Bordoodle Tips
Health
Make a Pet First Aid Kit
A first aid kit is essential to any emergency situation. You never know when an accident will happen, and if you do a lot of hiking or camping where help will be at a distance, having a first aid kit and emergency plan could save your Bordoodle’s life.
Brushing Teeth
Regularly brushing your dog’s teeth is a vital part of their health. If you take the time to train your dog, brushing his or her teeth can be a fun activity that saves you from spending money on expensive dental care later on.
Create an Emergency Plan
While you may not want to think about the potential dangers you could experience throughout life with your Bordoodle, having a plan in place is incredibly important. Your plan should include where your pet will stay, who will care for them, and any important information they will need pertaining to your dog, phone numbers of the vet etc…
Training
Increase Focus & Engagement With Puzzle Toys
A simple way to keep your dog busy is filling a muffin tin with a few treats and placing tennis balls over each hole. This encourages your dog to sniff and search for the correct holes containing the treats.
Maintain Interest by Alternating Toys
Changing out the toys your dog uses regularly can keep them from becoming boring. This makes them more exciting and seemingly “new” when they come out of storage!
Get Excited to Make Recalls More Enticing
When teaching your Bordoodle to come when called, acting overly happy and exuberant, essentially making yourself the most fun thing in your dog’s world will help entice your dog to come back to you.
“Switch up the reward”
In addition to giving praise as the reward during training, include a high value treat, or even a short game of tug, fetch etc. using play time as the reward.
Teach Your Dog to Catch Using Popcorn
Rather than throwing a bulky toy at your Bordoodles face, try introducing the “catch” command using a yummy snack your dog is likely to happily want to catch in their mouth. Popcorn is perfect for this as it’s light and airy so it won’t hit your dog in the face with force. (Be sure to use plain air popped popcorn for this, any added salt or butter isn’t good for your dog.)
Bonding
Be Patient With Your Dog
It can of course be frustrating when your dog has a potty accident or does not obey a command, but do your best to have patience with your Bordoodle. Practice taking some deep breaths, shifting your focus to the goal you want to achieve and avoid any emotional upset. Yelling and outward frustration can be discouraging for your dog and that’s the last thing we want when trying to bond!
Spend Time Together
The more time spent together the more bonding will take place on its own. Simply being in each other's company gives both you and the dog time to familiarize yourselves with each other.
Pay Attention to Your Dog’s Preferences
Learning your dogs likes and dislikes is a great way to improve your relationship. Noticing where he likes to be pet, vs the places he’s uncomfortable with for example.
Physical Love
Petting your dog has been shown to reduce cortisol levels (hormone associated with stress) which can help your dog bond more closely to you. Spend time grooming and petting your Bordoodle to help jumpstart your bond.
Be Consistent With Training Commands
Maintaining consistency with training commands and the communication between you and your dog will prevent some confusion and frustration that may derive from that confusion. Having a good foundation of communication will help you bond closely to your Bordoodle.
Seasonal Tips
Summer:
Freeze Treats in The Summer
Putting dog treats in the freezer can be a fun way for your pup to enjoy a cool snack on a hot day.
Use a Cooling Coat
You can purchase cooling coats for pets that you run under some cool water, wring it out and wrap it around your pet. This keeps your dog’s body temperature down on hot days.
Avoid Hot Pavement
Taking your dog out for walks at dawn and dusk once the pavement has cooled down can be a good way to avoid scalding hot pavement during the middle of the day.
Winter:
Using boots specifically designed for dogs will help keep his feet clean of the salts used to melt snow. These salts are toxic to dogs if ingested. Keeping clean feet will prevent your Bordoodle from licking off the salt.
Keep a Paw Cleaning Station by the Door
Keeping a rag and a jar of water by the door to rinse and dry your Bordoodles paws can be useful to remove mud and salts from outside and keep your house clean.
Use Mushers Secret or Vaseline
Dog salves that are applied to the paws to protect against cold weather can help keep your dog protected from the elements for a short period of time as well as providing a bit of moisture from the dry cold.
Lay a Tarp Out
If you worry about your dog getting too cold during potty breaks in the snow, lay out a tarp before it snows and pull it back when you're ready to take your Bordoodle out. This will reveal your regular potty area where your dog can relieve themselves free from standing in the snow.