Welcome to the world, little ones. It's been waiting for you! ,
Your decision to adopt a Lumar Labradoodle is exciting, and we are looking forward to working with you to help you find the perfect puppy for YOUR unique family!
The Reservation Fee of $500 and first puppy payment of $1,800 are now due, for a total of $2300. If you have already paid the Reservation Fee, then only $1800 is due. Please plan ahead, as the mail is very slow. We STRONGLY recommend using UPS, FedEx, or USPS Priority or Overnight mail. Make your payment payable to Lumar Labradoodles and send to 2908 Greenwood Circle, Suffolk, VA 23435. Please put the name of the mama dog and your full name in the memo line. The final payment of $1500 is due when the puppies are 5 weeks of age. (The total cost breakdown is: Reservation Fee, $500 ; puppy fee, $3,000; VA sales tax, $300; for a total of $3800.)
Time to Prepare!
At this time we recommend you begin preparing to bring puppy home. The first step is to order your PawTree Puppy Starter Kit! You will find the essential nutrition and treat products that Lumar recommends to get your puppy off to a great start! https://shop.pawtree.com/lumar/myrecommendation/Products-Lumar-Loves
We have a list of other recommended supplies, such as shampoo, crate, and toys, under Puppy Care.
Your puppy will need a crate! Be sure to get the crate with the divider, which you will use to keep puppy’s space small when little (it helps with potty training!) and their space will be larger when older. Your pup will need a crate that is at least
42 inch crate: https://tinyurl.com/3bbs4w8h
If you have space, size up! As an adult dog, you want your pooch to have room to stand up and turn around freely! Crate training is important for many reasons, including help with potty training, giving puppy/adult dog a safe space to be unsupervised, providing a place for a nap, reducing anxiety, and setting proper boundaries.
Please use the crate for your doggo’s entire life, even if they spend less time there as they grow! The crate is a safe and happy space for your doggo–think of it as their “bedroom”! Also, when doggo goes to the groomer and even sometimes at the vet, they will be crated. You don’t want additional stress of the crate experience being unfamiliar to them. Please use the crate for at least an hour per day for your dog’s whole life so they remain content and comfortable there. This will be especially important as your pooch ages.
There are three videos! Please watch them in order.
Video 1: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wNbHiSxSSZU
Video 2: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yFKLjv69yNo
Video 3: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iYxXU4G3Y4Y
Preventatives
Fleas and Ticks
PLEASE pay special attention to the “black box” products listed above. The list is not comprehensive, so the rule of thumb is to say NO to **all** oral flea preventatives. They are newer, not as well tested as the topicals, and many ALDs have had bad reactions to them, including seizures and even death. It’s not worth the risk to your beloved pooch!
Heartworms
Heartgard is important for heartworm prevention! (NOTE: If you use Revolution/Stronghold, Heartgard is NOT needed. If using other topical flea preventions, it is necessary.
Resources
Check out our amazon page for recommendations on toys, snuffle and lick mats, treats, and just about everything else your pup will need! https://www.amazon.com/shop/lumaraustralianlabradoodles
We especially recommend reading: The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell. It’s a great introduction to puppies and their needs!
One of my favorite dog trainers has finally written a book! Adam Spivey of the amazing Southend Dog Training group in the UK has an uncanny understanding of canine behavior and shares it in a practical and easy to understand format in his book, How to Raise the Perfect Dog.
If you have children, the book “Raising Puppies & Kids Together: A Guide for Parents” by Silvani is a must-read as well!
Perfect Puppy in 7 Days by Dr. Sophia Yin is wonderful! Highly recommend this one!
Training
This is the time to look for a qualified TRAINER to help you being teaching your puppy. It’s important to start Puppy Kindergarten GROUP classes as soon as you bring puppy home!
In addition to this, we also highly recommend an online training program called Baxter & Bella which offers LIFETIME support at a very reasonable price. You can receive a substantial discount using our code “LUMAR25”! https://www.baxterandbella.com/
Snuggle Puppy
Want to make the transition home easier? Here’s a way! This adorable stuffed animal, the Snuggle Puppy, mimics the heartbeat sound of mama and has the scent of your puppy’s litter mates. It will provide tremendous comfort for your pup! Let us know if you’d like to purchase this for your little one! Snuggle puppies are $50
Frequent Questions & Answers
When can we begin obedience classes? You can start puppy kindergarten right away! We provide vet records as well as proof of puppy’s first round of vaccines. A reputable trainer will require that of all the pups, so you can be assured that everyone is healthy and vaccinated! (Particularly for the pathogen that is the biggest risk to a young puppy: Parvo. But also for distemper and influenza.) We give the first vaccine at 7wks and provide a schedule so you can continue the series with your own vet. After Puppy K, we recommend Basic, then Intermediate, then Advanced obedience classes. The more work you do NOW, the better behaved your puppy will be as an adult! PLEASE work with your puppy to attain their Canine Good Citizen certification. This hard work with bring you YEARS of rewards with a doggie who is happy, balanced, and polite–rather than one who is naughty, pulls on the leash, and jumps on people and counter surfs!
