What do you wish you'd known before getting a puppy?

[Cardell27]

We bring home our first puppy next week, a little rescue terrier. We've done plenty of research and feel pretty prepared, but I thought I'd tap into the collective wisdom of mumsnet. What do you wish you'd known?

Puppy blues are a real thing and however much you are looking forwards and prepared you will have moments where you think what have we done that you need to power through

puppies whilst cute are babies so you can love them and it takes time for them to grow up enough to fill the role in the family that you want. My dog is my best friend, but it took him about 20 months to grow into that role

Just how amazingly wonderful dogs are.
Socialise them early don't expect them to be perfect.

How time-consuming they are. I'm eternally glad that I had DH to do 50% of the work - I really, really wouldn't want to do it alone.

Even now he's six, it's so much easier to have someone else to help you. It means your life isn't quite so restricted or driven by the dog as there's always someone else to pick up the slack.

Start from minute one training for the dog you want on toilet training, jumping up, car rides. It is much easier for your dog to learn a boundary that to understand that one has changed.

personally I toilet train that mine can only go on walks (it does mean more effort because I have to pop a lead on 4 times a day) but I don’t want shit and wee in my garden. So really thing what works for you as a family and train for that - anything is possible-but stick with it

That it was a lot easier than those on mumsnet suggest. I had nightmares for the first few days that my house was going to be ruined, separation anxiety was a certainty etc etc.
I never caged mine, she slept all night through in her basket shut in one room with puppy pads near the door and when she first came to ours we went straight into the garden where she pooed and was made a big fuss of. That meant very few accidents in the house.
Enjoy your puppy.

We foster so have done the puppy thing more often then is probably mentally healthy

My top tip is to practice calm and don't start loading them up with activities if you can't maintain them

like children, dont let them get over tired. Often bad behaviour is because they are overwhelmed or over tired. It's tempting to look at a dog biting, jumping up or manically running about as a dog in need of play but usually it's a dog in need of a nap. You can play with them and hope they crash from exhaustion but in general once they've "lost it" then the only way to get them back is rest. Puppies need to be spend so much time sleeping it's ridiculous but the need for forced naps, or forced downtime continues well into adolescence.

There's a real push towards enrichment these days which is fantastic but dogs should be taught how to settle. Eventually you'll get to a wonderful bit where they realise they've got manic and take themselves off for a nap

Think of a kid manically running around at a soft play, eventually they lose it and become shouty and pushy if left to exhaust themselves, or a toddler at 10pm they look hyped but actually they need sleep.

It's also the same with walks. Puppies really shouldn't Walk much past 5 min per month of their age. It's tempting again to try and walk a 6 month old hyper maniac into tiredness, and there's two outcomes to this. Firstly you build stamina, you end up needing to walk further and further each day and start marathon training the dog until it needs high levels of activity and a regular walk doesn't cut it and once again an overtired dog is a horrid one.

Secondly you can really damage joints. We did permanent damage to our labs joints by over walking him as a pup in an attempt to calm him

Oh the other thing is adolescence is tricky. You'll crack lose lead walking, recall etc and feel smug. It will suddenly go down hill. This is completely normal and eventually settle but don't rely too much in having cracked stuff before they are 8 months as adolescence will hit.

That I'd be outside at all hours of the night with them to go for a wee so October was a really mad time to get him!

Also I spent a fortune on 2 puppy crates and then a big puppy pen (large breed) - I would go straight for the pen next time. The pen had removable panels so I could have made it bigger as we went.

Also as my vet said, don't let your puppy or dog have anything harder to chew than something you can indent with your finger. That was after the antlers, buffalo horns, coffee wood, marrow bones etc. He had a damaged tooth most likely caused by chewing one of those :-(

Obedience training from the get go. I took on an 8 st adult dog last year. He is a loving gentle giant but bloody hell is he obstinate! Much harder to train as adults with unwanted behaviours.

Start as you mean to go on. What's cute in a little scrap of floof isn't cute in an adult dog.

So... Jumping up at people, getting on the sofa, playing keep away with shoes.

