Oodles of Cavoodles NZ

23/03/2026

Guess which 2 have been bunny hunting??

21/03/2026

Heads up prospective Puppy owners! There is some great info here about Parvovirus - worth educating yourself on 😊 (This is why I insist visitors remove their shoes when coming into our puppy area - as puppies who have not finished their full vaccination schedule are the most susceptible to Parvovirus)

https://www.facebook.com/share/15eS7N7Ed5Z/?mibextid=wwXIfr

‼️PARVO WARNING: PORIRUA DOG OWNERS‼️

There is a Parvo outbreak in Porirua and the virus is spreading fast!!

If you your dog or pup seems unwell, and showing symptoms or lethargy, being off its food, is vomiting or has diarrhea. Please dont wait, book a parvo test at your local vet clinic straightaway - the sooner your pup is diagnosed, the sooner you can get treatment, and the better the chance of survival!

HUHA is not a normal day to day vet clinic, we are a compassionate referral clinic.

This means to access our free nurse run Parvo outpatient clinic, you must see your vet first.

We are only allowed to treat your pet for Parvo with a diagnosis and referral from your vet. If you need help with the vet visit and referral to us, please call the SPCA for support.

Here is your check list

1. If your dog is unwell and you suspect Parvo, go to your local vet for a quick check and Parvo test - Ring first and stay in your car, they will come out to you. (you can spread the virus on your shoes).

2. If you cannot afford a course of treatment for the parvo at your local vets, ask them to refer you to our HUHA nurse run outpatient clinic.

3. Once we receive the urgent referral from your local vet, we will call you straight away to make a time to see you that day, or you can call us on 02744176474.

4. Our clinic is free, but you need to commit to coming to our Haywards Hill site every day for 2 - 5 days depending on your pets progress. You cannot miss a day! You, your dog and your family must stay in your car. We are a dog shelter and cannot risk the parvo spreading to our site.

5. Each day you visit us we will assess your pet and give the required treatment to support them. We cannot make the parvo go away, the virus will need to run its course. But with supportive care your pet will have a chance at survival, though please be aware that some pets don't make it.

6. Once your pet is through the worst and is eating without throwing up, we will send you home with tablets and you will no longer have to drive to us.

7. Even when better, your pet will still be contagious and spreading the virus for three weeks.

Please read
👇👇👇
IMPORTANT PARVO TIPS!!

It's Parvo season again. Please make sure your dog's and puppies are vaccinated!

We did a quick brain dump for you...we hope it's helpful xx

*Parvo can be walked into your home on someone's shoe, on the tyre of a bike or pram, or by a dog that has come in contact with a poo contaminated by the virus.

*Your dog can contract parvo from sniffing anything contaminated by a parvo dog poo.

*It may be already present at your home. Laying dormant from a previous tenants pet. Parvovius can lay dormant in soil or 1-9years!!!

*A dog/pup will show symptoms 5-7days after coming in contact with the virus.

*TIP: 1 part bleach to 30 parts water is a cost effective way to kill parvo in the environment.

*If your dog or pup is lethargic, off colour, is nauseous and off his food or has unexplained diarrhoea or bloody diarrhoea - please seek veterinary help immediately.

*Parvo is a virus and has to run its course, but a dog/pup left unsupported may die depending of the severity of the strain. So supportive care can save his life. In the most basic terms, due to aggressive vomiting and hemorrhagic diarrhoea your dog is at risk of severe dehydration and hypoglycemia leading to hypothermia and death.

*Vets can offer lifesaving pain relief, anti nausea medication, antibiotics, vitamins and electrolytes and fluid therapy.

*TIP: rubbing glucose syrup (called corn syrup in the baking section of the supermarket) into your dogs gums can help with weakness and fading due to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. If you don't have glucose syrup try honey or sugar dissolved in a little water.

*Poweraide (Not Surgar Free) or coconut water can be given given via a syringe every few hours to help combat dehydration. Take care not to aspirate your dog (make sure they swallow as you syringe, so the fluid doesn't go down their airway)

*TIP: Worm your Dog/pup. A pup with parvo who also carries a worm burden is at serious risk. The worm burden can overwhelm a sick pup and compromise chance of recovery.

