Getting a puppy! Any advice?

[TTlover]

Hello all. I am getting a puppy mid June. Any advice you could give from your own experiences?

Many thanks.

[CMOTDibbler]

Start practicing how fast you can run from the sitting room to the back door while putting shoes on.
Move anything that could possibly be chewed out of puppy range (shoes, controllers, cables) and enforce everything remaining out of range.
Read Total Recall by Pippa Mattison many times.
Sleep.
Every time you leave the house, think 'what would I be doing with the puppy right now', and when you have been out for an hour think 'who would be going to them now'. Plan for this.

[Wolfiefan]

Presumably you have researched the breed and breeder. Checked for results of relevant health tests on parents.
Worth checking out local dog trainers in advance.
Check the law. Eg you need a tag with certain info on the dog’s collar when out in public.
Choose a vet.
Join FB group dog training advice and support and read up on bringing pup home, first night, toilet training and crate training (if you plan to use one!)
Good luck.

[Wolfiefan]

@CMOTDibbler that made me laugh. I just sprinted to the back door to retrieve my hat that the pup had stolen and gone out to the garden/quagmire with. I caught her. Impressed myself.

[CMOTDibbler]

You are racking up the puppy pro points there Wolfie

The quagmire comment reminds me of another important skill - know a safe route to the centre of your lawn in the dark while avoiding holes dug by puppy, puddles, squeaky toys and other obstacles.

Also see: levitating from bed at 2am, pulling on sufficient clothing for weather en route to back door to stand in the middle of said lawn for indeterminate amount of time.

[Sillyscrabblegames]

Buy wire fencing and crates etc, always higher and bigger than you think you need. Start stockpiling puppy toys.
Identify some nice gentle dogs you can intro ur pip to before it completes its vaccination course

[Ylvamoon]

Oh ... something nobody tells you... if you get your puppy at 8 -9 weeks, they will naturally follow you around. I use this phase to practice heel walking. Just walk around the garden (a fw minutes) tapping your leg to get puppies attention and give heel command. They will stop doing this around 10-11 weeks. But it should be easy to continue the training as they are expecting it. This will be vital when teaching lead walking and be easier to help with pulling!
Training really starts from day 1 or 2...

[Wolfiefan]

A head torch. Preferably a rechargeable one.
Crocs. Or slip on type garden shoes.
Vet bed.
Things for the pup to chew. (Other than you!)
Yes those are bite marks in the crocs.

[Solomangrundy]

Wow!! You’re brave !!😁
I’ve had German Shepherds all my life and had my current Ddog as 8 wk old pup in 2015. Omg, she has been harder work than all previous pups put together 😱 My friend kept an email I sent her entitled “I just got a new puppy, get me out of here” and still reads it for a laugh🤷‍♀️

Hide, conceal or stick to the ruddy ceiling - ANYTHING you can see or touch basically!!
She got at the phone line outside the dining room window (£120 bill from BT to replace line) chewed doors and door frames and kitchen flooring and the corner of a brand new £300 freezer, nibbled the legs of oak dining table - and chairs and any bedding we got her was shredded in minutes!

Expect piddle everywhere (you’ll find it when you’ve got bare feet) ...🙄
We wondered where all her poos were going... she was eating them🙄

The baby teeth are like razors.. I looked like I had been self-harming on my hands and arms for months until the big teeth came through! She dug the garden with such vigour, we expected to see Australia, so we ended up covering the earth with broken paving slabs.. sooo stylish... when she got older and stronger, she dragged one in the house as some bizarre protest!

I love her to the ends of the (nibbled) earth, but goodness me, that first 12/18 months was a furry hell😱

Main rule is ... if you can’t actual see them, they ARE up to no good and NEVER give them the benefit of the doubt! 😂😂

The cuddles and the total love from them a l m o s t makes up for the trauma!!

[Wolfiefan]

Oh and if they’re quiet then they’re up to no good.
The only reason they’re cute is so you don’t throttle them when they eat you and the house.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Is the breeder letting you pick your own puppy? If so, think what personality traits you want - we wanted a confident puppy last time and, yeah, um, we possibly picked a little too well.

Name tags: slider tags are your friend (provided you have a buckle and not a clip collar) as they don't fall off unless the whole collar goes (normal tags have a habit of getting lost). Identitag do good brass ones.

Get your pup out into the open asap (vaccines permitting). Your puppy will not want to go far from you when it is young so use this time to work on recall.

