Bringing Home Puppy

When bringing home your new puppy you will want to make sure that you prepare a few things in advance to ensure a relaxing transition to your home. For the past 6-8 weeks of your pups life there probably has not been too much change that your puppy will have experienced environment wise.  Your puppy is used to the sames smells everyday, a familiar bed and their siblings and mother. When you bring your puppy home there will be many different smells, objects, other pets and people. This can all be very overwhelming and if not properly introduced, can have long lasting bad habits and behavioral problems.

One thing that you will want to think about is asking your breeder in advance what type of food they are feeding your puppy. You will want to get some for when you bring your puppy home. While house training your puppy, they will likely have accidents a few times before being completely house trained. Having said that you will not want to change your puppies food until you are confident that your puppy will not have any more accidents. When you change your puppies food, your puppies stomach will take some time to adjust to the new food. Your puppy will have the runs for about 2-3 days after switching over to a new food. By switching their food properly you can make a comfortable switch for your puppy. When changing your puppies food, you want to gradually add in small portions of your new choice of food into your puppies regular/familiar food. By doing that, the impact on your puppies stomach will be easier for your puppy meaning less "runs" for your pup. So knowing what your breeder is currently feeding your pup to prepare for a comfortable transition to your home is best.

Your puppy will be very familiar to the smells that they grew up with. Try and remember to bring a blanket and a toy with you when you pick up your puppy. Let your puppy play with their new toy with his/her siblings. This will allow you to bring familiar smells home with you. By bringing a new blanket with you, you can also hold your puppies siblings, so you can take familiar smells home to your puppies new bed. This makes the first night of crate training more comfortable for your puppy. Your puppy will be able to smell their siblings making them more relaxed. If you do plan on crate training your puppy from night one and you cant take a blanket with you, simply take the blanket you will provide your puppy and rub it on your clothes. Giving your puppy the sent of their new pack leader will also make them more comfortable their first night away from mom. Your puppy will also more than likely have been kept in a crate or a whelping box up until coming to their new forever home. By having a crate ready it allows your puppy to feel safe and secure. It will allow your puppy to establish that this new crate is their new bed and where their relaxing area will be.

You may also want to consider puppy proofing your home. Before you leave to pick up your puppy, stop and take a look around your home. Try even getting on your hands and knees and taking a look at every room from that angle, your puppy will be seeing everything at that height. Look for anything that would entice a new puppy to play or chew. By removing cords from the floor and making sure nothing is hanging over anything that your puppy may want to pull will help prevent any accidents and chewing. Try and think of the most puppy safe room in your home. If you do not plan on crate training your puppy while you are gone out of the house, you may want to limit your puppy to one room. Finding the room with the least puppy hazards will ensure a good safe training area for your puppy. You may want to restrict them to a room with little carpeting, most people use the laundry room or the kitchen. Make sure your cupboards are securely closed and can not be opened by your puppy, they are very curious and will get into them if not properly secured. By making sure anything that your puppy can chew is off the floor and out of reach will be key to keeping your possessions and your puppy safe. There are many stories of puppies eating blankets, coins, garbage, sewing needles, toys etc. causing the puppy a trip to the vet. To avoid unnecessary trips to the vet, make sure there is nothing lying around that your puppy could ingest and harm them.

There are many things that you need to think about and prepare for when bringing home your puppy. You want to ensure that the home you are bringing your puppy home to is safe. You will want to make sure you have a crate set up or a sleeping area made for the first night. Crates are ideal because it gives your puppy a sense of security and a space of their own. You will also want to have some of your breeders puppy food on hand for when your puppy comes home. If you plan on feeding him\her something different, get a small bag of your puppies current food and slowly mix in your puppies new food. Most breeders will give you a small bag of the food to hold you over a day or so. Do not be afraid to ask. Having some objects on hand when picking up your puppy, such as a blanket or toys to hold some familiar smells for their new home. Puppies are very delicate to change, so making it as comfortable for your puppy as possible will help set the pace for a well balanced dog.

Bringing Home Hugo (Night One)

You will notice the blue blanket. This is the blanket that we brought with us when we picked him up. The Jug in the photos is our other dog Bella. We got Hugo for Bella. She had no one to play with and thought they would be great together. Well from the moment we brought him home they have been best friends and play amazingly together.

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The Importance Of Being An Assertive Pack Leader

Dogs are pack animals, they need to have an established Pack Leader. By being an assertive leader role to your puppy from day one you will ensure a healthy relationship with your dog. There are many dogs out there with behavior problems that affect the relationship that many have with their dogs. Many people will too often get tired or angered by their dogs behavior and "opt out" of the relationship. The responsibility of bringing a dog into your family should never be taken lightly. Anyone who is thinking about bringing a dog into their home should always think very responsibly about the leader they are/can be and apply that to a dog that will suit that aspect of your personality. Too often people will bring a dog home purely on how the dog looks or experiences they have had with other people's dogs. With every breed brings a different level of intensity and leadership needed to maintain a well balanced dog. 