*When you go to your vet do not get out of your car. They will glove and gown up and come out to you.

*There is a snap test (like the covid one, but re**al) that vets can use to identify a positive for parvo.

*No treatment is not an option. Dying from parvo is painful. Not treating would be cruel.

*Treatment options are Inpatient, outpatient or euthanasia.

*If you choose to be treated as an outpatient for parvo.
Do not leave your dog tied or kenneled outside it could become hypothermic and die through the night.

*The best chance of your pet surviving, is to be inside, warm and hydrated. The vets will give you medications and supportive items to help with this. In most cases you may need to visit the vet daily for injections.

*Your dog will feel too sick to eat. So offering them bland and easily digestible food like boiled chicken, bone broth or a vet prescription diet is best.

*TIP: Whilst it is important to keep your dog snugly and warm. Dogs with parvo have a sensitivity to direct heat. A heat pad that is too hot will burn them. So make sure hotties and heat pads are wrapped in a towel or blankets and are not placed directly against the dogs skin.

*Your job is to establish good quarantine/hygiene protocols in your home.

*Personal hygiene is so important. Wash your clothes and your hands and spray your shoes after each contact with the parvo patient.

*TIP: Spray the bottoms of your shoes with 1/30 bleach every time you leave home so you don't walk parvo through your community.

*Double bag any vomit, poo or soiled items so the virus doesnt leach out during disposal. Wash clothes in Clorox or another effective disinfectant...rural stores sell Virkon.

*Let your dog vomit or p**p on a wipable surfare that can be disinfected. Avoid p**p on your lawn. Pick up any poos immediately and spray the surface...continue this for three weeks after recovery.

*Do not take your dog off the property (aside car trips to the vets. And carry your dog to and from the car). And do not let your dog socialise with other dogs.

*vaccinated dogs can still get parvo. Though it is usually a milder case, it is absolutely possible.

*It will be just a matter of days before your dog dies or starts to slowly improve.

*Recovery from Parvo can take 2-7days depending on the animal, the severity and the strain.

*If you dog starts to eat and keep food down. It is a really promising sign🤗

*If your dog/pup dies😭
It's important to send the body (double bagged, sorry to be insensitive!) to be cremated (your vet can help with this), or if you choose to bury him at home, make sure it is a deep burial.

*If your dog survives. Remember he/she is still shedding the virus and his poo (and possibly the bottom of your shoes) with be contagious for another 3 weeks. So keep going with your quarantine and hygiene until it is safe. The vets can do another snap test to be sure its negative.

If you have anymore questions contact your vet.
Or reach out to us

P:027 4416474
Take care HUHA Community
Together we can save lives ###

24/02/2026

Good grief - get comfortable on my pillows why don’t ya Eddie! 🤦‍♀️

21/02/2026

Lucky Belle has her sister Cosmo (Ariel) back staying for the weekend while her owners are away ❤️ they have not stopped playing 🥰
This video highlights the incredible difference when you get a straight-coat Cavoodle in the litter!

15/02/2026

Took our 5 month old puppy Belle and her straight-coat sister Cosmo to a ‘Sniffspot’ today. If you haven’t heard of the Sniffspot app, it’s brilliant! You can book a timeslot to walk on other people’s private land - great for training puppies and walking reactive dogs without the stress of other people’s poorly-trained off-leash dogs running up to you 🙄
Will definitely be booking a few more around Tauranga - can’t believe I never knew about Sniffspot before now 🤦‍♀️
This particular one was fab cos it was fully fenced with a 6ft high chain link fence so could let the pups off the leash completely and practice recall!