Keep things calm. If you want a calm adult dog then you start by having a calm puppy. Having a word for being done with play, or to break play when things are getting hyper is a great thing. Stop before it gets crazy and anyone gets carried away.

Training starts the day you bring them home. By day 2 or 3 they should understand they sit and wait for their dinner to be put down, that sort of thing.

Have a crate or a space where the dog can go and won't be bothered.

The most life-saving thing you can teach them is threshold training. They dont go out your door without your say so. I've got a German shepherd and our door didn't catch properly when I left the house a couple of weeks ago. Husband was indoors but upstairs in his office. When I got home, my dog was just chilling in his bed by the door.

Don't go to any dog training that is punishment based. Reward based training is the bomb. Alpha theory is utter bunkum, dogs want to work with you not usurp your leadership at every turn.

Terrier? Prepare for the digging up of the lawn and the need to ‘kill’ toys. They don’t necessarily stop destroying stuff just because they’re no longer puppies (goodbye favourite shoes/trainers, you’d think I’d know after 3 lots of pups)

Train a solid recall so they don’t run up to people/other dogs/not come back from trying to climb trees for the squirrels! Ask people if they can say hello to them/dogs calmly. Mine were taught to sit quietly to greet other dogs when allowed.

Puppy proof the house and garden, ours is like Fort Knox after 2 very determined escapees.

Don’t feed supermarket food if you don’t have to, the quality is awful and if their poo looks like Mr Whippy, it doesn’t suit them.

That it's much worse than having a baby, as they'll never learn to listen and do as they're bloody told.

That the puppy stage lasts 18 months at least and they'll still shit on the rug at 2.5 years, given half a chance. Sometimes there are no signals and even the expensive puppy trainer agrees.

That they will react to every dog walking past, high vis jacket, wheeled vehicle (inc buggies and scooters), plate coming out of the cupboard, bird (or leaf blowing in the wind) like the end of the world is nigh.

Don't over-socialise them, especially if you have a breed with a very friendly nature. Socialising is good but they don't need to play with every dog they see or groups of dogs at the park, or you'll spend the next 3 years constantly training to overcome them wanting to play with every dog they see.
Get good insurance that doesn't rise each time you claim. Get the lifetime cover one.

1. Dogs appreciate enthusiasm and love as much as physical treats. The more relaxed and happy you are around your dog (lots of deep breaths😅), the more relaxed and happy your dog will be.

2.socialise, socialise, socialise (Dogs humans and other!)

3.Always have teddies about to hand off to your dog if they are mouthing/ try to nip (invaluable with us as we have the bitiest of all dogs, a cocker spaniel, who knows now to pick up a teddy if he ever feels like opening his mouth
4.watch me is a great trick and has taken our dog’s attention (sometimes) from potentially dodgy situations (point to your cheek and tell them to sit, then say ‘watch me’ then treat when they do. It should get to a stage where you’re holding the treat bedside you in the other hand but because you’re saying watch me they’re watching you. Then reward.
5.keep your dog next to you/ on lead/ in another room when kids visit, even a cute mouthing puppy is potentially scary for them
6.dogs will never like the dog toys you think they should 😅
7.Easy peasy puppy Squeezy is the best dog book ever!
8.dogs are headwrecking and you’ll regularly say ‘I wonder if this was a mistake’. They rarely are (rose tinted glasses firmly on even though my dog is trying to escape a lot lately and I’m WRECKED😅) Best of luck op!

But that’s a very individual thing. Some puppies are easier than others, you got lucky which isn’t to say that OP will too. It’s a good thing in my opinion having some realistic expectations - if pup defies those then that’s great but it’s good to know that you’re not alone if you don’t get the ‘dream’ puppy and find it challenging (which most people do)

Get the best insurance you can afford and make sure you get a covered for life policy
Always get a good quality high meat content food a lot if dog food is only 4% meat which is garbage

That it was a lot easier than those on mumsnet suggest

That mostly down to luck though. I actually think MN is pretty realistic about dog ownership unlike lots of other sites who say to just go ahead and the puppy will adapt to whatever your lifestyle happens to be.

