Please prepare us for a puppy!

[DueyCheatemAndHow]

Wanted a dog for 30 years no exaggeration. I'm giving up work in July so we've decided then is the time.

After years of discussion we've settled on a standard poodle and have been on a KC assured breeders list since Dec. Both parents are her pets. We've all met.

Puppies due next month so 3 months or so til we bring her home

Please hit me with everything you've got!

Also both kids are very good with pets, they know how to act around dogs and are good with our cat. Both kids also sleep through the night but get up early (so again figured I might as well be in for a pound...!)

Sorry if this has already been said by you or anyone else but also sign yourself up for puppy training class. We did that and now on to beginner obedience training to keep her going. Definitely worth the money.

Personally I wouldn't plan on taking a small puppy on the school run - they can be very overwhelming (lots of noise, children, pushchairs, babies, traffic) and most schools won't let you take dogs on school grounds anyway.

Will they stay asleep when they hear you getting up with the puppy though? Or if the puppy barks, whines or cries for the toilet at 2am?

That would be more my concern than the early starts.

OK the school run is a bit of a bugger then but I'll have to work around that. I can't not get a dog cos I take my son to school!

I suspect I'll sleep downstairs while she settles so that won't wake them.

Of course I'm not saying don't get a dog because of the school run.

But it's another thing to consider when you have a puppy and small children - lots of child-friendly activities are distinctly un-puppy friendly and so someone needs to miss out to take care of the dog.

You can't take dogs to the zoo, to soft play, to indoor activities, to the shops, to the cinema, to play parks - but you also can't leave the puppy alone for a long time - so either someone stays home with the puppy or all your activities need to be both dog and child friendly for at least the first year or so.

I know I sound negative but I work with dogs and see so many people struggle when they realise just how restrictive puppies are.

Thank you. That's really helpful, and it sounds like even if you think you're pretty clued up (I've spent a LOT of time planning this!) it's always going to be harder than we think. The only real pain in the arse is swimming which we do as a 4 on a Saturday morning. That will obviously need to be rethought but that's ok (and I did realise that just perhaps didn't realise it would be so long).

It must be so frustrating for you to watch that. MIL (who is s fucking nightmare) got a puppy last year. Random 'breeder', fashionable cross breed, got it in November in Scotland so fucking freezing. Lasted 2 weeks 'we couldn't go out at all'. 'Breeder' wouldn't take it back.

I wasn't impressed.

Get some extra kitchen roll and floor cleaner in, but in all serious classes are a must.

Enjoy it, it's bloody tough and at times you'll wonder if you've done the right thing. Remember that everything is a phase.

Will definitely be doing classes, hoping it will be rub off on the kids too !

Be prepared to be separate from your kids for a bit! Baby gates are a godsend. DH and I would 'divide and conquer' for a while with one of us dealing with the kids whilst the other in the kitchen with a bitey over-tired pup. Ours were 5 and 7 when we got Dpup and it was tough on them. If I was to do it again I'd get a puppy pen so they could go in there when it got too much. We put him in his crate which made him not like his crate as the 'safe space' I wanted it to be. Knew it was a mistake at the time. 🙄

I thought the toilet training would be the worst bit but Dpup got that very quickly. It was the biting and over excitable behaviour that took the longest. Life didn't settle down for a couple of months.

Don't leave anything within reach. Toys, socks on the floor or food on counter tops. Prevention is the key. Once they start a habit it's so much more difficult to stop.

Crack on with recall straight away. Look up Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson.

Same with lead walking. Only put a lead on when you're training. If you want to just get from A to B with pup drive or carry them. I did a lot of walking to get to off lead places and wasn't as strict with on-lead rules on the way there which made progress slower.

I almost want to get another puppy as I know I'll be so much better at it next time! But I still have PTSD from the first. 🤣

Dpup is now a very good 2.5 yr old but it has been a helluva journey....

With our first puppy we trained him from day one to never jump up (he was 47kg as an adult so that was really useful training). We did this by ignoring him when we first went into the room and waiting h til he sat. Then we went down to his level and greeted him. If he ever jumped up we turned our back on him and ignored until he sat.
Unfortunately we didn't do this second time around as our dc were older and a different breed of dog. We regretted it and are now trying to teach a 35kg 2 year old not to jump up at people. It's much harder.

I've always had them in their crate in my room at night (shhh, current one still is in crate in my room at night) plus naps in crate as mine have always been unable to stop bouncing around until so exhausted they were bitey. Getting them used to a crate has always been a brilliant thing, keeps them safer when you go out, and as adults mine have always regarded their crate as their safe place and go there when they want to get away from cats, kids, or to have a nap. One of mine used to put anything important to her in her crate. Bones, my jumpers, occasional pairs of socks...

