My wife and I are getting a puppy this summer. Come, bring me your wisdom

[randomparishioner]

@nayte == Get puppy training. (Shhh, don't tell anyone but it is YOU who will need the training.)

== A tired dog is a good dog.

-- Being soft on your dog because "he's just so cute" does your dog a disfavour. A dog needs to know his place in the pack. His place in the pack is last place. Honestly, he will be happy with last place, much happier than a dog who does not know where he fits into the household hierarchy.

 

[sanakun]

@randomparishioner A tired dog is a good dog - brilliant !!

 

[nayte]

@randomparishioner Thanks!

 

[lostparent]

@nayte My tips:

If you are interested in specific type of dog, which it sounds like you are (athletic, but minimal prey drive), do some research on breeds and breeders and go that route. If you do go with a purebred you'll probably end up having to wait for sometime (maybe years) for a puppy to be available.

Yes, go to training. Reliable recall is a huge quality of life thing, and also not a quick thing to train because its more about your relationship with the dog (Are you more interesting than a squirrel? If you aren't good luck getting a reliable recall). Also, dogs that aren't interested in chasing discs are probably harder to train because they are harder to reward/relationship with.

Don't get to caught up on training methods. People are really polarized. I'm not going to advocate for a particular methodology, you'll learn about the ones that work for you but make sure you select a trainer that works for you - and gets results (almost anyone can be a dog trainer).

Crate train it. This a huge thing for managing and living with a dog that most new dog owners don't do. I am not saying you need to lock your dog in a crate at all times or whatever, but a dog that is happy in a crate can have so much more freedom. And with puppies it is so helpful for teaching them turn off, and also not pee in your house.

Get a long line, don't let it off leash until it can come when its called or you are in a structured environment. You are probably looking at several years of life with a dog on a long line BUT on the other side of this you will have a much better dog for outdoor life.

 

[nayte]

@lostparent Great advice, thank you

 

[dwnc]

@nayte r/puppy101 - a lot of insight, a lot of real posts, helped a lot with my puppy blues because i thought i was going bananas. very helpful group!

 

[nayte]

@dwnc Ty!

 

[puah]

@nayte Training classes.

 

[youreachristianman95]

@nayte Start grooming immediately. Nails, fur, ears, teeth. Get them used to it and if you are planning to do groomers find the one you like and start early.

Socialize your puppy with other humans and other animals (dogs and cats specifically since they are the most common house pets).

Mess with them (nicely). Like put your hand in their mouth, take toys, food, treats, etc away. Gently manhandle them. Give them praise, treats, or fav toy with some play time for being good during this.
The goal is that they trust you with manhandling them so if you have to they are good with it. Ive had to manhandle my pups during emergency situations. My boy trusts me implicitly and I trust him to not bite me in those situations even if he is scared.

Comfort them when they are scared and be their safe person.

 

[nayte]

@youreachristianman95 Great advice

 

[tempy1]

@nayte Get the pup into puppy classes as soon as you are allowed to. It's not about the sit, down, come - I couldn't care less about the ability of the trainers (there are a ton of ways to teach early commands)... It's about the puppy paying attention to you in a sea of chaos. The puppy getting to hear other puppies barking, grumbling or being stressed in an environment where you are keeping them safe. They learn that all that stuff is just background noise and it helps to make them more neutral to things in their environment (this makes training later much easier!)

It also builds your bond & trust. Those early months are such important stages to imprint these things.

The first few classes you may feel like a failure and doubt yourself. Keep going anyway. The puppies make incredibly quick process from one week to the next. Your puppy barking or acting afraid? Next week they may not even notice the thing that scared them.

Second big thing I will caution you is not to helicopter them too much. Let the darn puppy explore their environment. I can't tell you how many new puppy owners that I have met who pull everything out of their dogs mouths when they are young. Putting a rock into their mouth is just them testing out what a rock feels like. In a normal dog, they will think "yep. Not food." and that is that. But if you interrupt that constantly, they may think "Oh.. rocks are valuable, rare, forbidden fruit!" and you start having problems born from a human's good intentions.

 

[nayte]

@tempy1 Awesome tips! Thank you so much!

 

[mrssmith0917]

@nayte Patience is key! Just know that there's pros and cons to everything. But the most important thing to know is that you will need patience.

 

[rami_1]

@nayte My advice, particularly if you’re looking for a puppy, is to do your homework on an appropriate breed for you and your lifestyle. The AKC website has a decent breed selector tool and there are other similar online tools to help you identify the right breed for you and your situation. People often have a romanticized idea of the perfect dog, and often an appropriate breed for them doesn’t at all look like what they imagined they wanted.

 

[nayte]

@rami_1 Thank you for sharing this advice and resource! I will definite use it

 

[lena_the_lena]

@nayte Honestly, getting a puppy is actually unpredictable, no matter how much you plan and look for a “good” dog that you THINK will be a god fit, might not be as they appear as they get older and their personalities come out.

My latest girl was a runt( she was the most mellow from the litter), got her at 8wks.. we knew the mom, went thru all the socialization as a puppy and tried the training by myself, then by a professional.. my girl just listens when she wants, and even freaking talks back! YES, she freaking talks back when daddy is home! (It is sooo funny to see and hear)
When daddy is not home, she listens to me all day long.. that is how smart she is!

Before her, we had a chihuahua mix that we rescued at 2 years (25lbs).. BEST dog ever, lived with us for 13yrs. We lost him in 2020.still miss him every day!

Soo a puppy is not always the best route (dont just assume they will get a long with your cat either or vise versa). You might want to go to your local shelters, see what dogs are available. Maybe a one year to two year old, one that you know what you will get (temperament wise) and size wise.
Just a suggestion!
Good luck!

 

[carolynwdw]

@nayte Don’t

 

[strive4truth]

@nayte The floor will be shitted upon

 

[nayte]

@strive4truth Just glad I'll be able to blame someone else finally, you know?

 

[shepherdgirl]

@nayte Lean into training and your dog will thank you for it. I crate trained, we did classes - through which I learned clicker training which works so so well. Now my dog walks off leash, gets complimented for being well behaved daily, she’s a very good girl!

Best advice - remember your puppy will get larger and things they do as a cute tiny puppy won’t be as cute as a bigger dog, but if we let them do it as a puppy they’ll be confused later when we don’t like it. So be firm! Ignore jumping behavior and begging etc.