Are you thinking about getting a new puppy?

Read this first !

Having a new puppy is a wonderful experience and will change your life. If you haven’t had a puppy before, it can be difficult to appreciate the effect that a little furry bundle can have on your life.

In this blog, I explore the basic requirements of a puppy and how to meet their needs to achieve a smooth transition into life within the family and ensure their ongoing wellbeing.  

Can you fulfil all these requirements?

Bringing home a new puppy

Bringing a new puppy to your home will create change for everyone.

The purpose of this guide is to help you consider what your puppy will need and whether you are able to provide for their needs.

A safe home for your puppy

Consider whether you have a suitable environment for your puppy, it sounds obvious doesn’t it?  

You need to “puppy proof” your space to keep puppy safe and prevent damage.

A suitable environment includes space for the puppy to settle.  If you live in a busy household, this may need to be away from high levels of activity and noise so that puppy can settle and sleep.

Many puppies can learn to settle close to the hubbub of daily life but this may take some time and some puppies may always struggle to rest when there is a lot of activity

You will need space for equipment such as crate, puppy pen and/or a bed (or two)! I like crates, especially in the early days, having a crate can help keep your puppy safe when you can’t supervise them, can help the puppy sleep and rest independently, and can also help with toilet training.  

You will need easy access to areas for the puppy to toilet in. When it comes to toilet training, I am a great exponent of taking a puppy outside to toilet as often as is necessary. I am not keen on puppy pads, in my view, they cause more problems than they solve.  If the puppy is left alone and they toilet on the pad, you can have problems; puppies often shred the pads and make an awful mess, rendering the pad useless if they need to toilet again, or they may  eat the pooh that is left sitting there. This is a situation, I see frequently. To tell the truth, in my opinion, and this may be controversial, a young puppy should not be left alone for longer than they can hold their toilet.

See my previous posts on crate training and toilet training.

Consider if you are about to start building work in the home or garden, with the upheaval that occurs with any building work, this might not be a good time to bring a puppy home.

If you have a garden it should be enclosed to prevent your puppy escaping, and ‘puppy proofed’, meaning potentially dangerous items are removed. You would be surprised what puppies can get into. Pay attention to garden ponds, make sure they are fenced off so puppy can’t fall. Fence off other areas that may contain materials that could be hazardous, including poisonous plants.  

The costs of owning a puppy

Having a puppy is expensive. They need a lot of stuff and although individually many of these items are not expensive, they do add up.

Here are a few of the costs that any new puppy owner will need will need to prepare for.

Equipment for your new puppy

·       Bed(s)

·       Crate(s) you may need to buy several to accommodate your growing puppy

·       Puppy pen

·       Toys 

·       Collar

·       Lead and/or Harness

·       Name Tag

·       Car crate or seat belt (maybe a new car !)

Feeding your puppy can be expensive

Good quality food is expensive.

The larger the breed, the more food they will eat and the more it will cost to feed them.

Looking after your puppy’s health is expensive

Vaccinations are important, they protect your puppy from disease and are mandatory for most day care settings and training classes.

Flea, worm and tick prevention are ongoing expenses.

If your puppy becomes unwell or has an accident then vet bills need to be considered and can mount up.

Pet insurance helps with veterinary costs associated with illness and accident, but do not cover preventative care. Depending on the policy you choose, you will have to pay an excess and may have to make an additional contribution to costs as well. If you decide to take out pet insurance, make sure you compare different policies, the cover they provide and the costs you will have to meet.

Professional care for your puppy can be expensive

If you work, you may need to find someone to help you with puppy care when you can’t be at home. This could be a friend or family member, or you may need to engage a pet professional.

Later you may need to hire a dog walker or arrange day care.

If you go on holiday and you are unable to take your puppy or dog, you will need to arrange suitable care, a friend or family member may be able to help, otherwise you will need to arrange dog boarding or a house sitter.

Puppy Training

I advise all puppy owners to seek professional help with training their puppy and this is best done as soon as possible after your puppy comes home, well before they are old enough to attend classes. Most trainers offer this service. You may even decide to have a trainer visit before your puppy comes home so they can advise you about equipment and how best to prepare.

Puppy training can be expensive, and this can be off putting. However, remember that when you engage a professional, they will have spent many years learning their craft and gaining experience and you will benefit from all their acquired expertise.

Find out more about my one to one puppy training here

Early help from a trainer really is worth its weight in gold, it can prevent many problems that most owners wouldn’t consider, and can make a huge difference to how your puppy grows up. The right advice at this time can prevent behavioural problems, saving you from worry and expense.  

This is particularly important with your first puppy, but even if it’s your second or third puppy, you will still benefit from professional help; every puppy is different and this puppy will be different to the puppies that you've had before. 

I am often called to help when their puppy is 6 months to one year of age. By this time, they have often acquired some undesirable habits such as biting, inability to settle and difficulty with toilet training.  These are problems which could have been avoided with the correct help in the early days.

Spending time with your new puppy

Your puppy needs your time and attention.

Puppies take up a lot of time and when they first come home you will want to spend time getting to know them. You need to be honest with yourself about how much time and energy you have to spend with a puppy. You need to be prepared for broken nights and lack of sleep at the beginning. This will be the case with most young puppies.

If you work, whether you work at home or travel to work, it’s ideal if you can take some time off work in these early weeks to get started with toilet training, encouraging your puppy to sleep and rest, and playing and bonding.

These subtle interactions will all help build a relationship and facilitate and can really set you up for success with other aspects of training; such as teaching your puppy to choose to stay close to you, and coming back when called.

If you're not around to do these things, you will need the help of someone else who can be who can be there to fill in the gaps, this could be a friend or family member or a pet professional.

Consider all your puppy’s needs

In summary, if you're thinking about buying a puppy, think about whether you can provide a safe space for them, whether your environment is suitable, and whether you have the finances and the time to meet their needs.

If you're not sure, this probably isn’t the right time, and you can use this guide to start planning for a puppy in the future.