New to dog ownership- have got a puppy coming at the weekend.

[IVFNewbie]

What one piece of advice would you give?

Leave it with the breeder till you can exercise and socialise it properly.

Don’t - it will be so hard to socialize it now!

We picked up our puppy the day before lockdown. Our vets are still immunising and we are doing lots to help with socialisation. These things include: lots of play with our 3 (noisy & boisterous!) kids, carry walks with exposure to farm animals, vehicles, sirens etc. Short car journeys, an app with various animal sounds, lawn mowing around him, strimming, vacuuming around him. It’s honestly been fine, plenty of garden time & all the sounds out there (we are in a rural village with pheasants / ducks making sudden noises in the fields behind us). I would say ignore the naysayers, it’s a wonderful time to get a puppy. Enjoy your furry bundle this weekend

You cannot socialise your pup until jabs anyway so there is always a period of being stuck in. You can spend lots of time bonding with your pup and making them interested in you x

I don't know how people think a breeder is going to be able to socialise a whole litter in the current situation (or, indeed, at any time). IMHO, a caring owner with one puppy should be able to do a lot. Had I had a puppy with me today, it could have seen and heard a bus, watched other dogs, had bicycles zap past, seen someone in wheelchair, heard a van skid on gravel. Socialisation is about exposure to new things, and you can still do a lot of that.

To get back to your question, the one thing I'd do is build a strong bond with my puppy and use that to my advantage, as it grows up, to train, train and train some more. You can start training walking to heel at 3 months old, and a dog that walks nicely on a lead is so much more of a pleasure to take out than a lunging, pulling hooligan. You end up being happy with your dog, not irritable, so you have fun and train some more and have more fun.

After all, there isn't much point having a dog that you don't enjoy.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3868133-Socialising-a-puppy-in-lock-down-doing-our-best?pg=2&order=

Have a sense of humour. Be patient. Remember that your puppy is a baby and will be missing mum, siblings and the only home it's ever known for a little while.
If you have kids teach them about dog behaviour and never let them disturb a sleeping pup.
Most important is to post pics!!!

Get down on the floor at look at the place from a dog's eye point of view. Things that seem risk free even with small children in the house can be dangerous with a puppy or at risk of damage.

Puppies are so cute because they are arseholes. It’s hard work. But it will get better.

There's another thread going about this at the moment.

It'll be hard - extra hard as we're in lockdown and your opportunities for socialisation will be limited.

Have you checked whether your vet is doing vaccinations? Is the pup coming chipped as required by law? As I know a lot of vets aren't doing non-essential visits at the moment.

New guidance from the BVA taking effect today means that vets should now be able to vaccinate and microchip. www.bva.co.uk/media/3399/bva-guidance-for-veterinary-practices-on-covid19-march-2020.pdf

@thecapitalsunited that's really good news.

Puppies need to be socialised. I would argue that getting puppies jabbed and chipped is 100% a necessity to ensure the dog is well-socialised and exercised.

@IVFNewbie I will say enjoy as they sent puppies for long. Lots of interaction, chew toys and fun in garden. Get a dog flap if possible ( we built a temporary slope up to ours while puppy was small) Teach recall with small rewards like cooked chicken, and paw etc. Take food bowl away while pup is eating then give back so doesn't get food aggressive. Have patience with toilet training and never smack or scare pup if he has had an accident. Say 'pee pee' over and over when pup in garden and about to do toilet then praise. Have fun xx what breed have you got? X

@IVFNewbie if by your username you are doing ivf which Has been cancelled and are getting a puppy then you are the same as us! Our puppy has been a saviour. We are so busy with him! My piece of advice is inform yourself!! I would buy a good book and get reading. I’ve been reading puppy for dummies book and it’s been very good. The threads here are also very useful so read through them and if you’re struggling then get help!! We found a woman who trains dogs who does Skype calls and she really helped us! Also be prepared with what you need - good food, appropriate treats for training, toys, water and food bowls, find a vet, if you’re going to crate train a crate blankets hot water bottle etc! Good luck!

Thanks all! Very helpful stuff.

The puppy socialisation thread is really helpful op. Suggested things I'd have never of thought of. It does appear vets are now vaccinating too. I particularly liked the sling idea so puppy can still be 'walked' should vaccinations be delayed for any reason but it's looking hopeful they won't be. We're due to get ours in just under 2 weeks and as the breeders live very rurally and don't have dc it's definitely more ideal we socialise her to the best of our ability here in our noisy city with 2 primary age dc. This would be harder later. They've already guaranteed pup will have her vax anyway so that's something

Also dd10 is very committed and has been watching video after video on YouTube on puppy training techniques. There are a lot out there

We just got our pup 3 weeks ago. We have all been spending lots of time with her- potty training, sit, walking on lead/ long line in garden, wait for food are all things she now does. Working on recall now - started this on long line and then off lead. She’s had 2nd jabs so we are now doing very short walks down the road and back - literally 5 mins. This way she has met several other dogs and owners from a distance, seen delivery trucks/ people, heard children playing, waited for cars to pass etc. I’ve also taken her to the post office. Playing with lots of different toys.

Take LoveFameTragedy advice. Leave it with the breeder for now. It's mother and siblings will socialise it better than you can at the moment. If you don't you are setting yourself up for a whole host of on going problems. My puppy wasn't socialised properly either but it was adopted. It has been hard work getting to where we are now and I have the patience of a saint. Also buy the book EASY PEASY PUPPY SQUEEZY by UK Dog Trainer Steve Mann for prepping before you get the puppy and a whole host of advice for everything puppy, including the correct way to socialise. It's an absolute gem of a find and super cheap on Amazon. Good luck.