Hey OP-how is it going?

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 so wrong.

Puppies need to be socialized. They also can only hold their bladder for a short amount of time (an hour for every month they are old). Early on you will need a walker 2x a day. Then you can transition to 1 time.

Our 6 month old cocker spaniel could now go about 5 hours, but she would be desperate. We still use a walker 2x a day.

Agree!

I have a now 2 year old dog that I adopted at about 4 months. I had sworn I’d never get a puppy again- they are a ton of work- but I had an instant connection with her. A few key thoughts:


-plan on taking some time off , at least the first few days. You’ll be taking the dog outside constantly, and you and the dog will be figuring out a routine.

- crate training! My dog only uses her crate to sleep in at night now but if you use it the right way it will become a safe feeling spot for the dog and keeps them out of trouble when alone. Please don’t overdue the crate though- the puppy has to be around people & will be miserable if kept alone a lot. I bought a large crate that I could make smaller as needed from amazon. Don’t bother with an expensive crate mat until it’s potty trained- lots of old towels and blankets will work.

- dogs are not cheap. Vet care, supplies, food, training.... it adds up and you can’t really skimp on those things. Consider pet insurance

- I love dogs and have always had animals- for the first week or two that I had my current dog I wanted to cry sometimes. She was anxious all the time & slept much less than most puppies. She barked at everything. I love her soo much now but I really had second thoughts at first. I kept her because I had made the commitment & over time things got way easier.

Not trying to scare you, but be prepared. My other dogs were calmer and easier but ultimately I found they really do get there energy from you- if you’re happy or sad or confident or nervous, it rubs off on them.

Good luck. Check reddit for posts about dog adoption, I’ve gotten great advice on there

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 so wrong.

Puppies need to be socialized. They also can only hold their bladder for a short amount of time (an hour for every month they are old). Early on you will need a walker 2x a day. Then you can transition to 1 time.

Our 6 month old cocker spaniel could now go about 5 hours, but she would be desperate. We still use a walker 2x a day.

Plus, novice owners need the class.

Not a fair situation for a puppy. Get an older dog.

TJ Maxx and Marshalls have great pet toys and cheap small treats for training. And dog beds and water bowls and basically everything!

Pet supplies aren’t that expensive and dogs often ruin them, so there’s not much of a market for used.

Anonymous wrote:Hi I'm the OP. Thank you for all the valuable advice and the honest assessments. We will welcome the puppy soon and do our best. Crate or playpen training and puppy pads and lunch time visits with the pup will be our plan during the 1st weeks or so together. We will work our way through housebreaking as we can. I appreciate the link to the online book and to the chew toy. I survived parenting a demanding newborn human so am bracing myself for a similarly trying journey without the luxury of puppy parent leave . Hopefully love and patience will help us mitigate the other challenges we will face.

Any thoughts on buying and selling used pet supplies? The puppy is tiny but will grow to a 'large' dog so I am thinking I can buy used or sell used if there is such a market besides facebook or something.

Thank you!

Crate training will be one of your best tools.

Consistency also.

Mine eventually loved to stay in her crate, she goes in herself just to chill.

Feeding be consistent.

Do not give many "toys" . A breeder once told us that and non of our dogs turned out to be chewers.

Pets Mart sells tiny dog treats for training that are like 3 calories a piece. We used to cut them up (per dog trainer advice) for training. Worked like a charm. Some people might not like treat based training. Worked for us many times. After a few months our dogs all could care less about the treats, but listen on command.

Good luck!

Hi I'm the OP. Thank you for all the valuable advice and the honest assessments. We will welcome the puppy soon and do our best. Crate or playpen training and puppy pads and lunch time visits with the pup will be our plan during the 1st weeks or so together. We will work our way through housebreaking as we can. I appreciate the link to the online book and to the chew toy. I survived parenting a demanding newborn human so am bracing myself for a similarly trying journey without the luxury of puppy parent leave . Hopefully love and patience will help us mitigate the other challenges we will face.

Any thoughts on buying and selling used pet supplies? The puppy is tiny but will grow to a 'large' dog so I am thinking I can buy used or sell used if there is such a market besides facebook or something.

Thank you!