Welcome to the Sanctuary Farmhouse Doodles Family

Healing Hearts One Puppy at a Time

Congratulations - your puppy is finally coming home!

This is a day you've been waiting for, but it's also a very big day for your puppy. From the moment your little one was born, they have been held, loved, prayed over, taught, and cared for as part of our family.

At Sanctuary Farmhouse Doodles, our puppies are so much more than puppies we raise. We truly believe God uses these precious little ones to bring joy, companionship, comfort, and healing into people's lives. That's the heart behind what we do.

Once you're part of the SFD family, you're family.

Bringing Your Puppy Home

Your puppy's entire world has just changed. They've left their littermates, familiar people, smells, sounds, and the routine they've known since birth. Suddenly everything is new.

As exciting as it is to show your new baby off, try to keep those first few days relatively quiet. Let your puppy sleep, observe, and learn your family's routine.

I'm safe here. These are my people. This is home.

Remember the 3-3-3 Rule

3 Days to Settle In

Those first few days can be overwhelming. Your puppy may be quieter than usual, extra sleepy, clingy, unsure, or have a few potty accidents. Don't expect too much too quickly.

3 Weeks to Learn Your Schedule

Your puppy begins figuring out the rhythm of your home - when you wake up, when they eat, where they potty, when it's time to play, train, rest, and sleep. Consistency matters.

3 Months to Build Deep Trust

Over the following months, your puppy's confidence and bond with you continue to grow. The 3-3-3 rule is a guideline, not a deadline. Every puppy is different.

Trust isn't something we rush - it's something we build.

Work Their Brain!

Don't focus on wearing your puppy out physically. Work their brain! Mental stimulation is incredibly important for a growing puppy. Training, sniffing, problem-solving, learning household routines, practicing calm behavior, and interacting with you all exercise that little brain.

What Your SFD Puppy Already Knows

SIT  •  DOWN  •  SPIN  •  WAVE  •  ROLLOVER

We teach these skills so you and your puppy have something familiar to do together from day one. Familiar training gives you an immediate way to communicate, connect, build confidence, and establish trust.

Keep Training Short & Fun

We recommend 3-5 minute training sessions several times throughout the day. Short and successful is much better than long and frustrating. End while your puppy is still having fun.

We use their regular puppy food as training rewards. Set aside some of their daily food and use individual pieces to reward good choices and practice familiar skills.

You're not simply teaching commands. You're building a relationship.

Your SFD Daily Puppy Schedule

Our puppies thrive on routine. This is the schedule your puppy has been following here at Sanctuary Farmhouse Doodles. Stay fairly close to it during the first few weeks, then gradually adjust it to fit your family.

6:30 AM

First potty break

7:00 AM

Breakfast - potty approximately 10 minutes after eating

Morning

About 40 minutes of play, then a short 3-5 minute fun training session, then nap in the crate

11:45 AM

Potty break

12:00 PM

Lunch - potty approximately 10 minutes after eating; play, quick training, then nap

4:45 PM

Potty break

5:00 PM

Dinner - potty approximately 10 minutes after eating; play, nap, potty, repeat

7:00 PM

Pull up water for the night

9:30 PM

Final potty break and bedtime

At 7:00 PM, pick up your puppy's water bowl to help establish the nighttime potty routine and reduce overnight accidents. Your puppy should have normal access to fresh water throughout the day.

Wake -> Potty -> Play -> Train -> Nap -> Repeat

The schedule is a starting point, not a stopwatch. If your puppy wakes from a nap, has been playing hard, or begins sniffing, circling, wandering away, or acting restless, take them out.

Feeding Your Puppy

WholeHearted Lamb & Brown Rice

We recommend keeping your puppy on the same food when they first come home. Go-home week already involves plenty of change, and keeping their food familiar can help avoid unnecessary digestive upset. If you eventually change foods, transition gradually.

Remember that part of your puppy's measured daily food can be used for those short training sessions instead of continually adding extra treats.

Potty Training

Your puppy has already been introduced to potty training, but they are not fully potty trained when they go home. They're babies. Success comes from routine, supervision, consistency, and plenty of opportunities to get it right.