Teach the puppy to be alone from Day 1. I would go in when she cried, tell her she was alright and leave again. It's like a toddler, if crying results in a midnight playtime, you'll be having a lot of those.

Have fun. Build a strong bond through play and fuss and training.

[StillMedusa]

They aren't all that bad!!!! (just so you don't cancel your puppy )
Mine never pooed in the house , not once, and only 3 wees... toilet trained in just over a week, has never chewed anything (we did move all cables etc )
I slept downstairs with her for the first 10 days and after day 3 she slept through the night, and gradually we moved upstairs (she moved up a couple of months later)

Never left her to cry..ever ..she is a velcro dog but at nearly 10 months is so chilled (ie lazy!)

We have tons of toys , play a lot, snuggle a lot and the only thing I wish is that I hadn't bothered buying a crate..she hated it even tho I followed the training guidelines so we dumped it and she sleeps where she likes !

Be firmer than I am with food tho... I have created a fussy monster there, but it's her only real 'fault'!

Enjoy...they grow so fast!

[NotYourHolidayDick]

Puppies are absolute undisputed total and utter arseholes. Pricks, wankers, nobheads, of the largest variety.

Take a look in the mirror. You wont look like that in a few months. Neither will your house.

Get used to mud, dog hair, dribble, mud, food, toys, slime, mud, poo, wee, and did I mention mud?

I am a foster carer for a rescue so I do actually like dogs believe it or not. And I am the proud owner of 2 myself. But my puppy is this close to a meeting with a size 7 welly and a steep cliff. Twat.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Depending on breed, invest in stout walking boots or wellies and a waterproof coat. Walking in horizontal sleet in unsuitable clothing is even more miserable than doing it waterproofed from head to toe.

[PestyMachtubernahme]

Don't overestimate how much walking you will start doing. ie don't get a german pointer unless you already like covering 3 miles twice a day.

Research well and choose a dog one size smaller and two categories less energetic than your first choice.

[pigsDOfly]

They're not all terrible, my dog was lovely as a puppy, very easy to house train, slept through the night really early, never chewed anything inappropriate. She was so easy.

However, do be prepared for adolescence at around 8 month, later for larger breeds, that's when my dog, and to be honest most dogs, became 'challenging'.

Start the training from the word go. Not just the house training but sitting, recall etc and be consistent.

Decide where you're not going to allow puppy to go: upstairs, on the sofa, beds etc and again be consistent - make sure everyone in the household is consistent with these things as well.

Puppy proof your garden, if you have one. Block any escape routes - puppies can become surprisingly slim when wriggling through holes - and make sure there is nothing poisonous that puppy and dig up and chew; it's surprising how many common plants are poisonous to dog, things like daffodil bulbs for instance.

Get good insurance from the beginning, even is you have some free insurance from the breeder, set up your own. Make it lifetime cover and get the highest level of cover you can afford.

Find a good vet, ask around and research it.

Look for a good training class. Again, research this well and only go to a training class where they use positive reinforcement. Book ahead as good classes will fill up quickly.

Build a strong bond with your puppy, this takes time and effort; don't feel you're failing if you don't feel you're bonding overnight.

Making training fun and rewarding for you and puppy is one of the best ways to build the bond so enjoy your puppy.

It can all seem a bit overwhelming at times, but we've all been there, and if you do feel a bit overwhelmed it's perfectly normal; read the puppy support threads on here.

Most of all enjoy the exciting journey ahead.

[ValedictoryMessage]

We are 4 weeks in and I'd say don't. Go for a 18 month or 2 year old where you can see the temperament. Ours is very very clingy and I can't see her ever being on her own.

She's gorgeous but my god she's hard work. You really can't take your eyes of them for a minute.

[Wolfiefan]

@ValedictoryMessage.
Don’t despair. My first was the same. Glued to me. Chewed through a wall when I popped to the toilet.
The FB group dog training advice and support are great. I followed their advice for separation anxiety and now she’s quite happy to be left.

[ValedictoryMessage]

We're trying - but she loves a bit of company!

[Wolfiefan]

It’s early days!

[Wolfiefan]

Came back to add. Batch cook!!!!
It’ll make the early weeks so much easier if you have meals ready in the freezer. @TTlover

[TTlover]

Thank you all

[lorisparkle]

We joined the Facebook group 'dog training advice and support' after we got our puppy. I wish I had joined before and read all the advice on there. Lots of tips on the first night, socialising, training, etc. Fab!