Need reality check on puppy phase

[Anonymous]

Never owned dogs but our family now wants to get one. Husband (rightfully) says that life is easy now with older kids (10 and 6) so introducing a puppy that doesn’t sleep thru the night, pee accidents etc. will be a lot of inconvenience.
Give it to me- how terrible will the puppy phase be, how long to house train, etc.
we are considering a golden retriever/cavalier mix.

[Anonymous]

if you crate right from the very first night and have taken the dog out sufficiently including just before bedtime, there is no reason you should be getting up in the night for bathroom breaks, especially if the dog is a larger breed. So last pee is at 10-11pm and then you get them out at 6am for a pee in the morning.

You establish a routine. How long the dog takes to house train depends on the breed and the individual dog. Easier with male dogs, I've heard but I don't know for sure.

[Anonymous]

One of my friends bought a golden doodle (her first dog ever) at the beginning of covid. The dog had a parasite that caused it to go diarrhea and it took a couple months to get under control. Also had pretty bad separation anxiety and was up all night for weeks. Basically she cried in the shower every day for 2 months. Everything is fine now and they love her but they were having major regrets for a while there. Be prepared for things to go wrong. They may not but it can happen.

[Anonymous]

We got a lab puppy last fall. The not sleeping through the night phase was relatively short lived--maybe 6 weeks total, and we only had to take her out once per night. The puppy biting phase lasted until about 4/5 months old. The puppy high energy excitability phase is ongoing, though gets incrementally better as her training and focus improves, but really with a lab or golden temperament in the mix, it can be 2+ years before the puppy energy evens out.

We got our previous dog, and first that was ours to be responsible for, a golden retriever, at 2.5 years old (was originally my ILs dog) and he was still really high energy and needed to be exercised a lot, but was great in the house and very sweet and easy going. I'd suggest you get an older dog for a first time dog honestly. We thought we were prepared for a puppy since we'd had a dog for 8 years already, but it was still and is still a lot more work to have this puppy than our previous dog was as an adult.

[Anonymous]

The puppy stage is VERY hard - you never know what issues your puppy will have - biting/nipping, peeing/pooping inside, separation anxiety, whining/crying in the crate, being very hyper, or a combination of these or other bad habits. You need to constantly watch them or have them crated/fenced off.
Plus they can get sick easily and the vet bills add up. This is why so many dogs end up in the shelter - think long and hard before getting a puppy, especially since you have never had dogs. The puppy blues are a very real thing.

I would recommend fostering to adopt an older dog, that way you can be sure to match up the dog's temperament and personality with your family and needs.
We got our first dog this way, and she was amazing and perfect.

[Anonymous]

We got a 5-month old mixed breed from the county shelter. Pretty much potty trained from the outset but we were not prepared for the chewing- I mean destruction of many items we held dear. Probably cost an excess of $500 total- and we were lucky the dog did not hurt itself swallowing a foreign object.

None of us has any tolerance for being a slave to the dogs need to go outside to do its business, we installed a dog door. I would not have a dog w/out a dog door and fenced yard.

Fast forward 3 years and the dog is pure joy to all of us and a great motivation to get out walking every day rain or shine or snow or ice or heat.... in fact the biggest surprise is, at 3+ years old, how much exercise and stimulation the dog still requires! If this dog (medium size at 60 lbs) is not walked at least 2-3x/day - long walks and/or dog park visits, not quick jaunts around the block- we get late night barking, whining, following around the house, excessive scratching and chewing.

This was the biggest lesson, that the puppy energy persists way longer than expected. But he does get a lot of exercise most days and is a good dog (most days).

[Anonymous]

Puppies are really hard. I’m a seasoned lab owner and understand this. And my family does. After they chew up 15 television remotes or five pairs of expensive shoes and maybe the bottom of a bedroom door it gets tiresome.

After two and half or three years you’ve got a sweet pal for life. But it’s not for the front of heart and you must be completely understanding.

I often feel sorry for dogs that get owners who do not understand this. Or owners who use negative enforcement and even spanking. Terrible.

[Anonymous]

We got a puppy this summer and it was our first dog. We got up 2x the first few nights and tehn just once for about 2-3 weeks. She was pretty well housetrained after a month or two, but you do have to be vigilant. Honestly, it really wasn't that bad, but I also think we have a very easy dog.

[Anonymous]

The dog will be the focus of your life for at least 6 months, if not a year. That is the reality. The first thing you do when you wake up, multiple times during the day, and the last thing you do before you sleep. The dog must be fed, walked, played with, taken to the vet, groomed, socialized and trained (if you want a good dog).

