Puppies are amazing! They’re cute, cuddly, tiny, and they become your best friends. They’re also a LOT of work. At the beginning of the pandemic in March, my boyfriend and I walked into the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and fell in love with our own little american staffordshire terrier/greyhound mix named Kipp. When we got him he was only two months old. Now that he’s almost 10 months old and transitioning out of his puppy phase, I figured I would share some things I wish I knew before adopting a puppy.
1. Do NOT let them sleep in your bed at night
This one might sound weird, but trust me on this. If you let your puppy sleep in your bed, they are never going to leave. I wanted to make Kipp super comfortable during his first night at his new home so I let him sleep on my chest in my bed. Every night I would make an excuse to let him stay in bed with my boyfriend and I, refusing to put him to bed in his crate in the other room. When we eventually did try to get him to sleep in his own space he cried, barked, and howled all night until we took him back in our bed. He is never going to sleep anywhere else and this constant attachment also led to him developing separation anxiety later on. It’s much better for you and your pup to have separate sleep spaces.
2. Crate train your puppy and invest in a large crate
I am a strong advocate against crating your dog once they’re out of their puppy phase, but as a puppy it is definitely a necessity. Puppies will get into EVERYTHING and try to eat whatever they destroy. Training them to be in a crate when you’re gone keeps them from destroying your stuff and prevents them from getting sick by eating something they’re not supposed to. Once they’re older and know better, they can be left alone at your place. Also, invest in a large crate because your puppy is going to grow fast. I had to buy three different crates for mine because I didn’t realize how fast he would grow out of it.
3. Puppies come with their own routines
While this might seem obvious, I didn’t realize that my dog came with his own routine. Every day for the first month or two, Kipp would wake up at 7 a.m. (way too early for me) and jump all over me until I got up to play with him. He was used to getting up early from his foster home, and he expected me to get in line with his patterns. I had to spend time training him into a routine that worked for me – getting up at 9 instead of 7, going for a walk as soon as we got up, eating at certain times, etc. Your puppy will come with their own habits and that can be annoying, but just keep in mind that they’re adjusting to their home and are just used to doing things a certain way. If you give it time, you can develop your own routine with them.
4. Yelp like a dog if they get too rough while playing
If your puppy is the only dog in your household, this is especially important. Since your puppy is only going to be around you at first, you need to teach them when they’re playing too rough. If your puppy was playing with other puppies and they bit one of the other puppies too hard, the hurt puppy would let out a loud, high-pitched yelp. This yelp startles your puppy and lets them know that they took it too far. In order to mimic this effect you can let out a high-pitched yelp to let your puppy know that he was too rough. This teaches him how to play with you and other dogs. Kipp would bite super hard at first because he didn’t know how much it hurt. After yelping and yelling “ow” a few times, he learned how to be more gentle.