1st time dog (puppy) owner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Not every dog needs obedience classes. No need for a midday walker for a baby pup who will sleep a lot in the crate.

Really? So they just learn to sit/walk on a leash/etc. by themselves?

At the very least the puppy needs to go to the bathroom during the day once it's house trained.

NP, here. I'm not an experienced dog owner but I managed to train my dog to sit/walk on a leash without taking her to classes. There on plenty of videos online...try looking on Youtube. It's actually a lot of fun training them yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Not every dog needs obedience classes. No need for a midday walker for a baby pup who will sleep a lot in the crate.

This is animal abuse.

For keeping the pup comfortable?
There are two people in the house who will be out from 8-4 at most. The walks/ training can be done when they are at home.
I’ve seen so many pups who definitely prefer their crate to someone waking them up for a walk. It all depends on the breed and the temperament of the pup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Not every dog needs obedience classes. No need for a midday walker for a baby pup who will sleep a lot in the crate.

This is animal abuse.

For keeping the pup comfortable?
There are two people in the house who will be out from 8-4 at most. The walks/ training can be done when they are at home.
I’ve seen so many pups who definitely prefer their crate to someone waking them up for a walk. It all depends on the breed and the temperament of the pup.

One adult, one child. We don’t know how many hours they are gone each day.

[Anonymous]

I would adopt a dog who is at least one. Puppies are like having a newborn.

[Anonymous]

I have fostered a lot of puppies, and they are a lot of work. It is possible to take care of them under the circumstances you described, but it will require a lot of dedication on your part.

Puppies cannot be expected to hold it a full work day. So, your options are to either pay a dog walker, or have a setup where they can go in the house, but also have a clean area. A crate enclosed in an x-pen with the flooring covered by puppy pads, is one way. Keep in mind that you WILL come home to a giant mess, and this will take months to get better.

When you are home, make sure you spend A LOT of time with the puppy. Just interacting, taking the puppy to safe places, having it interact with a variety of people, and known ‘safe’ dogs, etc.

The puppy will need to get its series of puppy shots, and rabies. And get licensed in its jurisdiction. Try to teach the puppy that vet visits are fun. Lots of treats, and petting from the vet staff will help. You can even take the pup there for socialization (keep paws off the ground). Consider getting pet insurance.

[Anonymous]

This might sound weird, but our breeder gave us all kids of tips to keep us away from the vet early on, because he felt like that’s where young puppies are most likely to get sick. For heartguard, he told us to buy ivomectin from the tractor supply store. You have to get the dosage right—it’s a very small amount for dogs and overdosing can hurt them. (It’s what they use for livestock.) But it’s way cheaper than the heartguard a vet would prescribe. For shots, he told us to go to shot clinics because they are for healthy dogs not sick ones. We paid around $20 to have the rabies shots done at tractor supply during their Saturday shot clinic. Our vet is running a special in February for spaying because it’s national spaying/neutering awareness month.

We weren’t really trying to save money, but ended up seeing how it can be done if you don’t use a vet for every little thing.

Other tips: don’t let your puppy eat stuff that can get stuck inside them like socks, and don’t let them near anything with xylitol, which is super common these days in mints and gum and very, very lethal to dogs in very small doses.

[Anonymous]

^^^I forgot to mention that he recommended pert plus for shampoos! At first I was buying expensive stuff but it caused itching. After switching to the pert, no more itching. And it’s super cheap.

[Anonymous]

Blankets and towels work great for dog beds. They’ll ruin the fancy bed anyway.

[Anonymous]

Patience, love, and consistency, OP. Brace yourself - the puppy is going to make you crazy (there's a reason they're cute - so you don't murder them). They will grow out of it eventually, with your help. Gentle corrections, over and over and over - do not give up. Love - they need to feel safe and wanted, even if they're trying to antagonize you. Have at least one moment a day during the worst of the bad-puppy days when you kiss their nose and whisper to them that they are a good dog. They will be if they believe they can be. And socializing - puppies train each other. Go to puppy classes if you can, but if not, regular visits to the dog park do a world of good in training, and many dog parks have small dog/puppy areas. If you're looking for a good book, we've always followed the series by the Monks of New Skete ('How to be your dog's best friend, etc.) and our little hellhounds have always blossomed into amazing lifelong companions. Good luck to you all, and good on you for thinking in advance about how to help your puppy succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^I forgot to mention that he recommended pert plus for shampoos! At first I was buying expensive stuff but it caused itching. After switching to the pert, no more itching. And it’s super cheap.

Simple Dawn washing up liquid is also a good shampoo for animals.

[Anonymous]

No specific advice, but know that it will be VERY DIFFICULT at first and you will wonder if your life will ever be the same. Also know that it will get MUCH easier after year one!

[Anonymous]

Try to get an older puppy - 12-14 weeks because it will be able to hold its bladder longer and you may be able to skip the middle of the night potty breaks.

Hire a dog walker to come for 30 minutes mid-day when you are at work/school - you can find a dog walker quickly through Rover.

Be prepared to spend extra $ at the vet, for example, our puppy came with parasites, which I think is fairly common.

I love my puppy, but she is definitely a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

Keep a lot of Nylabones in the house for teething and then after for boredom, or they'll get bored and chew/ destroy your things.

I'm not talking about edible Nylabones, the puppy starter kit is perfect.

For the life of the dog, keep nylabones in the house at all times... they're perfect for distracting and refocusing a dog's attention elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This might sound weird, but our breeder gave us all kids of tips to keep us away from the vet early on, because he felt like that’s where young puppies are most likely to get sick. For heartguard, he told us to buy ivomectin from the tractor supply store. You have to get the dosage right—it’s a very small amount for dogs and overdosing can hurt them. (It’s what they use for livestock.) But it’s way cheaper than the heartguard a vet would prescribe. For shots, he told us to go to shot clinics because they are for healthy dogs not sick ones. We paid around $20 to have the rabies shots done at tractor supply during their Saturday shot clinic. Our vet is running a special in February for spaying because it’s national spaying/neutering awareness month.

We weren’t really trying to save money, but ended up seeing how it can be done if you don’t use a vet for every little thing.

Other tips: don’t let your puppy eat stuff that can get stuck inside them like socks, and don’t let them near anything with xylitol, which is super common these days in mints and gum and very, very lethal to dogs in very small doses.

A breeder that's suspicious of vets is one I'd stay away from.

A good breeder should be preparing you for the costs of ownership, not tell you about cheap, dangerous behavior.

I'm sorry to say, but it sounds like you got a dog from a backyard breeder who doesn't really understand how important it is to have a veterinarian involved from the beginning. He's probably cheaping out on puppy care. I'm going to guess the breeder's business has the initials GV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blankets and towels work great for dog beds. They’ll ruin the fancy bed anyway.

+1. We got our crate for free from a Facebook buy nothing page. And use old towels for the bed. Makes it easy to wash.