That when you’re doing your best to housetrain a puppy, and you’ve put them outside after a meal hoping for a 💩, it’s entirely normal for him/her to spend a good 20 minutes racing round the garden - but then come in and almost immediately poo on the carpet in front of the TV.

• Have way more kitchen roll, wipes, antibacterial floor spray etc than you ever thought possible at the ready for toilet training mishaps. We went through loads in the first few weeks. Also have a good hand lotion - my hands were raw from constantly mopping up.
• As others have said, the ‘puppy blues’ are real. I felt more depressed and stressed in the first months than when I’d had my DD
• Have proper discussions between the others in your family about agreeing what your boundaries are re dog on the sofa/bed etc BEFORE the puppy arrives. My husband always had dogs growing up, and always allowed all of them on the sofa, so assumed we would too. It was cute when he was a tiny pup, snuggled up next to us, not so cute as a fully grown dog. After our old sofas became utterly destroyed, I insisted that when we bought new ones, we compromise by only allowing dog on one sofa, with a protective dog blanket on it.
• Be prepared to spend a lot more time cleaning your house, unless you’re happy with dog hair everywhere, mud all over the rugs, and general dog ‘sminge’ (what I call the dusty yet greasy marks they leave when they rub themselves anywhere, especially on skirting boards etc) I find this to be one of the most challenging things of having a dog tbh, trying to keep everything clean.

One that I actually did know, but is a GREAT tip, as I was quite surprised at how other dog owners would only train things a few times a week and then wonder why puppy wasn't making any progress in certain areas:

Write a list of everything puppy will need to do as an adult.
(Sit, stay, bed, leave, being alone in the house, going in the car, being handled at the vets)
Figure out HOW you are going to train each of these things, and make sure everyone in the household knows so there's a consistent approach.
Write a list and put it on your fridge.
Do EVERYTHING on the list AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. (Apart from recall, which you need to do a million times a day until you are sick of it)
Repeat forever.

Oh and buy a puppy pen. Lifesaver when they get bites!

Let them off lead as soon as you can somewhere safe….straight after vaccinations. they stick with you when little….take high value treats. we used to plat hide and seek with ours. if you leave it to late to let off lead they will be over confident and disappear. Also (most) adult dogs give puppies a lot of grace till they are about 3 months.

try and get them used to vet. our vet does little puppy meet and greet with treats and putting them on the scales.

treats…for you and dog.

easy peasy puppy squeezy was a good book

Praise the behaviour you want and try to ignore bad behaviour or take them calmly away from the bad thing. Reward the behaviour you want in an adult dog.

we wish we hadn’t started ours sleeping on our bed or on the furniture….and say we wouldn’t if we get another dog….but I think we are lying. She’s a joy to snuggle up to.

I wouldn’t crate.

That there would always be someone waiting for.me after I'd been to the loo. It's like having a permanent toddler.

We had petplan insurance on our dog for 13 years. We had a lifelong condition and they paid everything we put in over the years they really are the best insurance to have

From my experience of training five dogs (mainly rescues; wide variety of ages)...

Always crate train, whatever others upthread have said. This gives the dog their own safe space, and means that you can shut them in when you have visitors they mustn't mix with, or tradesmen who seem unable to shut doors behind them. It also helps with toilet training as dogs don't like to soil their beds. And, if ever you need someone else to look after them in an emergency, it's way easier for everyone.

Make 'stop/wait!' and recall the most important things that you train: they can save lives.

From my experience of having my first dog run over and killed, and having just seen exactly the same thing happen to someone else's dog on the walk from which I've just returned.....

Do not let your dog off the lead, ever, unless you are in a completely safe, enclosed space. Just don't. They are animals. My first dog was a velcro dog, a border collie, who was trained to respond to the flicker of an eyebrow, but he still lost control one day and chased a fox across a main road. It was the worst day of my life (and I've had some awful experiences!). Don't let that happen to you..... please.