Hi, I have been lurking on the forum for a week or so now but haven't had time to say a proper hello since collecting Poppy last Sunday. Life is certainly fuller with a Doodle in tow!

Poppy is a F1 Labradoodle and is 100% black. Not sure what her coat is going to be like yet, it has certainly become much fluffier since her first bath on Tuesday. She is definitely going to be scruffy - just not sure how scruffy!

She has settled in well. She loves her crate and willingly goes in it for most of her naps during the day. She does not cry at night and goes through without needing to toilet in the middle of the night. I think we are getting there with toilet training, although she does seem to like doing small drops of wee on the lounge carpet. Not sure if she is scent marking?

Her main issue is not eating very much at all. I have tried her food dry, soaked, cold, warm etc. She eats most at breakfast and then picks at the other meals. I am going to try and get some samples of alternative foods this week to see if I can tempt her. She is currently on Royal Canin Medium Junior.

The other thing she hates is the car. I have tried her on my knee (not whilst driving obviously!) and in the footwell between feet. She whimpers and yawns alot (which we have learnt is a sign of her being stressed out) Unfortunately her crate will not fit in my car so it means that I can't go out with her on my own. Any suggestions on how to help her get used to the car would be great

Finally, we took her to her first puppy socialisation class on Friday which was an eye opener! There were only 2 other puppies there (thank goodness) and Poppy teamed up with a 12 week old Shih Tzu and spent the full 1/2 hour rolling around fighting with him! She had more time outs than the other 2 put together! Apparently it is good to learn how hard she can bite other dogs. She certainly had a whale of a time and we have signed her up to go twice a week until she is old enough to attend Puppy Training.

Here are a couple of pictures from her first week with us

Hi, poppy is beautiful! Teddy hated the car as well at first but i think its just about getting used to it. I bought her a padded car harness and put a big cushion and towel on the front seat to help her see out the window and feel a bit more secure (kinda like a nest for her). I then made sure i had loads of treats, chews, kongs etc to act act as a distraction. As I work she goes to my mum's every day so she was regularly going in the car twice a day (only 10 minute journeys though so not too long) and eventually she got used to it. We gradually moved her to the back seat and she now goes in the boot (obviously we have a hatch back ) and to be honest she is happiest in the boot. She also loves it when we open the windows.
Food wise, Teddy also went a bit funny with her food after the first week - and i worried myself sick over it. Our breeder suggested a bit of wet food with her dry to try and tempt her which worked sporadically (think she may have been pining a little as well after all the excitement had died down). Although she will never refuse human food or a treat she never wolfs down her own food which out vet said is a poodle trait? As we only have the one (so no competion) and we feed dry, the vet said to just leave her food down for her to eat when she wants - just make sure you still measure her food so as not to over/under feed. Since we have done this she's been fine, she likes to pick at it and will gradually work her way through the measured amount throughout the day. She also adores the odd hard boiled egg! I know some people will say you should remove the food if they don't eat at the prescribed time but to be honest i think its about what works best for you and your dog and its worked for us.
Hope this helps - and good luck.

We had lola in a cage first of all but she didn't like that, and ten we learned they can collapse in an accident and she still hates the footwell, and they can be thrown around in an accident down there too - also there is a lot going on down there - vibration, it makes them feel sick, there's the air from the fans etc... so we bought lola a car harness that plugs into a car seat belt point and put her on a blanket on the back seat, in the middle.

The only problem is she does get caught up in the harness by turning round and we have to stop the car sometimes to release her... but she feels safe is safe, and doesn't get upset.

Awww - she is so sweet!!!

My Poppy is very poodley, and she only eats what she needs. I fretted at first because the others are real piglets, but I'm used to it now. It might be worth keeping a diary of Poppy's weight, and as long as she is putting on weight then donlt worry about her sporadic eating, but if she isn't then try a few variations.

Beamish hated the car at first. I did lots of short trips, and also sat in their with him when it was stationary, and gave him treats and toys in it etc. He quite liked the radio to be on as well when we were driving, and a puppy pad for panic wees. Good luck - Poppy will get used to it eventually.

