Puppy - before or after renovation

[eca80]

We are in the process of planning a renovation- listed building so at least 6 months and probably more like 12 to get started. We are also very excited to finally be able to get a dog now that we have a secure garden. Is it a terrible idea to have a puppy / young dog during a renovation?

Conceptually it would be good to get through the early puppy destruction with old carpets, etc. That said I can see it being challenging with a young dog and lots of noise, strange people, stuff to get into. It also limits our options a little in terms of whether we stay in the house during work . we could probably stage works so that we can stay in the annexe while the main house is redone and then swap, so not the biggest issue, but would make it impossible to find short term rental(not that this is easy anyways).

Anyone with practical experience that can help me weigh pros and cons?

We had some building work during puppy stages and it was bloody annoying. We had to have an “air lock” type situation of always making sure one door was closed before we could open another, just in case the puppy ran out on to the street

It was also really annoying not having access to the garden and having to pick up the puppy every time she needed a wee

If you can get over those issues then go for it, it was great that pup could socialise with these builders who didn’t mind one but her nipping them!

Thanks for this - sounds like annoying but workable, as we would still have direct garden access? Hadn’t thought about the socialisation benefits 😊

After. Puppyhood can be tricky enough without going through renovations as well. You might be lucky but you could end up with a nervous dog who is anxious with all the changes. Also, if you want in the future to leave dog for up to three or four hours, it can be best to start off for very short times when they are younger. Lots of dogs can be needy - ours can be left now, she’s four but it was an issue we were too slow to tackle.
You might be best spending the next 6-12 months researching the right breeder for your pup and being in a waiting list. Apologies if you already have that sorted.

We did this. It really only worked as husband mostly worked from home. And days when it was too noisy we’d drop dog off at his parents. We didn’t want to trust builders with not leaving door open etc. We also lost access to back garden for about 6 months…so a lot of night time wees I’m the street…

On the plus side she’s not too phased by noise and was well socialised.

It's working ok for us so far - we're about five weeks into the extension and puppy ownership. DH is doing the work himself, so pup is out in the garden supervising quite a lot, but I work from home too so she comes in to nap with me regularly.

She's had good socialisation from all the construction-related visitors and she's getting pretty good at loud noises (still hides from the hoover though). Luckily she's quite well coordinated so she crosses the bridges over the foundation ditches safely, and because everything's gradual she's not freaked out by it.

It's not ideal, but it's workable.

Thanks all - really helpful food for thought, both positive and negative. I wfh, and only part time, so puppy would never be alone. We would also always have direct garden access, so maybe able to avoid the worst pains. I guess there’s never a ‘perfect’ time to get a puppy, and there’s always a reason to postpone - bit like children! Given the possibility that with planning, delays, need to stagger works, etc we might be 2 years or more from ‘finishing’ renovations I am leaning towards going for it and then figuring it out as we go.

When my dog was a puppy, straight from a rescue in Spain (48 hours in a van!) he came into our house and immediately did a two day piss on our hallway carpet, destroying it.

Within the next week, he'd chewed every skirting board off the wall of our old flat.

I would be gutted if he had done that on a property we'd just paid to sort.

Not something I would consider tbh. Pups are really hard work, personally I would find it too much with renovations going on.

I’m not sure the renovations made it harder. And if you are keeping access to the garden, should be fine. With delays etc to building the dog could be a teenager before it starts.