12/02/2026

Finally feeling brave enough to share the passing of a very special dog, my original Cavoodle Great-Grandma Lucy, who changed my career path all those years ago when we bought her and her brother Toby as pets for our young children and then decided to start breeding.
Lucy was just the best dog with our kids and absolutely adored her puppies, as well as all her many grand-puppies and great-grand-puppies.
She had such a happy, fulfilling life and made it to 16.5 years old!
RIP gorgeous girl. Will miss you forever 😭
❤️ Lucy 2.04.09 - 10.10.25 ❤️

07/02/2026

I’ve shut the dogs out on the deck in the shade to chomp some frozen bones each as it’s soooo hot today. Guess who is feeling hard-done by? 🤦‍♀️

02/01/2026

My poor car! That’s clay mud covering them, not water 😭😭

30/12/2025

This is a subject very dear to my heart and VERY well written. Pleeeease teach this to all the children (and adults!) in your life!

https://www.facebook.com/share/16qVMqqJv1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY......UNTIL SOMEONE GETS BITTEN IN THE FACE.

And it was likely entirely preventable.

Sorry to come across all grinch-like, but this is the season for dog bites. Read on to learn how to prevent them.

1️⃣ ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE AND EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR DOG.

Most dog bites happen to someone known to the dog (i.e., a family member).

Many dog bite cases seen by professionals are a first incident that caught those involved completely by surprise.

They thought their friendly and tolerant dog would never bite.

Indeed, some dogs are a lower risk than others. But expecting a dog to NEVER bite is like expecting a person to go through their whole life without saying 'no'.

Everyone and every animal has a threshold. Some have far higher thresholds than others. But thresholds are not fixed. They fluctuate.

Bites are unfortunately too often the first behaviour people notice that reveals their dog is not as tolerant as they were yesterday.

Don't take your dog's tolerance for granted.

2️⃣ NO FACES NEAR FACES

I must have told my young nephew this 10 times across three hours on Monday when I visited my stepmum (who has two dogs).

A high percentage of dog bites are directed onto the face of a person. More often than not, this gives us clues as to what that person was doing immediatly prior to being bitten.

Children tend to have strong face-face orientation and a reduced sensitivity for proximity that others may find inappropriate or invasive.
Dogs as a species generally find face-face (especially head on and up close) threatening, with the threshold for perceived threat to be far lower (increased sensitivity) when the relationship is new or unstable.

When we see so many adult humans miss warning signals in dogs, can we expect young children to spot them too?

Warning signals include;

🎄 Angling the head away
🎄 Ears pulled back
🎄 Lip licking, yawning, tension in the face- especially in the muzzle (the mouth will often close tightly).
🎄 The whites of the eyes will often show (caused by the dog angling their head away whilst keeping their eye on the person and carrying increasing tension in their face).

Putting faces near or into faces doesn't enable an easy perspective to observe warning signals, nor does it give you much time to move away/ avoid should you see warning signals.

The safest thing is to is to not put faces near faces.
Proactively drill this saying into kids (nicely) until they start to remember.

3️⃣ STOP PICKING UP THE DOG / PUPPY

On my morning walk yesteday, I walked parallel to a family with two dogs for about 5-10 minutes. In that time I saw a young child pick up a small (ish) dog about 10 times.

The dog started running ahead and the child followed. The dog stopped to sniff something and the child opportunistically caught up and picked the dog up again.

If I were that dog, at some point I'd say "ENOUGH!" or "WILL YOU JUST F**K OFF!".

Running away didn't work for that dog, so how else can the dog communicate that they don't want to be picked up constantly?

A dog may be more quick to lose tolerance if they are stressed, tired, hungry or sore, and generally behaviour change (including reduced tolerance) is the first clear indicator people notice of a dog feeling any of these things.

Let's encourage children to not treat dogs like objects. Some adults will benefit from remembering this too.
Everyone should treat their dogs as though they were a Great Dane. Stop picking them up all the time!

Your dog has legs, they can move themselves around. Your job is to learn to communicate with your dog so they understand where you want them to move to, such as off the sofa, away from the christmas tree etc.

Interactions should be consensual.

🎄 Invite the dog to come over for attention.
🎄 Take 'no' for an answer (the dog doesn't respond to the invitation).
🎄 Interact with the dog without restraining them or blocking/ boxing them in. The dog should be easily able to move away.
🎄Stop the interaction after a few seconds, see if the dog wants to move away, settle down or asks for more fuss.

Excitable children and those who are enjoying the novelty of having a dog around them (visiting family with dogs, new dog brought into the family) are often at a high risk of invading that dog's space and doing so persistently.

Set clear boundaries, helping children learn to respect animals beyond forced cuddles.