·       Take them out immediately after waking.

·       Take them out after eating or drinking.

·       Take them out after active play or training.

·       Take them out immediately after coming out of the crate.

·       Watch for sniffing, circling, wandering away, restlessness, or squatting.

·       Always offer a final potty break before bedtime.

Use the same general potty area and a consistent cue such as "Go potty." Praise them right away when they go. If an accident happens inside, clean it thoroughly and move forward. Punishing after the fact does not teach them where you wanted them to go.

Prevention is your greatest potty-training tool.

Potty Bell Training

Begin on day one. Hang bells near the door you will consistently use. Before going outside, gently help your puppy tap the bells, say "Go potty," and immediately take them outside.

Bell -> Door opens -> Outside -> Potty

Crate Training - We've Already Started!

Your puppy has been sleeping and taking naps in a crate since 7 weeks old.

The crate itself is not new. We introduce crate sleeping before go-home day so your puppy already understands that the crate is a safe, comfortable place to rest. Your job is to continue the foundation we've started.

Use the crate consistently for naps and nighttime sleep and keep it positive. It should be large enough for your puppy to stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably, but not so large that they can create a sleeping area on one end and a potty area on the other. A divider can help while they grow.

Helping Your Puppy Settle at Night

For the first few nights, put your puppy's crate near you - ideally beside your bed. What's new isn't the crate; it's being away from littermates and familiar surroundings.

You may lightly cover the crate at night to make it cozy and den-like. Use a lightweight covering, leave plenty of airflow, and make sure your puppy cannot pull the fabric through the crate. White noise or a fan nearby can also soften unfamiliar household sounds and help your puppy settle.

Potty -> Crate near you -> Light cover -> White noise -> Sleep

If your puppy wakes and genuinely needs to potty, take them outside quietly, praise them when they go, and return them directly to the crate. No playing or excitement. As they become comfortable in your home, you can gradually move the crate to where you ultimately want them to sleep.

Don't forget daytime naps. An overtired puppy can look like a puppy who needs more activity when what they really need is sleep.

Manners Matter - Manding

One of the important behaviors we work on at SFD is manding: sitting politely gets attention; jumping doesn't. If your puppy jumps for attention, wait. When all four paws are back on the floor - or better yet, when that little bottom sits - then give them the love.

Teaching polite greetings now can make a huge difference when your puppy becomes an adult.

Recall - "Puppy, Puppy, Puppy!"

Your puppy is already familiar with an excited "Puppy, puppy, puppy!" Use it to encourage your puppy to come to you. Make yourself exciting, move away from them, use a happy voice, and celebrate when they reach you.

Reward coming to you. Don't chase your puppy.

We want your puppy to learn that running TO you is much more fun than running FROM you.

Puppy Biting & Chewing

Puppies explore the world with their mouths, and those little puppy teeth are sharp. Chewing is normal. Our goal is to teach them what they are allowed to chew.

Keep appropriate puppy-safe toys and chews available and redirect your puppy when they choose your hands, clothing, furniture, or something else that isn't theirs.

Puppy-proof your home like you would baby-proof for a toddler. Be especially careful with socks, underwear, hair ties, strings, children's toys, and other small objects that could be swallowed and cause an intestinal obstruction.

The Trade-Up Game

If your puppy grabs something they shouldn't have, don't turn it into a chase game. Instead, teach them that giving something up to you results in something even better.

Start when the stakes are low. Call your puppy away from something safe and offer food or another high-value reward. Praise them when they come to you, then gradually practice around more interesting distractions.

Leaving what I have and going to my person = something good happens!

Socialization - Without Unnecessary Risk

Socialization during puppyhood is incredibly important, but it doesn't mean your puppy needs to walk on the ground everywhere you go.

Until your veterinarian feels your puppy has adequate vaccine protection, be cautious about high-dog-traffic areas, especially places where unknown dogs frequently eliminate, such as dog parks and heavily used pet-relief areas.