Lovely pics of Poppy......pleased to hear she is settling in well

Like Teddy, Rossetti tends to be a bit picky with when he wants to eat his meals so we also leave a meal down for him when he doesn't eat it all in one go. He has recently decided he only needs two meals a day, but whereas we were expecting him to stop wanting his lunch, he has chosen to ignore his breakfast and doesn't eat his first meal of the day till around noon He was on Royal Canin when we got him from his breeder, but we changed him over to Orijen with toppers of Applaws sachets, cheese etc. When leaving a meal down though we just leave plain dry Orijen, although we make sure he still gets most treats such as cheese or tiny bits of liver for training etc to give variety

We also tried a crate in the car boot - we have a 4x4 - it wasn't his sleeping crate, but a smaller fabric one. Unfortunately though Rossetti hated it and just wouldn't settle, so we quickly gave up on that and bought a car harness that plugs into the seat belt point the same as Liz has for Lola. Zetti loves either having the back seat all to himself or else sitting in the front passnger seat next to DH.......especially with the windows open so the breeze can go through his coat

Poppy is adorable - looks very much like Max!

Max didn't like any food when we brought him home - I finally tried adding a bit of watered down home made chicken stock - he wolfed the food up. i gradually added less chicken stock and soaked his food in water. I discovered he couldn't tolerate chicken and changed to a fish and potatoe based - again he would not eat this dry but wolfs it down if it's been soaked for 1/2 hour before.

Re the car - I know this is not safe, but we live in the country and I don't drive far with Max, just across the moor. I put a cardboard box on the front seat, with some of his bedding in it. For the first drive I drove very slowly, continually giving him treats, talking to him (was only a 5 minute drive with no traffic on the moor). This seemed to do the trick, now he tries to jump in his box. He's getting a bit too big for his box now and I'd like to venture further with him so looking at harnesses now to put him on the back seat.

Also, loves eating food out of his Kong - dry! he bounces it across the room and then sweeps up anything that falls out. Lately I've frozen goat yoghurt in it with bits of food stuck in it. He loves it!

Hope these little hints give you some ideas! At the end of the day most people say dogs will not starve themselves! xxxx

Awww some good advice on here already given so just wanted to say hi and welcome from me and Alfie. Oh and btw - poppy you are scrummy! X

Hi & Welcome, Poppy is adorable. She looks like she’s going to be very scruffy, but you never can tell with doodles, that’s half the fun.

Good advice already given on the car & food. We use a seat belt harness with Wurly, she’s happy with it.

Hey hello and welcome to the forum to you and Poppy Doodle
She looks soooo adorable too!!
Daise, Gracie & Maddie xxx

Welcome Poppy, you are such a beautiful girl! Lots of fantastic advice already given about food and traveling so good luck. Lola wears a padded seatbelt and rides in the back of the car. She was a little unsure at first but now loves it!

What a beautiful lady she is! I tried to have Barney on my lap for the journey home But he was very squirmy and I had a box set up with a toy or two and blankets and he seemed much happier in there - I put my hand in to quiet him down.

Have you tried Natures Diet on her kibble? Or some puppy milk? Barney loved those

Thanks everyone for the welcome! We have decided to get a car harness for Poppy and a cheap bed with raised sides that will fit on the back seat between my 2 boys. Hopefully once she has some consistency for her trips out in the car she will settle pretty quickly. Food wise I just don't know what to do. Both the vet and the owner of the training school said to persevere with what we are giving her. I just don't think she likes it and am going to try and get some samples of different foods which I will use as treats to see if there is a particular one she likes.

I've been carrying her everywhere to help with her socialisation before her final injections next week. I tried her lead on today and she took it quite well. She is used to her collar although we don't leave it on all the time.

Hello from us ! Poppy is SOOOO Cute she looks really 'ickle'
good luck with her - sounds like she is doing really well.

wow poppy is gorgeous no advice on the food but with regards to the car,riley also used to cry/yawn in the car,he really didnt like it. a friend of mine told me to take him in the car every day,even if it was just to drive around the corner for a minute,so he would get used to it. i also bought him the padded harness with the seatbelt adaptor but i got that because of the safety aspect. it didnt take long before riley accepted the car and now enjoys his car journeys as it usually involves going to the woods for his walks

Wow Poppy you are beautiful and so small. When we first got our Poppy she was not to keen on the car but settled down quite quickly when she generally realised going in the car was going to mean she was going to have a nice walk somewhere.
With regards to eating Poppy hardly ate at all and she is 19months old now and that has only just changed recently, I think this is because she has been spayed now she just wants to eat everything. I was really worried that we were feeding poppy food that she didn't like but I think it was just she was a grazer rather than a wolfer. The vet told us so long as she is putting on weight not to worry.