Puppy Stuff

Puppies are adorable and irresistible but they require dedication, time, work, love, and training to grow into happy well-adjusted adult dogs. Adding a puppy to your household shouldn’t be taken lightly – it takes a lot of effort, and a lifelong commitment.

The first six months of a pup’s life are the most time consuming for owners and the most critical for puppies.

Focus items for first 6 months of pup’s life:

• Crate training
• Housetraining
• Socialization to people, places, noises and things
• Socialization to other dogs
• Curbing puppy play biting
• Intro to basic obedience commands
• Learning not to guard their food and toys from people or other pets
• Learning how to be comfortable being alone
• Learning to accept handling from humans
• Learning the rules of the household
  

As your pup reaches 6-8 months of age, you’ve built a strong bond together, and it is easy to become complacent about the progress that your precious pal is making. You revel in the successes (He’s so smart! Look at that great Sit!), and make excuses for the “little issues” (he jumps up a lot, and he doesn’t always come when I call, but he’s just a pup… and isn’t he a love bug!). Taking a good puppy for granted is a mistake!

Even if your puppy seems like an angel, your work has just begun. As your puppy enters adolescence, your training must evolve and improve to help your pup through the challenging months ahead. Adolescence is the time when puppies develop their adult personality, and they need guidance to keep them on the right road to becoming a well-behaved and well-adjusted adult dog.

There’s a lot to do in raising a puppy to be a welcome member of the family but the rewards and a lifetime of companionship are all worth it. If you find yourself frustrated, please seek help.

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