Tips and Tricks for your new puppy

Hey Guys!

Today’s post is going to be about what to do with that new ball of fur that is running through your house. Puppy’s can be horrible, especially if you have a more hyper breed.I have an Australian shepherd, so my experience was insanely difficult. I thought I would share some things I have learned so far in my dog mom journey.

Schmidt is little over a year old now, but I have had him since he was 3 months old. 

These tips are just things I tried looking for when I first got Schmidt, but I couldn’t find anything that really told me what I wanted to know. I hope this will help you guys with training and loving your new furball!

1. I think the most important thing to think about is what kind of breed is most suitable for your lifestyle or the lifestyle you want to achieve.

I say breed, but I am not trying to say you have to go buy some expensive dog. I actually recommend and highly encourage people to adopt because there is no difference in a dog with a pedigree and a dog in a shelter; they just need homes.  

I chose an Australian Shepherd because they are smart, easy to train, active, and beautiful. I love big dogs, but I live in an small apartment with only a dog park, so I didn’t want to get a dog that would get frustrated with the small space. Aussies are great because they are a medium-sized dog. 

I also had horrible sleeping habits, and I would stay on my laptop all day and never see the sun. I wanted a dog that would force me to be a more active person. 

Schmidt did that and sooooo much more.

2. Potty training is so important and should start the minute the dog enters your house. I was lucky because Schmidt seemed to be born potty trained, but I worked hard to make sure he stayed that way. When he was 3 months to 5 months, I took him out every hour on the hour when I was home. After 5 months, I could trust him to tell me when he needed to potty.

I also limited the amount of water he could have when I went out. I also did this because he thought it was fun to dump over his water bowl, but that’s a different story. 

I do not recommend puppy pads. I have seen times when the dog thinks wherever the puppy pad is in the house is an okay place to potty at, even when you remove the pad. I say just buck down and put all your energy into potty training because it’s worth it in the end.

I always rewarded Schmidt with a treat when he used the bathroom outside. I brought the treats out with me so I gave him a treat the minute he did it so he would understand the meaning.

3. When you leave the house, always put your puppy in a crate. Puppies become monsters when you are not there to keep them company. This is just the puppy stage, after a while you can let them run free. I let Schmidt go into the living room while I was gone when he was 7 months. I close off all the doors and only let him use the living room. Likewise, crate them while you sleep as well.

4. Schmidt use to wake me up all night long. I didn’t get any sleep because of his constant crying. We were still in potty training mode, so I did not want to let him sleep with me because that would ruin the process. I started to give him a bath every time he woke me up crying. He hated baths, so he stopped crying at night. 

5. CHEWING! I do not have any tips on this matter besides crate them when you leave and watch them closely. I tried everything with Schmidt’s teething phase. I bought him a variety of toys with different textures; I put apple cider vinegar on things (that made him like chewing it more); I tried Kong toys; I spanked him; I bought tons of toys just for teething; but he just bit and chewed and bit and chewed. He busted my nose, and my roommates lip from biting.

He was a menace. If you have any tips that worked for you, please put them in the comments. In my experience, it was just something I had to wait out.

6. The snip. I am a huge advocate for getting your animals spayed or neutered. Dogs outnumber people in this world, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t take responsibility. I got Schmidt fixed at 18 weeks, and I noticed a slight change in his attitude afterwards. He wasn’t calm, but he definitely wasn’t as crazy. This also prevented him from hiking his leg when he pees, so my furniture was very thankful.

If you guys have any more tips, put them in the comments below