Puppies are like little fur rockets — cute and fuzzy, and totally out of control.
It’s not their fault. This business of not defecating in the house or chewing on your fine leather couch is news to them. It’s up to you to spell out the rules so clearly that junior picks them up within weeks of his arrival.
But in the meantime, prepare yourself for exasperation because puppies will exhaust you with their needs and lack of experience. Not everybody is up for the challenge, either. My father got a puppy last year and every time he turned his back, she was downstairs defecating on the hallway floor. She’d somehow decided that the downstairs hallway was her private bathroom and my father was simply not able to deter her behaviour.
It meant she had to go back to the animal shelter and to a more spry and patient owner, which was a heart-breaking decision.
So, before considering adopting a puppy make sure you’re up for the following:
• Be prepared for a lot of clean up, and I do mean a lot. Puppies are defecating, urinating machines and you’re going to have to get used to it until you’ve got your dog house trained. Even then, there’ll be accidents. It takes about four months to housetrain a puppy.
• They don’t comprehend a good night’s rest, and I am referring to your own. Your confused puppy will probably cry the first few nights adapting to his new home. You’ll need to give him lots of attention during this time, and that means in the wee hours. And if he’s house training, he’s going to need hourly outdoor bathroom breaks. If you’ve got young children, you might think twice about taking on what is the equivalent of another baby.
• Puppies chew, chew, and chew more. You’ll be running around hiding shoes, the remote control and your eyeglasses once you learn what it means to be the owner of a teething puppy. Keep chew toys around if you want your things to survive.
• Growing puppies need to be fed about three to four times a day.
• They also need a lot of socializing, so you’ll have to take her to puppy training classes and spend a lot of time with older dogs in the park, learning the rules of the dog hierarchy. She might get nipped in the butt by intolerant older dogs, so watch out for her safety — but remember, this is part of the socialization learning process. Playtime, training and socialization with humans is critical during these first four months.
• Puppies tire easily. If you think a long hike or jog with your puppy might be a good idea, think again. You’ll end up carrying your pup most of the way because puppies need a lot of rest. They’re babies, after all.
• If you are thinking twice about taking on a puppy, consider adopting one of the older dogs from the shelter. It’s a fallacy that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks — dogs can learn at any age. And a grown dog usually doesn’t need to be house trained and can hold his bladder throughout the night or until you get home.