When does my puppy need to see the vet? Please set up a wellness and “get to know you visit” with your vet for within the first 3 days that your puppy is home. However, be aware that your puppy will NOT need any vaccines at that first appointment, nor should they receive any. They will have just had their first vax and it won’t be time for the next one yet! The next vaccine will be at 10 weeks of age.
When does socialization start? After all of the vaccines, right? Actually, socialization has already started, AND it’s CRITICALLY IMPORTANT to begin your own plan of socialization right away! Do not avoid socialization just because the vaccine series has not yet finished. Lack of socialization is a greater risk to puppy. We follow the recommendations of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. Please read their statement on this topic: Here!
What is socialization anyway? Is it meeting a bunch of new people? Making new human friends is important, but there’s more to socialization than just that! Socialization means exposure to new and novel stimuli in small and controlled ways so that puppy learns new things are not frightening. Your pooch needs exposure to new sights, smells, sounds, experiences, places, and interactions. So everything from new people to dogs you know are healthy/vaccinated/well-behaved (and under their owner’s control!) to rivers and lakes and car rides and cars passing on busy city streets. Have friends and neighbors into your house to visit, and take your dog to visit others. Play different styles of music, NPR, and sounds of thunderstorms, trains, and crying babies. Go visit a skate park and let your puppy watch, and attend sporting events or visit dog-friendly cafes. Attend training classes as much as possible, and take puppy out and about in your community to practice her new skills! And introduce puppy to people who don’t look or sound like you do. For the first 100 days at home, expose your puppy to something new every single day–whether it’s field trip to a new place, making a new friend, or sniffing a few tree on a walk. NOTE: No dog parks, EVER! They are unsanitary, germy, and you do not know how the other dogs will behave. More importantly, there is absolutely no benefit to your dog in meeting a new doggo off leash in an uncontrolled situation. Dogs have been seriously injured under those circumstances.
Here is a great checklist for socialization!
What size collar does my new puppy need? Your puppy will come with a collar that fits. Please be sure that you have a lightweight puppy/cat leash. We do not recommend harnesses. ALDs are smart and eager to please and will learn to walk politely on a leash very quickly with consistent and gentle instruction. If you find your dog starts pulling their leash as they grow, please do NOT resort to a harness to change the situation! That’s a training issue, not an equipment failure! For regular walks and general outings, just a collar and leash will work perfectly! You will teach your puppy this, and an advantage of enrolling in Baxter and Bella NOW is that you can start watching their videos and be prepared to introduce your puppy to the leash in the correct way!
Also, in the dog world a harness is a signal to a dog that it is going to do “ work.” Unless you are training your doggo for service or therapy work, he will never need a harness. And finally, the other issue with harnesses is that there are dozes of different types and they all work in unique ways. If someone else needs to care for your dog and they don’t know how to operate your harness properly, it could result in tragedy. Whereas almost everyone knows how to properly put a dog in a collar!
Reminders
We offer delivery!
Please TEXT Kristina if you would like more information! 757-943-1615. Our younger Lumar team members love to make puppy deliveries! (Ah to be young again when we thought driving up and down I-95 was fun!)
If you want to come to our home to pick up your puppy, that is fine too! Just text your address if you would like delivery.
Puppy Matches: I know you are excited to learn which puppy will be yours, but please be patient with us. First, we need to have the 7wk vet visit to make sure all the puppies are healthy. Second, we like to wait as long as possible to give us more time to get to know the puppies’ personalities and temperaments. We usually make puppy matches just a few days before Go Home to ensure that we are thorough in our process. We will send your puppy match with a picture and a description of YOUR unique puppy at that time! Trust us–it’s worth waiting for!!
Unfortunately we cannot guarantee a specific gender and do not take requests. We do not have gender differences in our breed the way some breeds do. Your puppy will be spayed or neutered and will become essentially “genderless” at that point anyway! You will love your puppy for WHO it is, regardless of gender!
The pickup date for your puppy is July 17 or 18. Please email Kristina with your preferred day and we will assign your individual pick up time. We ask you to be prompt (and not early!) out of respect for the other families.
Blessings, Kristina & the Lumar Crew
A note about timing: please realize that Mother Nature is always in charge. ALL DATES are estimates and cannot be guaranteed. We ask our families to keep an open-mind when it comes to a timeline.