You hear many horror stories in the news of "good dogs" gone "bad". You may even know a few dogs that are misbehaved, over excited and out of control. To achieve a well balanced and respectful dog you must be the leader in the relationship. If you do not portray that, it will be easy for your dog to quickly become "out of control." Right from day one you need to let your puppy know who is the boss. You must be consistent and always remember, even though they are cute as a button they are a dog. You must remember to treat them as such. This does not go to say that they are not a part of the family, because they are. However, dogs do the best when they are given boundaries and limitations. My Great Dane does very well at home with me. But when I take him to my Mom's house (She has His Mom, Asia and raised Hugo until he was 3 months) He quickly turns into a slightly different dog. My Mom does not give any boundaries, He is aloud on the furniture (not at home here though), treats when ever He pleases, and just in general acts like an idiotic child. At 140 pounds, (to me) its unacceptable. He will listen to what ever I tell Him, but ignores any corrections from my Mom. She watches Him on a semi-regular basis and He always acts up when I go to pick Him up, but remembers quick who is boss when I get there. And becomes my well behaved Hugo once more. 


Many people will get a breed they know little about. Some will choose that breed because they saw it on TV, thinks its a really cute dog, or has known someone with that dog and has had great experiences with that dog. Most people do not realize the work that goes into maintaining a well behaved well rounded dog. Too many people will not research the breed itself before making the decision. For some, being a leader comes easily. For others, they are more of the "nurturing, nondisciplinary" type of leader. There is a breed for each type. But when someone who is very "soft," getting a "stronger willed" dog can prove disastrous. In those cases, many animals are put down or re-homed. Re-homing (in my opinion) is one of the worst types of stress you can put on an animal. Getting the breed that suits your personality is the first step to success in finding a truly enjoyable and meaningful relationship with your dog. 


Some dogs will develop behavior problems when they feel that their owner is not the pack leader. Aggression problems and nervous tendencies and can prove very dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced/submissive owner. Most dogs who feel that their owner are not the "protector/leader" will take it upon themselves to fill that role. They will become very protective of you and aggressive to other people or animals. Once your dog has established that leader role, it can be very difficult to revert that role back to the owner. Letting your dog know that you are in charge and will protect THEM will allow them to submit to you fully as their leader. They look to their pack leader in every situation they encounter. They pick up on your anxiety levels and will react on them. If you truly do not feel in control, your dog will pick up on that and in a moment take charge themselves. Most times people will get a small dog and catch themselves in a false feeling that they are fragile little creatures that should not be disciplined. Those are the "yippy" little dogs we all know at least one. Even those dogs need structure and an assertive leader. 


Consider the characteristics of the breed you want. Some breeds being more intense and strong-willed then others will need an experienced assertive leader to achieve balance. In any case, every dog big or small needs a respectable leader figure to become a well rounded well behaved member of the family.  

The Perfect Season To Bring Home Puppy

Choosing when the perfect time to bring your new puppy home can also be very crucial to your puppies training development. Choosing the right season to bring a new puppy home can help many new dog owners to train your puppy. House training and walk training are very important things to actively enforce right from the night you bring them home. By bringing home your puppy in the colder months, house and walk training your puppy can occur much faster and with little training knowledge. 


Training your puppy that the house is no place to go to the bathroom is the first thing you should focus on. Starting a routine from the first night is crucial. Starting on an every half hour schedule is best. Your home will be very unfamiliar to your new puppy, and at 6-8 weeks their bladder is small and fills quickly. Taking your puppy out every half hour to 45 minutes for the first day will help your new puppy make the difference between outside (bathroom) and inside. In the colder months your puppy at 6-8 weeks will not like the cold very much and may still be getting used to low temperatures. When your puppy is exposed to the cold, they will naturally have to pee. The more times in a day you can take your new puppy out the easier it will be for your puppy to understand that he/she is to go to the bathroom outside and will be more willing to hold their bladder until they can get outside. Training your puppy to last through the night is also very important. By taking water away an hour before bedtime and taking your puppy out right before heading to bed, and crate training all take part in training your puppy to sleep through the night. Your puppy will wake up early in the morning, taking them out and going right back to bed if you like to sleep in will let them drain their bladders and learn they do not decide the time to wake up for the day.   


Training your puppy how to walk and stay with you (basic obedience) will help prevent accidents, unwanted interactions and uncomfortable tense walks with your (soon to be full grown) dog. When it is cold outside your puppy will naturally want to stay with you by your side. I grew up breeding dogs, and the one thing I noticed was the difference in time it took to train the puppies to come when called and walk training. In the warmer months when we had puppies, taking 6-8 puppies 4-9 weeks old outside to play by yourself can be very difficult. The puppies are quick to want to explore and check everything out. They often took twice as long to poop and pee as the puppies who were born in the cooler months. Taking 6-8 puppies 4-9 weeks old outside in the colder months seemed to be a breeze. They would all poop and pee right away and follow me around the property where ever I went sticking right with me. They have the instinct to stay with the pack leader when in threatening situations, and the cold to a 4-9 week old puppy can feel very threatening. By training your puppy proper walking in the cooler months will prove to be a benefit when the warmer months come and your puppy has already learned proper obedience. 


In conclusion, getting your puppy in late winter/early spring or mid fall/ early winter will help you to properly train your new puppy good obedience for the warmer months to follow. Your puppy will still be very much in the puppy stage when the warmer weather comes, and a puppy with established routines and obedience will make for a more balanced puppy. Do not wait to start establishing good obedience and proper bathroom routines, your puppy will be looking for a pack leader from the time they leave their mother (their pack leader their entire life.) By taking advantage of that opportunity and not mistaking it as a sad sorry puppy will help your puppy to establish that connection with you. 

**The photos added are of Hugo from 2 weeks to 20 Months***






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