What do you wish you would have known?

[Anonymous]

Roll up the rugs and crate train.

I wish there was more on training small dogs. I love my puppy to pieces but she’s maxed out after learning sit, dance and then potty outside. We’ve tried so hard to teach her more but she’s not as smart as a lab puppy. Hopefully as she gets older she can learn more.

[Anonymous]

If you don't want 5hen on furniture you have to be consistent with keeping them off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Roll up the rugs and crate train.

I wish there was more on training small dogs. I love my puppy to pieces but she’s maxed out after learning sit, dance and then potty outside. We’ve tried so hard to teach her more but she’s not as smart as a lab puppy. Hopefully as she gets older she can learn more.

I had a chi mix that knew sit, down, stay, off, wait, up, load up (get in the car), go potty/hurry up, spin down (spin around, down, and curl into a ball), meerkat (beg), dance (on hind legs), bring it (fetch)... and the peculiar "Where the weed at?" for values of "the weed" equaling a bat-shaped stuffed toy that had nothing to do with weed, but was the only correct answer to the command.

It may take longer, but small dogs can learn plenty. Keep at it!

[Anonymous]

Teach an emergency recall word that you would never normally say (ours is "fast" in a different language) and reward it with extremely high value treats, like lunch meat, every time. Practice regularly throughout the dog's life.

This is different from just "come." It's for getting the dog out of unsafe situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teach an emergency recall word that you would never normally say (ours is "fast" in a different language) and reward it with extremely high value treats, like lunch meat, every time. Practice regularly throughout the dog's life.

This is different from just "come." It's for getting the dog out of unsafe situations.

Brilliant!

[Anonymous]

Grooming can add up depending on the breed - our labradoodle was @$75 for hair & nails.

Research & pay for pet insurance early, crazy vet bills will make your eyes water.

[Anonymous]

That getting a puppy is a countdown to heartbreak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That getting a puppy is a countdown to heartbreak.

All pets are a lesson in loss.

[Anonymous]

Find a good vet and schedule vet appointment ahead, our puppy came with shots up to date but had parasite snd ear infection still. Skip banfield as it did nothing, didn’t even check the stool sample we sent in, charged for ear infection but it still remain uncleared after 2 weeks, until we changed vet, it turned out the didn’t clean our puppy’s ears at all, all they cared were selling us shampoos and other things.

[Anonymous]

When you are training your puppy, keep it on a leash. You can manage behaviors better, get the puppy out when they need to quickly and safely, and they are close to you in case you are distracted.

Reward good/expected behaviors with praise and treats immediately, which is easy if you have them leashed next to you. Keep a small container of treats in your pocket and near the door.

Sleep close to where they sleep and be patient with them during training. Get up frequently to take them out to pee/poop. Don’t have them sleep in the leash/harness, but have it close by to do night time walks.

Wash your dogs dishes nightly with your own dishes. After dog sitting I learned that some people don’t wash their dogs dishes regularly.

Be careful about getting too many vaccines at one visit because your dog might develop allergies.

Have animal poison control on your phone in case anything happens to your dog. Call before you head to the vet if they do eat anything that can make them sick. It will save you time and money at the emergency vet.

Do monthly medicines on the first of the month so you get in the habit and don’t miss does (heart guard and flea and tick meds).

Find a good place to manage grooming (if necessary) and nail trims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you are training your puppy, keep it on a leash. You can manage behaviors better, get the puppy out when they need to quickly and safely, and they are close to you in case you are distracted.

Reward good/expected behaviors with praise and treats immediately, which is easy if you have them leashed next to you. Keep a small container of treats in your pocket and near the door.

Sleep close to where they sleep and be patient with them during training. Get up frequently to take them out to pee/poop. Don’t have them sleep in the leash/harness, but have it close by to do night time walks.

Wash your dogs dishes nightly with your own dishes. After dog sitting I learned that some people don’t wash their dogs dishes regularly.

Be careful about getting too many vaccines at one visit because your dog might develop allergies.

Have animal poison control on your phone in case anything happens to your dog. Call before you head to the vet if they do eat anything that can make them sick. It will save you time and money at the emergency vet.

Do monthly medicines on the first of the month so you get in the habit and don’t miss does (heart guard and flea and tick meds).

Find a good place to manage grooming (if necessary) and nail trims.

for potty training, we also hung bells by our front door - when training, we would make her ring the bells before heading out, so she learned to use the bells on her own when nature calls.

[Anonymous]

My dog doesn’t vomit often, but by far, the most common time of day my dog vomits is the very early morning hours. I wish I’d known that the room he sleeps in overnight is the room where I’ll clean up the most vomit. I wouldn’t have had him sleep on a dog bed in my carpeted bedroom if I’d known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog doesn’t vomit often, but by far, the most common time of day my dog vomits is the very early morning hours. I wish I’d known that the room he sleeps in overnight is the room where I’ll clean up the most vomit. I wouldn’t have had him sleep on a dog bed in my carpeted bedroom if I’d known.

If the dog is a puppy, this is because they can only eat small amounts at a time and metabolize their food quickly. This leaves their stomach feeling pretty nauseous and unsettled first thing in the morning. Ours would puke some bile every morning while her digestive system developed. We started giving her a little snack right before we went to bed and it solved it. Obviously there are many reasons for dogs to vomit but if it's a young puppy in the morning--this is often the reason.

OP--just know there will be moments while raising a puppy that you will ask yourself "wtf did we do? Why did we blow up our life like this???" Sometimes people choose a breed or dog that is just not a match for them. But in most cases, just keep calm and carry on raising that puppy with as much patience as you can. Take classes (so much of dog training is not intuitive!), be consistent, contain the puppy to areas of the house where they can't cause too much trouble (baby gates and crates are your friends during the first year!). Set boundaries. Exercise and play make for a happier, better behaved dog. It will all be worth it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on here once said that puppies combine the neediness of an infant with the destructiveness of a toddler. Most apt description ever.

Yep. Our wonderful adult dog (i say that so you know it turned out OK) chewed the crap out of everything as a puppy the minute we turned our back. He ruined the legs of several chairs, chewed thru the cord of the vacuum (luckily not plugged in), chewed the baseboards. He ripped a couch cushion and ruined several pillows. They can ruin something faster than it takes you to pee or move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. They must be watched like hawks or in their crates/pens at all times.

They also have needle teeth that really really hurt, and it's really really not their fault.

They are pretty awful TBH. I don't recommend it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone on here once said that puppies combine the neediness of an infant with the destructiveness of a toddler. Most apt description ever.

Yep. Our wonderful adult dog (i say that so you know it turned out OK) chewed the crap out of everything as a puppy the minute we turned our back. He ruined the legs of several chairs, chewed thru the cord of the vacuum (luckily not plugged in), chewed the baseboards. He ripped a couch cushion and ruined several pillows. They can ruin something faster than it takes you to pee or move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. They must be watched like hawks or in their crates/pens at all times.

They also have needle teeth that really really hurt, and it's really really not their fault.

They are pretty awful TBH. I don't recommend it.

Providing further detail about the chewing-- many of the furniture chewing episodes happened when the puppy was actually with one of us-- lying at my feet quietly while I'm on a conference call and not really paying attention to him. Get off the phone, look down, he's got his jaws clamped around the leg of the coffee table, quietly gnawing away.