4️⃣ LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

How would you like someone going up to you and giving you a cuddle when you're in a deep sleep?
How would you like someone physically removing you from your resting spot without verbally inviting you to move first?

Dogs get tired. Especially at Christmas when their routine is disrupted by increased activity within the home and often longer, family walks.

Tired dogs can be startled or grumpy.
Make sure your dog gets plenty of rest and that they are left to rest in peace.

5️⃣ RESOURCE GUARDING IS NORMAL BEHAVIOUR (to some degree!)

It's normal in dogs and many other species, including humans.

Take my Christmas present off me unexpectedly and I'll probably express how rude that was. Request for me to pass it over so you can have a look, and I'll likely oblige.

Forcefully taking food items or an object your dog has found off your dog increases the risk of resource guarding behaviours.
Let your dog rip the used wrapping paper up, or trade any items of concern for treats.

Ensure guests know to leave your dog alone if they are eating (food or a chew), and to leave you to deal with any problem behaviours.

If your dog is thought to be a resource guarder already, give them something enjoyable to do away from a resource laden context- such as when the family is opening presents.


6️⃣ STOP TELLING THE DOG OFF

I meet a lot of dogs who get shouted at a lot. A stressful existence for both dog and people involved!

At family gatherings, young children can mirror adult behaviour and other adults may also be involved in responding to the dog.
Before long- everyone is telling the dog off.

I'm not suggesting that dogs should be allowed to do what ever they please and we just ignore undesired behaviour.
My dogs have boundaries, and boundaries can be communicated with kindness.

If you have not spent the time teaching your dog what you'd like them to do, it's not very fair to shout at them for doing something you perceive to be wrong.

It's likely too late to teach your dog to settle on a mat or on their bed while you all eat Christmas dinner, not jump as guests arrive, not steal newly opened presents- more so if they have a history of doing that undesired behaviour!

Manage the environment- give your dog something enjoyable to do elsewhere. Ideally behind a barrier nearby, so your dog is not isolated (unless they can relax whilst being shut away somewhere else).

7️⃣ BE PROACTIVE

All of the above can only be achieved if you are proactive.

🎄Communicate guidance to guests in advance.
🎄Manage the environment and consider utilising barriers if you are cannot supervise or trust someone else to.
🎄Supervise (simply observe, pay attention) to interactions.
🎄If in doubt, get them out. Ask the human involved to adjust their behaviour - should you have time. Recalling the dog away is often the quickest solution.

Christmas can be chaotic. Booze is often involved, the environment is full of resources and things that smell delicious to dogs!

Things can get loud, people want to switch off, relax and fully enjoy the moment....... and that is unfortunately why so many dog bites happen at Christmas.

23/12/2025

Darling Stormie was spayed today. We just brought her home and Eddie is VERY concerned about her 🥺
He keeps sniffing her wound and whining, trying to wake her up 😞Wont leave her side❤️

28/11/2025

We were in the middle of hosting a pony party — kids everywhere, ponies being brushed, parents chatting — the usual joyful chaos. To keep things sane, we’d locked the whole Cavoodle pack safely inside. Doors shut. Windows closed. Cat door locked. Every possible escape route sealed.

Or so we thought.

Because suddenly… here come the dogs.
All of them.
Trotting proudly across the yard like they’d been invited.

So we wrangled them back inside, double-checked everything, and carried on with the party.

Five minutes later — there they were again.
Outside.
All of them.

Back in they went. Locks checked. Windows checked. Cat door still locked. At this point we were starting to feel VERY puzzled.

Third time: the entire pack appears beside us again, tails wagging, looking extremely pleased with themselves.

Then… we finally caught him in the act.

Eddie.
My stud dog.
Casually standing on his back legs, putting his paw on the door handle from the inside, popping it open like some sort of four-legged locksmith — and leading the great canine jailbreak three times in a row.

Mystery solved.
Door handle compromised.
Lesson learned: never underestimate a Doodle with opposable paws.
(And of course, the second we get out the video camera? Suddenly won’t do it 🙄)

19/11/2025

Belle is dreaming about something and Tiana came over to investigate ❤️