If you have children and are considering adding a puppy to your family, there are a number of factors to consider. This articles outlines the top eight things you should know about puppyhood before bringing a puppy home to your family.
#1 – Make Sure That Your Entire Family is Ready for a Puppy
Puppies require extensive time, energy and resources so it is imperative that all members in the household are 100% on board with getting a puppy. A puppy will add additional stress to your household, which can cause stress amongst the humans if someone is not on board with puppy-hood. It is very important that the family talks about the physical, emotional and financial investment of having a puppy BEFORE bringing a puppy home to your young family.
#2 – Puppies are Expensive
Before bringing a puppy home, you must be financially prepared to care for a puppy and pay for puppy related expenses. Whether you decide to get your puppy from an adoption agency or a breeder, there are a number of recurring puppy expenses that you should consider. The following list is based on my personal experience with my large breed dogs. Small breed dog related expenses may be less.
- Breeder cost $850+ or Adoption Cost $150+
- Puppy Well Visits $200+ per visit or $450+ for annual pet plan (routine care only)
- Flea and tick preventative $25+ a month
- Heart-worm preventative $20+ a month
- Vaccines $20 – $40+ each unless part of annual pet plan
- Spay or neuter $100 – $300 dependent on veterinarian provider
- Pet Insurance $15 – $40 a month depending on level of care
- Emergency Care $500 – $3000 depending on specific medical issue
- Dog food and treats $50 – $100 a month
- Dog accessories (leash, collar, toys, shampoo, bed, crate, etc.) $100+
This is not an exhaustive list and costs will vary based on veterinarian provider, location, dog breed, size and gender.
#3 – Puppy Teeth Hurt!
The movies love to show children running around the yard playing with their new puppy, but the reality is, PUPPY TEETH HURT! During the first 6 months of a puppy’s life, they have razor sharp puppy teeth and are teething, just like a human baby. Puppies use their teeth to bite, chew and play with their companions. If you have small children, you must know that your puppy will try to chew on your kids and they will bite them. Your puppy is not biting to be mean, it’s just the way that they explore the world! You will have to teach your puppy and your children how to play together so that puppy biting does not become an issue.
#4 – Expect Interrupted Sleep
Similar to the sleep progressions of a human baby, puppies do not sleep through the night during the first few months. During the first few nights at home, your puppy may cry because they miss their litter mates and the warmth of their puppy siblings. Expect to be tired and be available to help your new puppy adjust to their new home. Your puppy will need to go out during the night until they are potty-trained and able to hold their bladder for an extended period of time. The general understanding is that puppies can hold their bladder for 1 hour per month of age (e.g. 2 months old = 2 hours). Crate training can help streamline the potty-training process and help your puppy sleep through the night faster. Learn more about crate training in the following section.
#5 – A Kid-Free Safe Place for Your Puppy is a Requirement
To ensure the safety of your puppy, children and home, you will need to find a way to create a safe space where your puppy can be when not supervised. Similar to a pack n play for a human baby, puppies need a safe place where they can sleep, eat, play and have accidents away from your small children. For example, during the first month we turned our formal dining room into a puppy room using baby gates. We used our Regalo Super Wide Adjustable Baby Gate that we already had for baby proofing our home to block off the two entrances to our dining room. We also immediately started crate training Daisy so that she would be comfortable with her crate as she grew older. Both of these choices created a space where Daisy could go when we needed a break or could not watch her. It also helped save our floors during potty training and our home from chewing!
I highly recommend crate training your dog if you are considering getting a new puppy. Dogs are den creatures by God’s design, so they actually enjoy being in a crate, if trained correctly. Crate training also helps with potty-training because dogs don’t like to potty where they sleep. To save on long-term costs, I highly recommend getting a dog crate that will fit the expected full size of your dog’s breed and comes with a divider to use as a puppy. We are currently using a 42-inch metal dog crate since Daisy outgrew the 26-inch travel dog crate that belonged to our previous dog Dixie. Pick a crate that works best for your family!
#6 – Teach Your Puppy House Manners and Do it Early
This one is hard! Just like human children, puppies need to learn their house manners! Puppies do not come trained on how to sit, stay, come, get off the counter or walk on a leash. You have to train them and it can be exhausting! Know that your young children will impact the success of your puppy training. Our children tend to get excited, yell and chase Daisy around the house. This makes it VERY difficult to train her to be calm and follow the house rules. Normally, I wait until the kids are occupied before I try to do any sort of formal training with Daisy.
You will need to teach your children how to safely interact with your puppy and use the same commands that the adults are using (e.g. sit, stay, come, off, etc.). Training your puppy will go much smoother if your entire family is using the same set of commands and interacts with your puppy in the same way. There are a number of dog training tools that you can use to teach house manners. I recommend using a house lead during the training process. This is a basic dog leash that you leave on your dog while in the house and allows you to make immediate corrections to behavior. Another tool that we use is a tactical dog collar that has a handle on it. This allows us to hold Daisy in position or help her sit when she gets too wild. We are currently using the DAGANXI Tactical Dog Collar which I highly recommend!
#7 – Puppy Proof Your House
You will need to puppy proof your house in the same way that you would baby proof a house for your toddler. Similar to a human child, your puppy should not immediately have free range of your house. You should start with a small area, such as one room room or a puppy pen, where your puppy has room to play and move around. This will protect your floors from puppy potty accidents, provide a safe place where your puppy can be away from your children if needed, and keeps them from chewing on items that they shouldn’t be chewing on.
#8 – Expect Chewing and Provide Chewing Options
Puppies go through a teething process just like human babies, meaning that they will chew on everything! Chewing is a normal part of puppy-hood so it is best to be prepared with chewing alternatives and enforce good chewing behaviors. It will take a few months and countless reminders before your puppy understands that they can’t chew on your leather shoes. If your small children leave something on the floor, expect it to be chewed on by your puppy.Remove anything that you do not want your puppy to chew on from your puppy’s area and provide toys or treats for them to chew on. Chewing is a good thing, if it’s on the right thing because it helps with the puppy teething process. If you are looking for a bone or chewing alternative, Daisy has really enjoyed eating Busy Bones of all types!
Final Encouragement
Bringing a puppy home to your family is such a blessing but it will also be work! If your family decides that it is time for a puppy, know that the average puppyhood last about 2 years! You can expect rowdy behavior, chewing, bad manners and lots of energy for awhile. But that is what makes having a puppy so fun! Like your human babies, it will take your puppy some time to learn the ropes and become a well-behaved family member. We wish you the best on your upcoming puppy adventures!
This post is based on open source information and personal experience. It is not professional veterinarian advice and it is recommend that you consult with your veterinarian with any specific puppy related questions or concerns.