You will also wonder at times why you invited this hooligan to live with you 😁 because that's what they are at times .

It really is like a newborn baby stage when they cry in the night etc.Our older dog slept through from the start but our 18 month old was up constantly.
We were knackered for a couple of weeks but then it settled down.

We also crate trained which some people don't do but ours see their crates as a safe place and sleep in there happily at night.Very small breed though so no issues with space.We bought much larger crates than needed and lots of super soft bedding.

I got my puppy 2 years ago , and it was my first little puppy for 30 years, although I rescued two dogs at 9 months ( this according to the rescues is peak period that people change their minds about pups when their teenage hormones come in and they become " difficult ")
You have the Steve Mann book, which is fabulous.
Couple of tips I learned. I didn't even bother right at beginning with any formal training such as " sit". That can come later. I wanted him to explore and kept a house lead on him so I could grab lead if he was getting into anything he shouldnt.
Biting- puppies natural instinct is to feel everything with their mouths. I sat on floor with him, and had a tasty treat in my fist, such as chicken and obviously puppy will try and get it ( hence fist). He will try and bite your hand, but I let his brain work out how to get it. As SOON has his head went away from my fist, I used a cue word such as " Yes" or " Good" and rewarded him. Once he's done it a couple of times, introduce " leave " word. Practice this a few times a day, and he learns that biting human skin gets nothing. Then finish your practice session with something he can chew.
You can do this when biting pj legs or dressing gowns , so keep treats in your pocket or little dishes around the house, and keep a chew toy on hand. Quite often biting means that they need to nap, so enforce naps.
Also, puppies have a natural instinct to follow you, so I used this to teach them to come. As they are running after you say their name and " Come or come come" in an excited voice, and " yes" " good boy/girl" and reward.

People have mentioned puppy blues. This is real. You WILL go through a period of wondering what you have done. You wonder if they ever sleep, especially when they become teenagers ( around 6/7 months depending on breed), and stop listening to absolutely everything you ever taught them and start being arseholes...🤣. Unfortunately , unlike human teenagers they don't stay in their bedroom for hours with a strop.🙄😁 Just keep on with their training, and they will be adorable again.
Mine is 2 know and such a fabulous boy, but can be hard work.

Oh I forgot, if you want him to settle in his crate, licky mats and snuffle mats ( if you feed dry food) are great for puppies.

know this is super obvious but I have a friend who just lost their puppy as they had given their child a little box of raisins to eat as they were used to doing.. some ended up on the floor to be eaten by the dog and its ended up dying.
so just remember to have a think about whats being brought into your house that you might not previously have needed to consider x

How exciting, completely agree with crate training, excellent for teaching pups to settle. The best thing I brought for my pup was a teddy with a beating heart,
put it in his crate with him overnight. I slept on the sofa, him in his crate with his teddy, slept through within a few days.

Yes, definitely this too - also normal child-friendly foods like chocolate and sweets can be really dangerous for dogs.

The biggest thing we found was that they need 24/7 company. For weeks and months. Ours started to become more independent at 8 months so that’s when we started proper out of the house alone training. A month on she’s still very variable on whether she will settle so we don’t go far in case we need to come back.

Yes people just go out. Yes puppies cope. But an awful lot do not and it often manifests itself down the road.

I personally think that’s going to be your biggest issue with young kids. We’re childless, OH WFH most of the time flexibly and I’ve managed to beg borrow and steal some flexibility from my job when he needs to go in as I only work a few minutes walk away from home.

Poodles can struggle with alone time more than terriers for example (that’s what I have). So you are likely going to need to work a bit harder. I’d not say don’t do it but you’re going to need external support for a while.

Think about the behaviour you want the puppy to have as an adult, and start enforcing that from day 1. Eg. If you don’t want the adult dog to jump up, then don’t let the puppy do this.

Puppy blues are a real thing, so be prepared for good and bad days. There will be times when you feel like you could happily re-home then, then five minutes later you overwhelmed by their cuteness and fun.

Puppy biting and nipping is entirely normal. They’re not called land sharks for nothing. Don’t wear your best clothes at first.

Buy a torch, fleece, slip on shoes for ease for when you need to let them out, day and night.

For every arguement for taking a certain approach, you will find an equally persuasive arguement for the opposite in the internet.

Theres a lot of good YouTube videos - McCann, kikopup etc

Do research into puppy classes sooner, the good ones book up.

Enjoy!