Having lived with a dalmatian puppy for the past three and a half months I feel i'm in the same position as many of my clients when they first take on their new puppy. Just because it's my job it doesn't make some of the struggles any easier! With that in mind though, I have LOVED having a puppy and would absolutely do it again, so i'm going to share my tips to keep you sane! 1. Sleep, Sleep and more sleep... and in fact if you think your puppy is getting enough sleep, add some more sleep in! In fact they need 18-20 hours of it, so make sure for their sake and yours they are getting the right amount! 2. Crate or pens.... you will thank me for this one. Your puppy will need sleep, and you will need a break from puppy. Start crate or pen training from day one! Extra top tip; start with the crate/pen next to where you sleep, you can always move it to where you want it to be when your puppy is settled. 3. Consistency.. puppies are cute but they're going to grow. Don't start habits you won't want when they are full size. I'm talking about things like jumping up, or sitting on the furniture. 4. Appropriate diet.... i'm not a one size fits all person, whether you're feeding raw, dry, wet, cold pressed, cooked or whatever else, make sure it's puppy appropriate, make sure they're getting the right amount, and make sure it's good quality. A puppy fed on food high in rubbish is going to be extra bitey and harder to settle! 5. Toys... have a selection of different textures of toys and chews. Puppies will favour different textures or firmness depending on their mood and how they are teething. Have a selection of food toys and chews to hand for when you need 5-10 minutes peace! 6. NO PUPPY PADS.... Puppy pads often confuse puppies, they start favouring that texture and begin to learn to toilet inside which ultimately means they become confused when you try and transfer that to outside. Both my puppies were winter puppies, i've stood outside at 2am in November in the rain whilst waiting for my puppy to go to the toilet but it's worth it! 7. Train from day one... rather than having 'set training times' start training in real life instead. Simple things; sit to be polite, wait whilst your food bowl is put on the floor, don't rush out the crate door etc. 8. Socialisation isn't saying hello.... there's a fine balance between socialisation and over-socialisation. It is important for your dog to meet new people and dogs but it's also important they learn to ignore them and be 'neutral' about things going on around them. A rough guide is meeting one in three dogs/people. 9. Introduce what you'll need... if your dog is a long coated breed then introduce handling early on.If you are going to be wanting to take your dog on holidays then start getting them used to the car. Take them to the vets for fun trips even just to sit on the scales, desensitise to loud noises such as fireworks. Consider what you'll need in the future and start introducing it in a positive way! 10. Name things...Start putting things you do regularly on a verbal cue. I have taught Kevin things without having to actually teach him by simply pairing an action with a cue on a daily basis. For example whenever he brought me a toy, i'd say the word 'hand' before playing tug of war with him, now whenever he has anything in his mouth, I can say that word and he'll come and put it in my hand. Things like; crate/going for a wee/tea time/it's bed time! I could write loads more but for now I think that's a good enough base to get you started with!! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments
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