deuteronomy 24-25:4), even when dealing with animals. Be gentle and loving, but be firm and consistent. Animals are creatures of our God that He loves and wants us to care for. Proverbs 12:10 and Psalm 36:6. Don’t act in anger, but like with your children, discipline in love. Use rewards like praise and treats when puppy gets it right, and before you know it, puppy will be getting it right more than he gets it wrong.

We free feed our dogs and puppies Taste of the Wild, the Ancient Streams recipe. Free feeding means we leave dry food out all day for the dogs and puppies, so they can eat as much as they want, when they want. Some people are concerned dogs and puppies will eat too much and get bloat with this feeding method. We’ve had the opposite experience. Our dogs know they can eat as much as they want, when they want it, so they don’t feel the need to gorge themselves when they do get to eat. They eat when they’re hungry. They don’t eat when they’re not. It might not work for everyone’s lifestyle or dog, but it works best for us. We’ve found our dog food brand at Tractor Supply, Carter Feed, Petco, and the Co-op. We send our puppies home with a bag of food, and you can mix this in with another food brand and gradually switch your new puppy over if you plan to put him or her on a new food.

We believe in disease prevention by watching what is put into our dogs, being minimalist in medical intervention, and letting the immune system and wholesome food do what they do best. We choose foods, treats, grooming products, and treatments that are as natural and simple as possible. A good vet is worth his or her weight in gold, and we encourage our puppy families to find a vet they trust to care for their puppy after they welcome their new puppy home.

While our adult dogs have all been vaccinated, we’ve had multiple vets advise us that vaccines are counter-productive in puppies that are with the breeder and still nursing and getting immunity from mom’s milk. We’re often asked by people if our puppies are vaccinated from Rabies, oftentimes we get asked this when the puppies are just days or weeks old. Most people don’t seem to be aware that vets don’t even vaccinate against Rabies before 3 months of age, that they consider puppies to be too young for a Rabies vaccine at that point. Our puppies are 100% of the time in their new homes before they are old enough to get a Rabies vaccine. According to US law, it is the responsibility of the owners of a puppy 3 months+ in age to vaccinate their puppy for the puppy’s entire life. We do not hold on to puppies after 3 months of age. We believe in finding homes for puppies no later than 10 weeks of age so that puppies are settling into their new homes, continuing their training, and bonding with their new families as soon as possible, for everyone’s good.