A friend tipped me off to this article about Taking the Plunge With a New Dog that appeared in The New York Times, and it mentions that having a new puppy is a lot like having a new baby. I’ve lived with a newborn baby brother as a teenager, and 10 months ago I took in a new pup, so I can understand why people make the comparison. Never having owned a dog before, the experience was quite a shock to my system. They are an insane amount of work.
Unlike the author of that article (who got her Golden Retriever from a breeder, I got mine from a woman who had a “surprise” litter (spay and neuter your pets, people!) of 10 Jack Russell/Rat Terrier mix puppies and had an ad up on Craigslist. I was skeptical at first, but when she brought a tub (literally, a plastic tub) to my doorstep with seven bouncing babies, it was all over. My dog, Ally, was only seven weeks old that night:
Everyone knows that young puppies keep you up all night, have to be let out to go to the bathroom every couple of hours, have accidents all over the house, chew on everything they can get their paws on (including cats), and don’t like being left alone at ALL. But there were many things that I didn’t realize she needed right off the bat. This page about what to do on your puppy’s first day was a huge help in getting a checklist in order.
But how do you puppy-proof your home for your new family member? There are lots of dangers for a baby animal who experiences the world through its mouth, just as much as its eyes and ears. Here’s a really helpful guide to getting your home ready, and a list of household items that are toxic to canines (from The Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Dogs).
10 Household Items That are Toxic to Canines
Now that my dog is a bit older, I can honestly say that this information is essential if you’re thinking about taking the plunge and will help get you through the first couple of months. 10 months later, we’re still working on perfecting her housetraining, we’ve found out she’s allergic to chicken and doesn’t like canned dog food (which has forced me to make her doggie meatloaf from scratch), and we know she still needs to chill with the cat-biting—but things are never boring, that’s for sure!
-Pete
Tags: housetraining, The Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Dogs
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[...] is a very important article from Worst Case Scenario: Dogs. Here is a snipet, but to read the entire article visit the link above. Everyone knows that young [...]