Puppies are loved by almost everyone. They look so cute and feel so fluffy. But once you get your own puppy, you notice some other sides to puppyhood that nobody told you about.
You can find the video of this blog post here:
These are 5 things nobody told you about raising a puppy that you should know:
There are going to be accidents And lots of them! Unless you are one of those lucky puppy owners whose puppy is house trained easily, there are going to be lots of accidents. When a puppy arrives at your home, they won't know you don't like them peeing or pooping inside your home. So you'll need to be prepared at all times and keep an eye on your puppy constantly. They might be playing one second, just to stop and notice they need to pee the next. You can find some tips on this specific topic in this post.
You have to teach your puppy everything From walking to behaviours and where to pee. Your puppy has only been in this world for about 8 weeks, so you'll have to teach them everything they need to know. Even walking your dog needs training, often I notice people just expect their dog to walk calmly by their side. This does, however, take lots of training.
It is a full-time commitment I always make sure to have two weeks vacation scheduled from the moment my puppie arrives at home onward. A puppy will need lots of attention to get them to behave like you want them to. You need to teach them the rules about the lives they are going to live. But also later in life, you can't just go on a holiday or leave for the weekend without arranging a solution for your dog. Do they come along? Does somebody stay at your place? Do you bring them to doggy daycare? Having a dog is a big responsability and they might stay by your side for 15 years.
You will need to wake up at night This is kind of linked to the first point we discussed. Because your puppy won't be able to hold his bladder for a whole night, he might wake up in the night with a full bladder. Because most puppies instinctively try to keep their sleeping area clean, they might start barking or whining to tell you they need to go outside. So be prepared for waking up multiple times at night.
The 'zoomies' or crazy hour When training puppies, many dog owners tell me about the crazy hour or 'zoomies' their puppy might get. Most puppies experience this in the evening. What is the zoomies? It's your pup just running around like crazy and maybe even jumping on furniture. Often, puppies do this after they have spent a long time in their crate or had a stressful experience. By running around they actually try to shed the excess energy build up in them. Most of the times, this behaviour is harmless as long as your puppy doesn't run into something.