Puppy Priorities

I’ve always said there’s nothing easy or convenient about having a puppy in the house!  Luckily for most people, the joy of owning a new puppy outweighs the bad stuff.  But it’s interesting how many things people don’t think about BEFORE the puppy comes home; most people consider the obvious things such as toilet training, buying toys, food bowls, food, a bed.  But a bit of forward planning on other things that some people miss can make a huge difference to introducing a puppy into your home with a minimum of disruption and problems.

A while ago I asked people what they wish they’d known BEFORE they got their puppy, the following information includes some of those answers as well as my own suggestions.

A Safe Area – puppies are into everything, they are curious, they explore, and they need things to do, and for puppies that generally means things go in their mouths.  Over the years I’ve known of pups who have ingested poisonous plants, human medications, chocolate, socks, and in one case illegal drugs (not on the owner’s property BTW it was on a walk).  Puppy playpens, child gates, crates etc are ideal for setting up a safe area for your puppy to be contained when not supervised.  Don’t give a puppy the full run of the house then complain they chew stuff and go to the toilet everywhere.  When supervised of course they can have freedom to explore and be in other areas of the house.

They Need Lots of Rest – everyone knows pups need exercise, training, social contact, and mental stimulation.  But they need lots of nap time too.  Overtired and overstimulated puppies can become bitey, mouthy, jumpy and just difficult to be around.  They need time to sleep and sleep properly without being disturbed so they’re properly rested.   They need to learn from a young age to be content just hanging around and relaxing sometimes doing nothing, otherwise there’s no “off” switch and they are always looking for something to do.  And believe me that’s not a good idea!

Get Pet Insurance – unless you are truly wealthy, and money is literally no object please take out pet insurance when your dog is a puppy.  I can think of 4 pups from my classes off the top of my head who have had broken limbs from accidents at home, probably before they were 4-5 months old; jumping/falling off furniture or retaining walls, in one case getting a leg stuck in the plastic slats of an outdoor chair.  Puppies swallow stuff, get bitten by insects, get sick …………. don’t wait until they are adults as by then you will likely have pre-existing conditions that won’t be covered.  I’m familiar with the common reasons people don’t take it out, but believe me when you need it, you will be glad you have it.  I never imagined I’d reach (and exceed) my maximum annual payment limit with any of my dogs, but with one of them this year I have, and that’s without anything life threatening or majorly serious.  It gives you and your vet additional treatment options that can hugely improve the outcomes.

Socialise your Puppy but do it Safely – it’s common knowledge that pups need socialisation, but many people don’t really know what this means.  Exposing your puppy safely and within their coping limits to other dogs, other animals, different people, new places and different experiences is socialisation.  Socialisation is not taking them out and throwing them in the deep end; going to a dog park or busy dog beach with a young puppy may well have the opposite effect to what you want.  Taking them to a busy market swarming with people who want to reach out and pat your puppy when they feel uneasy may well be detrimental.  It needs to be carefully controlled and needs to be a good experience for your pup and each dog will respond differently, learn to read your pup’s body language so you know how they are feeling.

Learn to Read Dog Body Language – if I could only offer one piece of advice to a dog owner ever, this is it!  Dogs are so incredibly good at communicating with us and telling us how they are feeling and giving us information about what they are just about to do.  Other well socialised dogs are great at reading other dogs’ signals.  Humans are not!  And humans need to get much better at it because it will go a long way to avoiding a huge number of problems.  Using reward based training and making sure our dog’s needs are being noticed and met goes a long way to them feeling comfortable communicating with us.  Using aversive methods that can scare dogs and cause them to shut down prevents them communicating, and that’s horribly sad.  This is just one resource for learning about Dog Body language https://www.doggiedrawings.net/freeposters

What Does your Next 12 Months Look Like?  Planning a holiday?  Do you have regular family/social events?  Do you often stay after work for drinks?  Do you have business trips away?  Do you go to big sporting events or concerts maybe in Sydney that means you will be away from home for many hours?  How will your puppy fit in with this?  Repeatedly I see on social media people asking for recommendations for someone to look after their dog at short notice for many reasons, which may mean that less than ideal arrangements are made with limited options.  Work out in advance if your dog can go with you on holidays or check out reputable boarding facilities or pet minders way ahead of time. 

Raising a Puppy is Probably more Time Consuming, Costly and Harder than you ever Thought – especially for first time dog owners or those who haven’t had a puppy before or for a long time.  Training takes time, patience, and consistency.  Puppies bite and chew a lot, be prepared to have consistent strategies in place to mitigate this.  Exercise, outings, attendance at Puppy Class, play time, rest time, feeding times etc all require planning and time and most require expense.  Do you have kids in the home?  How will you manage their interactions with the puppy to make sure it’s a positive experience for all?  Have you checked out the cost of everything you will need to do with and for your puppy eg veterinary care, toys, treats, training classes, grooming, food …… the list goes on?

These are only some examples of things to consider, there are many more of course.  Sharing your life with a dog can be one of the most rewarding experiences but does need some thought and planning to make sure things go smoothly.