The first several weeks with a puppy- tell me the good, the bad and the ugly

[Anonymous]

We are getting much closer to taking the plunge (Early Summer 2016 most likely) and I want to hear all about it. I have been the hold out because I know it will be absolutely life changing. My kids are 8 and 10 and though they will "help" I know realistically it'll be mostly on me to do the super early walks, vet visits, etc. We 100% want a puppy b/c we have cats and want the puppy to adapt to the cats vs. the other way around.

What was your set up initially for house breaking and when you weren't home? We are planning on crate training. We know three friends who all have gotten puppies and they have all had very different experiences. I have always had pets and grew up with a dog, but was too young to remember the dog as a puppy.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

An older dog will be much better at adapting to cats, especially one that has lived with cats.

[Anonymous]

We have two kids ages 7 and 9 and got an 8 week old puppy about 2 months ago. It is a LOT of chaos and work, but also really fun and we love our puppy. There have been unexpected benefits (significant reduction in screen time because the kids just want to play with the puppy, and increase in exercise for all of us on walks). Crate training has been going well. She only woke up during the night the first two nights we had her, and we take her out about every 3-4 hours, usually she gets 3 walks a day for 20 minutes or so. We've had only a handful of pee accidents in the house. One poop. We both work full time, but work at home on alternate schedules so we've managed it with a dog walker one day a week and do her mid-day walk around noon. We are going to get a dog walker more days per week because the mid-day walk has been really hard to manage because our work days are unpredictable in terms of being able to take a lunch break stress free. The hardest thing is probably around dinner time, when kids are tired and fighting, parents are tired and trying to get dinner made, the puppy is barking or chewing on the rug or running away with a toy or object she can't chew on. The one thing that was completely unexpected is the vet and the bills associated with that. We expected the initial well visit and vaccines, but she also had round worm (vomiting) and then as soon as she recovered from round worm she got another parasite that had her vomiting again and had to be treated. We've spent much more money than we expected. It is sort of like having a new baby, although it is getting easier MUCH quicker.

[Anonymous]

My puppy was pretty good but he was very nippy and the kids hated his sharp little teeth so they would not play with him until he was about 6 months old when he stopped biting. He chewed everything up in the house and I had to get up with him at 3am to take him out to pee. But he turned out to be an awesome dog so it was all worth it.

[Anonymous]

Biting!!!
(but they will be soft puppy bites)
And frantic. Kids were surprised the puppy was so manic - much of the time.

[Anonymous]

A vet tech once told me that whatever month they are, that's how long they can hold their pee. So a one month old puppy can hold it for one hour, a four month old puppy can hold it for four hours, etc.

A tired dog is a well-behaved dog.

[Anonymous]

The good: soft, fluffy, adorable - will be a long term friend

The ugly: potty accidents, puppy nipping, and moments of mass destruction

[Anonymous]

Why would you think a puppy would adapt to cats well? That's insane.