Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2025 Poal.co

229

First one I’ve ever had. Bernadoodle. I wanted a Rhodesian ridgeback, but the wife (petite) was afraid of how well she could handle it if it chose to be difficult. As most of you know, marriage is a compromise…I lost this one.

I’ll pick it up in two weeks. Kiddos are going to be crazy excited.

First one I’ve ever had. Bernadoodle. I wanted a Rhodesian ridgeback, but the wife (petite) was afraid of how well she could handle it if it chose to be difficult. As most of you know, marriage is a compromise…I lost this one. I’ll pick it up in two weeks. Kiddos are going to be crazy excited.

(post is archived)

[–] • 7 pts 10mo

Learn about obedience training, and teach your kids how to do it consistently. Also grapes/raisins, chocolate, and onion type plants are poisonous to dogs.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

I knew about chocolate…raisins and grapes I didn’t. So much to learn. Obedience training is a given, though. It will understand its place.

[–] • 5 pts 10mo

Hang bells by the door. Every single time you potty the puppy, lift its arm to hit the bells and say Touch Bells. In no time it'll hit the bells to go outside.

[–] • 0 pt 10mo

That’s one of the tricks I’ve read about and plan to implement. Seems like an easy button.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

We've done it successfully with three dogs . The key is to be 100% consistent with the training

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

The kids range in ages from somewhat responsible to reminding them to put pants on…consistency with them will need difficult. Maybe a chance to train them as well….

[–] • 4 pts 10mo

As a puppy, every time you feed the puppy, pet his face, and have your hands close to his food. Doing this will ensure that he grows up knowing that a hand near him when feeding or going near his food is nothing to be worried about, and then you won't have to worry about him biting a kid because the kid got too close to his face.

Have specific chew toys for a puppy. They will be teething and need to chew on something, so make sure it is something that you won't mind him chewing on. They like ice chips/cubes. If you make some bone broth and freeze it (no onions or other things that will upset his stomach), you can drop a block of it into his bowl and he'll chew on that for a while, get nutritious food and chill his sore gums as those babu teeth break through.

If he bites someone because he is teething, yelp like a puppy would if it was hurt. That is dog code for "I'm hurt, stop biting" and they will. You can use it for inanimate objects as well, but you need to also establish your dominance over the dog or he'll think you are a bitcb.

Get the kids involved in the daily walks and picking up the shit, fiving the dog baths and feeding him. Make sure the kids dedicate time to playing with the dog every day, and you'll end up with a loving dog, and kids who will know how to care for someone thay they love.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

And yeah - expectation is that the kids do a chunk of the admin stuff. This is a responsibility builder for sure. Little Bruce will not just be a play thing; I don’t plan on touching shit in the back yard. That will be their duty.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

Duty or doody..lol

[–] • 0 pt 10mo

Wonderful advice. Thank you. I’m definitely in learning mode here.

[–] • 2 pts 10mo

You'll love having a dog.

[–] • 0 pt 10mo

I think I will…neighbors all have dogs that run all over them. Making sure he’s trained will be key; I don’t have any patience or bandwidth to worry about and deal with a dog that doesn’t know its place.

[–] • 2 pts 10mo

Congrats! Between me and my daughter, we have seven lol. Two of them are large. I agree with @BANKSTER_COMMANDO, obedience training is key. I recently took in a young male Doberman from an awful situation. He goes to a board and train facility next week. If you can afford to buy a dog, make sure you can afford obedience training. It WILL make all the difference in the world, even for small or medium sized dogs. Good luck!

[–] • 1 pt 10mo (edited 10mo)

7?!? Jesus…I have 4 kids, and the thought of adding one is intimidating. I can’t imagine 7!

Obedience training is a given. Between that and my hard headedness, I plan on taking zero shits. My neighbor buddies all have dogs that run all over them, and I can’t understand it. This will me an addition to the family, but will 100% know its place.

Edit - good luck with the Doberman!

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

How to train is simply time and consistency. Take the time to train your kids first. Make a list of what all needs to be done as far as training goes and how you want it to go, then make sure your kids understand.

For instance, you can incorporate hand signals in addition to verbal commands. Tell the dog to sit and hold your hand up at the same time. Eventually, you don't need to speak, just the hand signals will work. If this is something you're going for, make sure everyone knows what commands go with which hand signals from the beginning.

Look up a half hitch, it'll keep the dog from pulling on a leash. Take the leash from the collar, run it down the back, wrap it around the stomach once and lead it back under itself (make sure not to catch anything important if your dog is a male.) It causes discomfort when they pull, they don't like the pressure on the tummy as the leash squeezes when they pull. Once you know how, show everyone else. Done early enough and done consistently, the dog won't pull even without the half hitch being used.

Me, if I had the time, my voice and my commands would be the dogs leash. Hope everything goes smoothly with puppy training. Good luck!

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

I’m definitely soaking things up now. Training will be a learning curve…don’t know what i don’t know. I do appreciate all the advice, though, and seeing the consistent theme across everyone’s post: be consistent.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

A mountain poodle. Very cool. and For a larger dog, they have longer lifespans than I expected. Enjoy your new best friend, securtiy guard, and family member!

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

Very much looking forward to it. I hope he’s a protector…that’s why I wanted the ridgeback so much. I travel a decent amount for work, and have always loved the idea of a dog that has no fear of handling threats. Ridgebacks were bread to hunt lions…and they don’t bark. They just let you know where the line is…god help you if you cross it. I don’t know that a poodle mix will really fit that temperament, but again…compromise is key in a marriage.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

Little old lady at my dog park had a ridgeback. George. They were both sweet. The B'doodle will be great too.

[–] • 0 pt 10mo (edited 10mo)

I think the doodle will be good. Probably sweeter temperament and easier to train than a ridgeback…but something as stoic as the ridgeback has always been a huge positive in my eyes. And it’s from rohdesia. Slot floppies.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

No cooked chicken bones!

I lost a dog that way and I’ll never forgive myself

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

Oh man…sorry to hear that. We don’t have ours yet, but simply mentally preparing has me feeling like he’s part of the family. I can’t imagine the heartache of losing him over something so benign.

Thanks for the heads up, though.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo

Over a decade later I still think about it fairly often. I have two dogs now and to this day when I make chicken I take the garbage with bones in it and place that bag in the chest in my truck bed to bring to work to throw in the dumpster.

[–] • 1 pt 10mo (edited 10mo)

Apparently I'm the odd one out. You don't buy dogs you adopt them. Plenty of shelter dogs worthy of a good home out there.

To add to that statement.

Fuck all y'all.

[–] • 0 pt 10mo

We were looking for a relatively known commodity for the first one…. We’ll see how this goes. Maybe a shelter dog / rescue dog is in the cards for the future. With as many kids as we have, though, reduction of stress is always helpful.