Puppy Curriculum

At Raising Doodles, we take great pride in how we raise our puppies! This is truly what makes all the difference in our Labradoodle puppies and sets them up for success. Every aspect of our program is crucial to the development and well being of our puppies and ensures they have the very best start in life. This is something that can only be done once so it is important to choose your breeder wisely and understand what is being implemented in their program and be sure they are investing in your future fur baby.

 Take a look below of what all we included in raising our labradoodle puppies! You can even follow along on our socials to see these things taking place. 

The first step in our puppy curriculum is Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI). This is performed on days 3 through 16 of our puppies lives. 

ENS has been proven to improve cardiovascular performance, strengthen heart rates, improve adrenal gland strength, higher stress tolerance, and greater resistance to disease. 

ESI is shown to grow nose awareness and confidence. This is performed by introducing a different scent to our puppies each day and allowing them to interact with it. 

Puppy Handling is another important thing we incorporate into raising our labradoodle puppies. Once they have reached 3 weeks of age, we introduce intentional daily handling exercises. This includes rubbing their ears, covering their eyes, touching their nose, open their mouth and rub gums, rubbing around neck, tapping their nails, rubbing their paws, rubbing their backs and bellies, and gently tugging on their tail. 

Our handling exercises are a very important part of our program. They help desensitization are puppies to all sorts of touch with is very beneficial as Labradoodles require frequent grooming. This is also helpful for families with young children who will be interacting with the new puppy.

For a visual insight into this valuable practice, check out our reel on our Instagram @RaisingDoodles. This is such an important part of our program and has such an impact on touch tolerance with our puppies. 

Once our puppy’s ears begin to open around 2 weeks of age, we start sound desensitization. This starts very brief with a low volume. As they get older, the volume and duration increases. 

Our puppies listen to a variety of sounds during their everyday life. Including meal time, playtime,  outside time, and even crate time. This includes thunderstorms, fireworks, different music genres, campfires, movies, traffic sounds, kids playing, cooking dinner, regular conversations, dogs barking, and more!

The world is a noisy place with so many different sights and sounds. Exposing our labradoodle puppies early on to different loud noises helps them to become desensitized and be able to remain calm in loud situations. This is especially helpful for families with children as there is often a lot going on and helps the puppy be able to adapt quickly to its new environment.

This is key in growing confidence in our puppies! This looks different as the puppies grow. We start at just 3 weeks of age with whelping box novelty items. These items are very simple such as a pillow, jar, piece of food, fake plants, orange, basketball, stuffed animal, etc. We allow our puppies to explore these items on their own to grow their confidence and curiosity. This also helps us to build trust with them early on to ensure everything we ask them to do is safe and fun!

As they get older, the items we introduce them to become more advanced. We introduce soft toys, rubber toys, ropes, balls, rings, blocks, different textures, different footing materials, stepping stones, and more!

Once our puppies reach about 5 weeks of age, all the fun begins! We add in wobble boards, balance boards, slides, swings, ball pits, musical toys, movement toys, water activities, tunnels, hide & seeks toys, and so much more! 

Our puppies are constantly learning and trying new things and are raised in a very enrichment filled environment. This has proven to build confidence in our puppies and empowers them to believe in their own abilities and face any obstacle with confidence. Our puppies are able to create a special bond with us as humans and learn early on that humans are safe, loving, kind, and friendly. 

At 5/6 weeks of age we began car exposure! We take our puppies on car rides to the vet, drive throughs, car washes, on bumpy roads, and causal rides through town. This helps our puppies become comfortable in the car and helps to prevent car sickness as an adult. 

Exposing our puppies to early grooming is critical, especially since labradoodles require frequent grooming. Our puppies receive weekly nail trims, baths, blowouts, ear cleanings, and brushing. 

This helps them to become desensitize to grooming early on. We encourage all our families to continue on with grooming exposure as well! Labradoodles require lots of grooming and we ensure this is started early on in life. 

Starting at just 3 weeks of age, we give our puppies a designated potty area. At this age, their potty area is roughly 50% of their total area. Our puppies quickly learn that there are designated areas for sleep, play, and potty. By about 5 weeks of age, they are 100% potty trained on their potty trays. Teaching them that there is a designated area to potty at such an early age creates a puppy that is easy to potty train when they go to their new homes. They will quickly catch on and learn where the new potty area is. 

We begin implementing outdoor potty training around 6 weeks of age by taking our puppies outside after meal time, play time, and crate time. This helps to get them in the routine of going outside to potty and kickstarts potty training for our new puppy families! 

Exposing our puppies to the outdoors is a very important part in our program. Not only does it allow them to be exposed to the sounds of nature, but allows for even more fun curriculum! We have a designated outdoor area just for our puppies so they are able to safely explore outside. During warm months, we exposure them to various water activities such as sprinkles, kiddie pools, and splash pads! Depending on the season, our puppies are exposed to rain, wind, sunshine, leaves, and even snow! 

Getting a puppy that has been exposed to the outdoors also helps to kickstart potty training!

At Raising Doodles, we prioritize crate training as a fundamental aspect of our comprehensive puppy development program. Starting at around 3-4 weeks of age, our puppies begin sleeping in open-door crates, gradually introducing them to the concept of their own cozy space. Dogs are naturally den animals so they choose to go in their crates by themselves. By the time they reach 6-7 weeks old, we implement individual crate training sessions, carefully considering their developmental stages, especially their 5-6 week fear period.

Our goal is to ensure that by the time our puppies are ready to join their new families, they are well-accustomed to sleeping in a closed crate from approximately 10:30 pm until 6-6:30 am each night. We believe that early and positive crate training is crucial for instilling a sense of security and comfort in our labradoodle puppies, preparing them for a successful transition to their forever homes.

We take pride in our proactive approach to puppy training, understanding that a well-prepared and confident puppy is better equipped for a happy and harmonious life with their new family. 

Maintaining a clean environment plays a pivotal role in our approach to raising labradoodle puppies. This not only contributes to their overall well-being but also facilitates easier potty training. From an early age, our puppies learn about designated areas for sleeping, eating, potty breaks, and play, fostering a smooth transition into housetraining.

People often wonder, "How is everything so clean?" While the puppy-raising process can get a bit messy, we take immense pride in ensuring our puppies and their surroundings stay as clean as possible. Regular changes to puppy mats, thorough cleaning of floors, whelping boxes, toys, and play areas are routine tasks carried out several times a day. This commitment to cleanliness provides our labradoodle puppies with a hygienic space to grow and thrive.