What has your Cockapoo experienced before they meet you?

This page will cover how your puppy is raised in our home, from whelping box to crate training. Additionally, you can read more about our visitation policy, communication with families, and take home/delivery day! As always, should you have any questions, you can visit our “Q & A” page here, fill out an application here, or shoot me an email at jake@atlaspuppies.com

First and Foremost: Our Cockapoos live in our home 24-7

Before your puppy is ever brought into the world, it is important to me that I also spoil and provide a good home for my adult dogs. Happy dogs make happy puppies!

In order to eliminate the stigma often accompanied with dog breeding, and to encourage the healthy reproduction/procreation of my Cockapoos, I ensure my adult dogs have the quality of life I want for my puppies out in the world.

My dogs share my home and time. We spend our time enjoying nature, but also make time to lounge about and binge Netflix like anyone else. We are frequent flyers to the vet for annual check ups, vaccinations, and litter/pregnancy examinations. My girls experience a full, happy life, and I genuinely believe that their positivity come across in their puppies!

The Nursery & Birth-2 weeks

As an in-home breeder, it’s important for me to have the puppies born & raised in a comfortable and calm environment. I want them close to my view, where I can easily check on newborns while not waking the resting mom. Moms require a private space, away from my other dogs, where they can nest comfortably and deliver safely. Pups require a space that has its own temperature, that I can darken when mom needs her rest, and that I can easily clean before introducing the pups to my hardwoods. The solution? I have a renovated a Harry Potter-style nursery extending from under my stairs into the living room, just off of the kitchen. Out of my years of experience breeding, an in-home, close-to-the-action setup has worked the best for me. With only one litter at a time, this cozy nursery allows mom to come and go, while keeping the puppies tucked away from the other pets.

I have renovated this adorable space into a full-blown nursery with over 21 square feet of insulated, faux hardwood flooring, adjustable lighting, and storage for birthing supplies, grooming supplies, etc . Additionally, it is easy to add a play pen to the entry of the nursery, adding an additional 12-17 square feet. The laminate is easy to clean, and has textured grip to encourage the puppies’ motor skills. The laminate flooring also continues up onto the wall to prevent puppy accidents from seeping between the trim and floor (lessons learned over the years!). Throughout the 8 weeks they’re here, I have ample space to alter the nursery to fit the needs of both the moms and the pups. From whelping box, to the entire nursery, to the entire downstairs of my home, my puppies enjoy their space and it functions extremely well for us! I’m a clean freak, so I have ample overhead storage for my cleaning supplies, and can illuminate the entire area for a good cleaning. When puppies are here, I clean their nursery wall-to-wall countless times in a day. It’s the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do before bed.

During pregnancy & delivery, the nursery is segmented as part whelping box, part escape space for the mom. My whelping box occupies one-third of the nursery space, and is necessary for a mom to birth her young. They typically have a protective inner barrier that prevents the mom from trapping her young between herself and the walls (in my case, PVC piping). The whelping box acts as a cozy nursing space for the pups, with heating pads and washable/reusable whelping pads. I can adjust the lighting how I need throughout the day and night, especially in the early stages when the moms are recovering.

other two-thirds of the nursery is where the mom has room to stretch her legs, eat, and drink without getting the puppies messy. To keep mom & puppies clean, it is important to give my girls their own space outside of the whelping box, but keep them close to monitor the puppies and keep them warm. This separation also helps as mom begins weaning, because she can escape the reach of her pups. But for the first two weeks, she’s stuck to them like glue and doesn’t normally want to leave their sides.

Tucked just off the living room, the nursery is accessible enough that it allows me to check on moms as their labor progresses, but private enough to make them feel comfortable while they nest. Inevitably, I lay down with them and nap periodically leading up to delivery. It’s usually an all-night ordeal, but they have to do the tough work, so I can’t complain.

In order to prevent moms from laying on their newborn puppies, PVC pipes are constructed to ensure the little ones can move around mom comfortably. I also have faux hardwood in the nursery, but utilize heating pads for the first few weeks until the pups can regulate their own temperature. Calm, dim lighting helps moms and puppies feel comfortable, and a blackout curtain allows me to give mom some much needed rest after delivery. Since I have one litter at a time, this nursery space has fit my needs perfectly.

When the time finally comes, I spend every moment of delivery with my girls, keeping them comfortable and calm. I hand-deliver each pup along with their mom, ensuring that they are breathing and have no noticeable defects necessary of immediate action. Once each puppy is breathing well, they can relax with mom and begin to nurse. I make sure each puppy can latch and that their nursing reflexes are strong. Additionally, I need to ensure that my females are behaving well with their puppies and not cleaning too aggressively or injuring the puppy’s cord. I’m so thankful to have such wonderful partners in my girls during this work! We work well together, and we trust each other throughout the process. Of course, it is devastating to have a stillborn birth, or a puppy that is struggling. It is for this reason that I devote so much time before, during, and after delivery ensuring that all puppies are safe and healthy. Of course, my girls are great at mothering, and I trust their instincts entirely.

Weeks 2—4

For their first few weeks of life, a puppy’s mother has to do most of the work. Until puppies can regulate their own body temperature, we must keep them warm, and their mom has to help stimulate them to use the bathroom. During this time, the puppies enjoy mom’s milk while I make sure that my dogs receive ample nutrients and added calories.

When the puppies become mobile, they begin to differentiate between their “bathroom area” and “sleep area”. I begin using disposable puppy training pads in conjunction with reusable/washable cloth pads. In addition to the faux hardwood laminate in the nursery, they now have three different textures to distinguish between. Without fail, they curl up and sleep on the cloth pad or blanket, and will begin to potty on the disposable pads. Normally, they ignore the hardwood, but accidents happen. The purpose of this method is to expand their nursery space as they grow, but maintaining a focus on where the “bathroom” is and where “bed” is.

Weeks 5-8

While their nursery is a spacious 21sq ft, I still connect a playpen to the doorway, allowing them to run out and have an additional space. The playpen also lets me block them from the nursery space while I clean. We continue our training on puppy pads during this time, but when the puppies have began to “aim”, they begin to explore the first floor of my home. I open the playpen and let them run crazy! I make sure that I put down pads near the back door, and near the door to their nursery. While playing, I’ll see the puppies begin to look for a pad and 90% of the time they’ll make it to one in time.

The puppies are also weaned from their mother beginning around week 4, and progressing through weeks 6 & 7. However, when the puppies go home, they will be entirely weaned and eating dry puppy kibble. The weaning process begins with a store-bought mixture of chicken, rice, carrots, peas, etc. that is fed to both the mom and pups (both during & after pregnancy). It is a blended dog food that is soft enough for the puppies to consume with no teeth. However, once their teeth begin to erupt, I introduce them to softened puppy chow. Gradually, I will mix drier kibble in with the softened until the puppies are eating solely dry kibble. The speed of this last phase is dependent upon when all of the puppies in a litter have their teeth. Some puppies will have a full set of chompers, while others will only have one or two. By week 7, all puppies should have their teeth, and will have no problem with dry food.

The nursery