bernedoodle puppy blog, fifth month

So in the previous blog post, I talked about living with a Bernedoodle puppy for three months. We have had a great time with him until now. And it’s a real improvement to our life :), especially in this dull Corona time. In this blog post I will tell you about my experience having our puppy for 5 months, including the following topics: potty training, cooper in the snow, food issues, healthy treats, car progress and training progress.

Potty training progress – Bernedoodle puppy 5 months

It’s still a lot of work, though. But luckily, we don’t have to walk him every other hour anymore. This because he can hold his blatter for an extended time period. 

At two months of age, he had to pee every hour and a half. But now that he’s has strengthened his blatter, he can hold it for approximately three hours (at six months of age).

And he hasn’t splattered our floor anymore :). When he has to pee, he indicates it neatly. So it comes down to a real improvement. Although… Sometimes.., when he is on the couch, he acts like he is gonna pee on our face. Because he lifts his leg above us…

Cooper in the snow

It’s currently winter in the Netherlands. And it hasn’t happened for a long period of time, but it is finally snowing :). Because it has been freezing for over a week, there were even speculations about the Dutch ‘Elfstedentocht.’ This is a long-distance tour skating event with natural ice, almost 200 kilometers long. But to setup this event, we have to have a freezing temperature for a prolonged period of time. So I bet it won’t happen this year.

And, of course, Cooper really enjoyed the snow. Digging, rushing, jumping, and making funny faces, he likes it all. I think the pictures below speak for themselves.

Food issues – Bernedoodle puppy 5 months

Cooper is quite picky when it comes to food. Of course, he likes meat with vegetables, which he gets two times a week. But sometimes, he refuses to eat when we give him his daily puppy chunks, with all the ingredients he needs.

In one way or another, he doesn’t like them anymore. It seems like he wants to push the boundaries. Or he thinks that he isn’t a puppy anymore, and that’s why he wants the regular chunks.

But we have to be tough on this. After half an hour, we remove his food bowl. So when he doesn’t eat, he has to go to bed with an empty stomach. He will eat his chunks anyway when he’s hungry.

However, we will soon give him chunks with another taste because he doesn’t like the current ones. It’s just a little pathetic to give him food he doesn’t like at all. We got chunks from the same brand, WOOOF. They’ve got 6 types, so they offer plenty of choices: Puppy, Regular, Duck, Salmon, Lamb Potato, and high energy.

Healthy treats

Today, I gave him his first raw egg. He really liked it, even the eggshell! They say it is very healthy for our dogs. And I also gave him some pieces of banana and orange, which he also likes.

These treats are healthy for dogs. Eggs are a great source of protein, which he needs for growth. Besides, they are also a good source of linoleic acid and fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A.  And fruits contain lots of vitamins.

But I don’t give him these treats because they are healthy. Actually, I am a bit guilty of pampering him. But as long as it doesn’t cause any harm, I will give it. I always check if these treats are healthy because some are harmful. 

Cooper went Shotgun – bernedoodle puppy 5 months

Cooper was quite anxious about car rides at the beginning. But now, he enjoys them a lot. He sits quietly when we put him inside his dynamic car bench. 

Now, we gave him a chance to prove his behavior in another way. No, he is still not ready to drive our car on his own. But we promoted him to shotgun driver of the day. Here are some pictures. No worries, he is wearing a seat belt. 

Training – bernedoodle puppy 5 months

Training goes quite well. He knows all the basic tricks, like sit, down, stay and paw. But we still experience some difficulties when walking.

Because he is easily distracted, I really have to get his focus before he listens. To get his attention, I try to lure him with treats and teach him to walk beside me. 

He is especially distracted when he is near other dogs and people. At those moments, he stands on two legs, like a circus dog. Although his balance is fantastic, it’s not that healthy for his legs. So we try to keep some distance from other dogs and people.

Every time he does the right job, I give him a treat. If he pulls on the leash, I pause his walk. This should eventually prevent him from pulling, although it requires a lot of dedication. This works really well. He will walk near me, even if I didn’t ask for it. But his mind is always with the cookie…

The kind of treat we give him really matters. Standard treats won’t work as well as treats with lots of chicken or beef heart.

Besides, I don’t use a retractable dog leash. Although I think they are quite handy, these kinds of leashes will teach your puppy to pull. Our puppy trainer strongly discouraged using them.