Having a puppy is like having a small child. Don't underestimate the work and exhaustion. It it worth it but you really need to want a dog for the right reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dog will be the focus of your life for at least 6 months, if not a year. That is the reality. The first thing you do when you wake up, multiple times during the day, and the last thing you do before you sleep. The dog must be fed, walked, played with, taken to the vet, groomed, socialized and trained (if you want a good dog).

Having a puppy is like having a small child. Don't underestimate the work and exhaustion. It it worth it but you really need to want a dog for the right reasons.

+1. We got a pandemic puppy; I'll never get a puppy again. It's not like having a baby: it's like having a willful toddler who still gets up at night. I'm thrilled for those whose dogs slept through the night from day one: our 4-month old still gets up in the middle of the night at least once and is up for the day before 6am. Every. Single. Day. We have to watch her constantly because she chews everything. We're doing distance learning and can't let the dog bark so crate training is hard. All of our arms have bite marks from where she's nipped us. She's super duper sweet, all of this is normal and we love her. But I totally underestimated how much work it takes. It's like I needed a maternity leave for the puppy.

[Anonymous]

I've fostered 30 dogs. Puppies are so sweet but yes the puppy stage is very, very demanding. But likely you are spending more time at home so perhaps you can cope?

I like dogs that are a bit older, already house broken and known temperament. FYI in the event of potty problems I find males have a slight edge - belly bands are easy to use and not helpful for females.

I put two crates together, one for sleeping, one lined for potty breaks. Got me through the night. Also this:

https://smile.amazon.com/New-World-Pet-Products-B552-30/dp/B079PK85DV/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=2XZ8EVGSO2O2E&dchild=1&keywords=puppy+corral&qid=1607467025&sprefix=puppy+corral%2Caps%2C611&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzT1I1VDE1M1dZTlNZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzMwMDgwMThIMFhQMTE4STdZUiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODc0NjMwMU5YUUc5NERBMU1FJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

[Anonymous]

No two puppies are the same just like with kids. I suggest you plan on getting a bad sleeping needy puppy with GI trouble and be happy it it turns out your puppy is easy. Yes your puppy may sleep the night from 10 to 6. But also yes your puppy might not sleep and keep you up all night for months. If you get an older dog you will know much better what you are getting. What you don’t want to do is imagine you will get an easy puppy who sleeps through the night and end up getting a needy puppy and then want to return the puppy.

[Anonymous]

Puppies are extremely difficult. YMMV depending on your luck but we we did not get a full night’s sleep for the first 3.5 months, and had to watch him extremely closely until about 8 months to keep him from chewing on furniture. Many dogs also take quite a few months to be potty trained. I don’t say any of this to discourage you, because it is totally worth it, but puppies are a huge pain in the ass.

Also, since you mentioned that you have never had dogs: even when they’re fully grown, dogs are not particularly low maintenance. They need a lot of companionship, regular walks, and to be let out to the bathroom every handful of hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Puppies are extremely difficult. YMMV depending on your luck but we we did not get a full night’s sleep for the first 3.5 months, and had to watch him extremely closely until about 8 months to keep him from chewing on furniture. Many dogs also take quite a few months to be potty trained. I don’t say any of this to discourage you, because it is totally worth it, but puppies are a huge pain in the ass.

Also, since you mentioned that you have never had dogs: even when they’re fully grown, dogs are not particularly low maintenance. They need a lot of companionship, regular walks, and to be let out to the bathroom every handful of hours.

Agree.

OP, you should take these negative posters seriously because of you notice some dog owners are crazy about their dogs - you have to be because they take a lot of work. They are great companions but don’t get one and put it in a crate in a mud room like some other poster on here today. Better to not get one then to treat it less than it deserves. Dogs will love you more than they care about themselves. But it’s not all roses to get there.

[Anonymous]

If you’ve never had a dog before, you really need to do your research before getting a puppy. A puppy will come into your home completely untrained, physically and mentally immature, and bursting with energy. It won’t have any manners. It will be destructive. It will swallow things it shouldn’t. You have to be vigilant about protecting puppy from parvo until it’s fully vaccinated. How well trained and socialized it ultimately becomes will be entirely dependent on you. Dogs sometimes vomit or have diarrhea or get injured. They sometimes need medications or urgent medical care. They need regular vaccinations. The “start up” supplies are expensive that first year for first time dog owners. Spaying/neutering isn’t cheap. Boarding your dog if you ever want to travel without it isn’t cheap. High quality dog treats aren’t cheap. Make sure you research the special needs, medical issues and quirks of golden retriever/Cavalier mixes.

The odds are good that you’d fall in love with your pup and be okay with all of that, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. How would you deal with that?