Your Cockapoo’s First Year Milestones (How Exciting)

The first year with your cockapoo at home is so important. It is a very exciting time with both you and your puppy having to learn all about each other. You can’t talk dog, and your dog can’t talk human, so there really is a lot to learn from other sides.

Along the first year of bringing your dog home your life is going to change. There will be ups (passing puppy training classes), and there will be downs (letting your dog out at 2 am in the garden in the rain for a toilet break) but this is all part of owning a dog, especially one as cool as a cockapoo.

Like humans, the exact age they reach the points below may differ slightly, but here are some of the main milestones you will experience during the first year of cockapoo ownership.

Picking up your puppy.

This is also known as “gotcha-day”. This is the first day when you go and collect your puppy from the breeder and bring him back to his forever home. Make sure you have plenty of toys ready for him, a comfy bed and keep anything that can be easily chewed out of each.

These first few days will really test your patience. I was a first-time dog owner and I really didn’t know what I was in for. If it wasn’t for my wife who had owned dogs before I worry that I would have lost the plot. We went from a nice quiet house to having this crazy puppy who just didn’t stop!

Meeting the vet

You will be at the vets a few times during their first year. Firstly for their booster jabs before they are allowed out into the world. There’s also the chance that they may have an upset stomach or something else wrong with them. I think we took Luna a few times in her first year, most of it turned out to be nothing but it was just us as being worried dog parents.

Each time we visit our vets we see a different veterinarian. Luna isn’t a big fan of the vets as she doesn’t like people, but shes quite happy to go in but just isn’t a big fan of being popped on the counter and inspected. I guess they are all different, just like us. Some of us don’t mind the dentist, while some of us are terrified.

Your Dog Will be Toilet Trained (You Hope)

I’ve read articles about it taking 3 months to toilet train your puppy. Let me tell you it took us a lot longer than that. Maybe between 6 to 8 months.

We won’t tell you how to puppy train your cockapoo in this article but the key is to take your puppy out regularly as they have a small bladder when they are young. When they go to the toilet, you must reward them with lots of praise and treats. Luna is now 4 and I still tell her how good she is when she goes to the toilet in the garden. I don’t think shes had an accident inside for 3 years now.

Passing Puppy Training

Puppy training is something I recommend every new dog owner does. We attended a local one that was recommended on Facebook and did both their basic and intermediate ones. It also helped to socialise Luna with other dogs of a similar age and we would quite often bump into them on walks in our local area.

They Learn Their Own Name

It’s such a cool feeling when your dog starts to respond to their name. This will take time so don’t get frustrated if they don’t recognise it straight away.

I would recommend only using their full name at first. We just used Luna. Now she has all kind of names she responds to…. Luna, Lunes, Lunatic, Looney Tunes…..

They lose Their Baby Teeth

It’s cute to see them lose their baby teeth. Their adult teeth will be in by about the age of 7 months, but by the age of 4 months their little baby teeth will start to fall out. Sometimes you might find them near their food bowl, or stuck in a toy. This is no reason to panic as its a natural process. Most puppies will probably end up eating their baby teeth without realising.

When they start to lose their teeth it will be a very hard few months for you. Your dog will want to nibble of you, your kids, your shoes, your cushions and anything they can get their teeth into. Don’t worry though as this passes.

They are spayed or Neutered.

This is a big time in their life. We had planned on getting luna spayed at about 1 year old. However, she went into season at just 5 months old and we only realised because the local daycare told us all the boy dogs were interested in her. We waited for her season end and then booked her in. We went for the more expensive key hole surgery.

Happy 1st Birthday

When your dog reaches 1 year old its a great feeling. I think we got her a tasty treat, a new toy and went to the beach. It also means that their joints and bones are not far off being fully developed which means you can soon take your cockapoo on a run with you.