Do You Regret Getting Your Puppy?

You wouldn't be the first person, or the last to admit you may have had times (albeit brief passing moments) where you ask yourself "what have I done?".

This cute bundle of fluff that absolutely melted you at first now cries endlessly through the night, is chewing EVERYTHING, and has teeth and claws that literally hang from your trouser legs. "Sweet Lord, what have I done?".

It helps to understand what is happening.

The first 7 days with a new puppy can be quite a challenge. All this baby animal knows is that its been taken away from mum and brothers and sisters, it's quite possibly scared and might cry for a little while. This is not always the case, some pups are bold and confident and take everything life throws at them in their stride. On the flip side, we might have a pup that really struggles and cries all through the night, and just will not settle.

I always recommend taking AT LEAST the first 7 days off work with your new pup, the more the better. This gives you some time to cope with sleepless nights but also some solid one to one time to bond. This uninterrupted time also allows for you to focus on things like toilet training and helping them get used to their crate if one is used.

I'm a huge advocate for crate training when it's done right. When it's trained in such a way that your pup simply loves to hang out in their crate, life becomes so much easier.

This is baby Tiki chilling out in her crate

We've then got the crazy puppy energy and the very real witching hour.

There is a time in the evening usually between 5pm and 8pm where your cute puppy becomes a thing possessed! They have crazy zoomies and hang from your trouser legs, they become a nipping and biting fiend. This is the witching hour and it can be a real struggle.

Here are our favourite tips for overcoming this struggle.

Interrupt the behaviour. If you KNOW your puppy is wild at a certain time of day, start practicing calming activities just before that time. So if your witching hour starts at 5, then perhaps at 4.50 give them a super long lasting chew and pop them in their crate. Or fill a snuffle mat, or scatter feed in the garden. These activties promote calmness and stilness.

Your puppy will become what they do more of, which is why we like a LOT of calming activities for our dogs.

Your puppy then becomes a teenager. Adoescence can start roughly at six months of age and this can be a real challenge for some dogs and dog owners.

Statistically adolescent dogs tend to find themselves in shelters due to their challenging behaviour, which is a real shame because this is the time when they need you the most.

A lot of dog owners have, at some point, regretted ever getting their dog. If this is you - I completely understand.

They start doing things they've NEVER done before. Things from stealing and counter surfing, to digging up your lawn, to barking at other dogs, and developing stubbornness and selective hearing.

Owning a puppy can be one of the most rewarding things, and if you are struggling at the moment please know the tough times don't last long.

Games based training is great for so many different reasons, but the main one is that it builds such a better relationship with you, the owner. When you have a relationship built on mutual trust, you can tackle anything together.

If you find yourself nodding along because this is you now, please reach out - we can help!