Puppy panic. With spring arriving, people’s thoughts often turn to the joys of getting a puppy, imagining how wonderful and exciting it will be to welcome a new pet into their homes, which they will then raise to be an exemplary dog. But, of course, that is the ideal we all begin with anyway. It’s just that the reality can often be quite different.
People won’t always tell you about the more testing aspects of getting a new puppy, especially during the early weeks or months – the upheaval, exhaustion, fatigue, and the darker feelings that you have made some big mistake or are getting everything wrong.
This overwhelming early sense of puppy panic is far more common among new owners than you might think. Still, getting through with the right mixture of reassurance and practical advice is always much more accessible. So here is my 10-point guide to making the arrival and breeding of a new puppy much more effortless.
- Owning a Puppy. Early Wobbles
- Understand the Vital Importance of Damage Limitation
- Take the Same Approach to Your Garden
- Take Toilet Training Seriously
- Begin training your Puppy Into Good habits as Early as Possible.
- Have Regular Time Out from Your Puppy.
- Owning a Puppy. Beware the Perils of Over-Stimulation
- Owning a puppy. Expectation Management
- Group Growing May Not Be for You
- Owning a Puppy. Stop Chasing Perfection
Owning a Puppy. Early Wobbles
First, be aware of how normal it can be during the earliest weeks or months of getting a puppy- and after the initial euphoria of his arrival has worn off – sometimes to have feelings of doubt or panic about the enormous new responsibility just taken on.
It’s surprisingly common, but it will pass! Trainer and behaviourist Carol Price Advise on how to cope.
Puppies can be destructive, exhausting, extremely energetic, and throw your former cosier household routine upside down. You may mop or sweep various ‘accidents‘ or messes off the floors at midnight; your washing machine will constantly be on.
Also, it will no longer be possible to peacefully watch ‘EastEnders’ without some whiny #ifball in the kitchen furiously demanding your attention. Realising how common it is to have such early panics and doubts, primarily due to chronic exhaustion, can help. However, you must also know that all these feelings pass with time as you and your new dog adapt, so accept them for what they are and ride them out.
Understand the Vital Importance of Damage Limitation
Too many people make owning a puppy more complicated than it should be by letting them. have the whole run of their home from day one. Remember, puppies can never know the value or importance of anything they own, including your new designer shoes, antique hall table, and the PlayStation console controller.
But the greater access you give them to precious furnishings or belongings of yours, which they may then wee or poo on or chew and trash, the more this will undermine your growing relationship with your new dog.
There might inevitably be anger, resentment, or upset on your part. It is far better to keep puppies in their limited quarters, using a crate and a larger penned area in the kitchen and separating the puppy from the rest of the house with a dog gate. Choose anywhere the floor is easy to clean, and the pup cannot trash, chew, or poo and wee on anything valuable. This simple measure alone should be enough to reduce your stress significantly.
Take the Same Approach to Your Garden
Give your puppy his limited play area and toileting place in the garden. Put his favourite toys and chewing items when he is outside, then fence off other areas of the garden or plants to prevent him from gaining access and creating unintentional damage. His fenced-in garden area will also keep your puppy safer, maybe cleaner!
Take Toilet Training Seriously
One reason puppies fail to master toilet control earlier, or more reliably, is less moral early training, such as not taking a puppy outside religiously every half hour or immediately after a night of sleep, play session, or meal to relieve himself.
“People won’t always tell you about the more testing aspects of getting a puppy…”
Then instantly, putting a command to what he is doing correctly – like ‘Be clean!’ – and praising, rewarding him with a delicious treat.
You own a puppy. Suppose you do not go out with your puppy as outlined, to keep repeating and reinforcing this training, even when it is dark and in all weathers. In that case, the puppy will continue to have more accidents indoors or believe that going to the toilet indoors is OK without any better guidance.
Begin training your Puppy Into Good habits as Early as Possible.
Train your puppy in good manners before he can learn the worst ones, and then find these more rewarding.
Just teaching him simple exercises at home from day one like sit, down, wait, watch me, back, and give lots of rewards and in the context of a play, the session will make owning him much easier and more pleasurable.
So much valuable early learning time is lost or wasted in puppies through owners believing it is too soon to teach them anything, when in fact, it can teach puppies so many things from six to eight weeks old.
Have Regular Time Out from Your Puppy.
I own a puppy. Puppies must have regular downtimes during the day when they must sleep and rest. But just as important is for owners to have frequent breaks from the demands of a puppy.
So get your puppy to use setting rest times during the day or evening in his quarters when you can also rest yourself or catch up with different chores or errands. The more routine you make these rest times daily, the more likely your puppy will settle down quickly each time.
Owning a Puppy. Beware the Perils of Over-Stimulation
Chronic over-stimulation is one of the most common problems in young puppies, especially from more energetic or active breeds. In other words, owners often think they must constantly indulge their puppies in exciting games or interactions to tire them out.
Usually, the reverse is true: the more you mentally and physically stimulate young dogs, the harder they will find it to wind down again when you want them to rest. You can also encourage a growing expectation in a young dog that should constantly stimulate him.
So whenever you are approaching a set rest period or bedtime, it is far better to remove all sources of external activity and excitement from your dog at least 15 minutes beforehand and keep your voice and body language quiet. The quieter your puppy’s external environment becomes, the more likely he will wind down and settle.
Owning a puppy. Expectation Management
One of the worst things you can do to any puppy is to allow him to do something one day, such as jump on the furniture, come into a particular room with you, or have food off your plate that you won’t allow next.
It simply causes confusion, frustration, and a sense in your growing dog that can turn your initial ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ if he protests enough. So, whatever rules you decide on early on about what your dog can or cannot do, stick to them relentlessly and consistently.
Group Growing May Not Be for You
Many owners enrol their new puppies in group training classes because this is what they should do, rather than based on whether they are the best learning environment for their particular dog.
For a while, some group training classes work well for some young dogs; others may find them far more challenging or stressful. As a result, they may bark, whine, play up, or generally find it harder to concentrate.
Unfortunately, this can give dog and owner alike a negative view of the whole training process or make owners feel their dog is a ‘failure’ on this front. They need a more one-to-one learning approach instead of getting a good trainer to work with them and their dog in a far less distracting environment. Then, later, they can build up more surrounding distractions for their dog to cope with, which he will do far better.
Owning a Puppy. Stop Chasing Perfection
Despite what you might read online or in any book, nobody has a perfect puppy; it is mythical. So all we ever have is the puppy we have, warts. Your puppy may not always get everything right, and neither will you. Yet, as soon as you accept this, life becomes much easier because so much pressure is taken off your relationship.
The world is full of dogs who drove their owners mad as puppies yet somehow grew the right amount of care, love, and training -into adult companions they now cannot imagine living without, not even for a moment. So, hold that thought if you live through an early about of puppy panic.
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