Are you a new puppy owner? Maybe you are going to get a puppy soon! If you are, congratulations! You are going to embark on one of life’s greatest gifts! No clue what to expect? In this article, we go over the top 10 things to know when you get a puppy!
What To Know Before Getting a Puppy
1. Puppy Proof your home
The first thing on What To Know Before Getting a puppy. Is knowing that you have to spend some time “puppy proofing” your home.
To puppy proof your home you essentially want to put yourself in the”paws” of your puppy. You want to start looking at your home and look for anything and everything that your puppy could get into, whether it’s picking up wires laying on the ground or blocking stairways, we want to ensure your puppy is set up for success the moment that your bring your pup to his.her new home!
2. Get The Right Supplies
Now that you have successfully puppy-proofed your home, the next step is to get all the right supplies for your puppy, to ensure that your pup is further set up to succeed when adapting to your home.
Some puppy supplies we recommend are:
3. Understand your puppies breed
When you get your puppy one of the biggest things to understand is your puppies breed. Every breed is different and has different requirements.
For instance, an English bulldog has drastically different exercise requirements then a german shepherd.
Your puppies breed will also tell you any tendencies your puppy may have in the future. For instance, Labradors are notorious for being overly friendly whereas a german shepherd is a bit more reserved and independent.
Be sure to do your research and cater to your puppies breed.
4. Have a puppy Potty schedule
Want to avoid any “potty accidents” in the house?
Well, then one of the things of What To Know Before Getting a Puppy is setting up a consistent potty training schedule. Puppies at a young age will have to go out to potty every 2-3 hours.
Setting up a consistent potty schedule will ensure that your puppy doesn’t make any accidents or mistakes when learning the correct location to go “potty”
5. Start Training Young
Puppies have no idea what is “right” and “wrong” it is our job to teach our puppies what right and wrong this is why starting puppy training young is important because puppies are always learning, which means it’s our job to always be teaching our puppies how we want them to behave.
6. Puppies need mental and physical stimulation
Puppies need both mental and physical stimulation, so be sure to not only exercise your puppy whether its a walk, playing fetch, or jogging but also be sure to challenge your puppy’s mind with training.
7. Socialize and expose your puppy A LOT
Puppy socialization is one of the most important aspects of raising a puppy!
An under-socialized puppy will grow up to be fearful, anxious, or even aggressive.
Be sure to expose and socialize your puppy to everything you want your puppy to be comfortable with an adult dog.
8. Redirection is Key with puppies
When it comes to raising a puppy 80% of what it comes down to is redirection. Essentially teaching your puppy what to put his/her energy into.
For instance, if your puppy likes chewing instead of allowing your puppy to chew furniture redirect your puppy onto an appropriate object such as a chew bone. essentially teaching your puppy not this but that.
You are always teaching your puppy how to do things!
A better way to look at redirection is to imagine that you had a 2-year-old child that wanted to use a crayon to draw on the wall. instead of allowing your child to destroy the way with a crayon instead tell your child that he/she can draw but on a piece of paper instead.
Puppies are the same!
Conclusion
Bringing home a new puppy doesn’t have to be stressful! If you follow our list of 8 things of what To Know Before Getting a Puppy will have an amazing transition into living together!
To awaken your dog’s true potential contact us here or Give us a call!
Receive your free dog training consultation and set your pup up for success!