Rebarkable

Puppies change ridiculously quickly. One week they’re following you everywhere; a few months later, the same puppy has discovered squirrels, smells, other dogs and approximately seventeen things that are suddenly more interesting than you.

Labradoodles are a good example of why spay and neuter timing is harder than a single age on a calendar. Hart et al. did not study Labradoodles as a separate breed group, so there is no direct Labradoodle recommendation from the UC Davis dataset. What we do have is component-breed data from Labrador Retrievers and Poodles, plus a separate Hart study on mixed-breed dogs by adult weight. Those datasets are useful context, but they are not a substitute for direct Labradoodle-specific evidence.

If your dog has decided your carefully planted garden would look better with a crater in the middle of it, I understand why you’re here. But I’m going to challenge the goal slightly: I don’t usually want to teach a dog that digging itself is wrong. Digging is normal dog behaviour. For some dogs it’s an occasional hobby; for others it’s practically a calling. The useful question isn’t simply “How do I stop my dog digging?” It’s why are they digging here, and what would I rather they do instead?

The Problem With Doodles And Other Designer Dogs Aug 29, 2026 Are doodles really unethical? A dog trainer’s nuanced look at responsible doodle breeding, health testing, temperament, grooming and the myths on both sides. How to Get Your Puppy to Use the Potty in the Rain Aug 28, 2026 Puppy refusing to pee in the rain? Learn how to desensitise them to wet weather gradually, keep toilet training on track, and know when temporary management can help.

I feel like doodles have somehow become one of the most divisive subjects in the dog world. On one side, they’re marketed as the perfect family dog: friendly, clever, adorable, low-shedding and supposedly blessed with the best qualities of two breeds. On the other, you’ll find people insisting that every doodle is neurotic, every doodle breeder is unethical and nobody should be deliberately breeding mixed-breed dogs at all. I don’t really agree with either camp.

Potty training can be hard enough without the weather joining in. You finally feel like your puppy is getting it, then it rains and suddenly they plant all four feet at the back door like you’re asking them to walk into the sea. And that leaves you with a pretty rubbish choice: wait for the rain to stop and risk a toilet-training setback, or drag a reluctant puppy outside and risk making the rain feel even worse. The better option is usually neither.

Some dogs see snow and immediately become children. Indie, my German Shepherd cross, adored it—the deeper, the better. My short-coated coonhounds are rather less convinced that freezing temperatures constitute a recreational opportunity. That is the awkward thing about cold-weather advice: there is no single temperature at which every dog becomes unsafe. A healthy, conditioned Husky and a tiny, elderly Chihuahua are not experiencing the same weather, even when they are standing beside one another.

When I moved from the UK to Maryland, adjusting my poor dog to an American summer was a thing. British “hot weather” and a humid Maryland day are not the same beast—and dogs do not always make sensible decisions about either. That last part matters. A dog may stay beside you because that is where they want to be, continue chasing a ball because the game is exciting, or insist they are absolutely fine right up until they very much are not.

Dog collars look simple until you try to buy one. Then suddenly you are choosing between flat collars, martingales, leather, nylon, Biothane, tactical buckles, tracker attachments and enough widths to make you wonder whether your dog needs a wardrobe consultant. I have tried a lot of dog equipment over the years, both as a professional trainer and with my own very different dogs. Indie, my German Shepherd cross, had a substantial neck and an even more substantial ruff.

Traveling with a puppy is completely doable, but it gets easier when you stop treating it as one giant problem. Car safety, car sickness, toilet breaks, sleep, food, overnight routines and new environments are all separate pieces, and you can plan each one. The main goal is not to make your puppy endlessly adaptable in one weekend. It is to help them travel safely, stay below their stress and nausea thresholds where possible, and arrive with enough energy left to cope with wherever you are going.