Don't isolate your puppy from the world. They can experience different people, children, household noises, car rides, traffic sounds, new sights and smells, safe surfaces, and everyday family life. A stroller, wagon, cart, or carrying your puppy can allow them to experience new environments without unnecessary exposure.

Talk with your veterinarian about disease risks in your area and when they recommend allowing your puppy onto public ground.

Our goal is safe, positive socialization - not isolation.

Traveling With Your Puppy

If your puppy becomes suddenly wiggly or restless in the car, they may need to potty. Pull over safely and offer an appropriate potty opportunity.

During these early weeks, be very cautious about where you put your puppy down while traveling. Rest-stop pet areas may have been used by many unknown dogs. Choose the safest option available and follow your veterinarian's recommendations until your puppy has adequate vaccine protection.

Protect Those Growing Joints

Your puppy doesn't need miles of walking to be happy. Their bones and joints are still developing, so avoid repetitive high-impact activity, excessive stairs, forced running, and repeated jumping on and off high furniture.

Normal puppy play is wonderful. Let them play, explore, sniff, learn, and sleep. Young puppies need a tremendous amount of rest.

Work their brain more than you work their body.

Handling & Grooming Starts Now

Doodles require regular grooming throughout their lives, so we want being handled to feel normal. Continue gently handling your puppy's ears, mouth, teeth, face, belly, back, tail, legs, feet, toes, and nails.

Look in their ears, touch their feet and between their toes, briefly examine their mouth and teeth, brush them, handle their legs, and get them comfortable with their face being touched. Reward calm cooperation and keep these sessions short, happy, and positive.

Grooming is part of loving a doodle.

Veterinary Care & Vaccinations

Your puppy will go home with their veterinary and vaccination records. Take these records to your puppy's first veterinary appointment.

Your veterinarian can guide you regarding remaining vaccinations, parasite prevention, heartworm prevention, flea and tick protection, and individual medical needs. Recommendations can vary based on age, weight, health, lifestyle, and local disease risks.

If something doesn't feel right, we'd rather you call your veterinarian than wait.

IMPORTANT - Activate Your FREE 30 Days of Insurance!

30 DAYS OF FREE PET INSURANCE THROUGH TRU COMPANION

Please activate your complimentary coverage promptly after bringing your puppy home and be sure to use the activation code provided by SFD. We strongly encourage every family to take advantage of this coverage during those first weeks together.

Tru Companion Activation Code

____________________________

Date Activated

____________________________

And Then There Are the Puppy Crazies!

If one evening your sweet, innocent puppy suddenly starts racing around the house like they've completely lost their mind, welcome to the zoomies! Those sudden bursts of puppy energy are normal.

Make sure your puppy has a safe place to be silly, particularly when young children are around. An overtired puppy can sometimes look like a puppy who has more energy, not less. They may get wild, mouthy, jumpy, and unable to settle.

Sometimes your puppy simply needs a nap.

Give Them Grace

Your puppy is going to make mistakes. There will probably be a potty accident. Something may get chewed. You might lose a little sleep. They may temporarily forget something you were certain they knew yesterday. They're babies, and you're learning each other.

There will also be moments you'll wish you could bottle forever: the first time they fall asleep in your lap, the first time they come running when you call, the first time they look at you waiting for direction, and the first time they choose their crate and curl up for a nap.

Be consistent. Be patient. Work their brain. Laugh a lot. Take way too many pictures.

Enjoy this season. It goes so incredibly fast.

Once SFD Family, Always SFD Family

When you drive away with your puppy, our responsibility and our love for them don't simply stop. We want to watch them grow.

Send us the birthday pictures, the first haircut, the funny sleeping positions, training victories, vacation pictures, and the completely ridiculous things they do too.

If you're struggling with something, please reach out. We may have raised your puppy for only the beginning of their life, but you are taking them through the rest of their story.

It is an incredible privilege for our family to be a small part of yours. Thank you for trusting us with something so precious.

Welcome to the SFD Family.

With love,
Julie, Chris & the Sanctuary Farmhouse Doodles Family

Sanctuary Farmhouse Doodles
Healing Hearts One Puppy at a Time