Unusual Things You Need To Know For A New Puppy

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There are many things I wish I knew before I brought home my new puppy! Sure, you get online and do some searches. You know that you will need all the right supplies and food, toys, beds, crates, grooming tools and brushes.

But when that little fluffy bundle of joy gets through your front door somehow you still manage to be completely surprised by a few things unless you have had a puppy in your life very recently!

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Baby Sharks!

The first thing I wish I had thought of would be that they are like little sharks with those sharp little baby teeth! I should have known right from the moment I picked up Grace and put her in the car that would be the case.

Even as I snapped a cute picture of her chewing on the bottom of my jacket it didn’t even hit me…I was far too overcome by the joy and emotions of my new little bundle of fluff.

The euphoria wore off soon after getting in the house. She chewed EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. In addition to body parts, she would even get up and chew on your hair! So my daughter quickly learned to tie her hair back before any kind of interaction with Grace!

I chased Grace around for a few weeks trying to keep her from chewing. And she would get to our hands, legs, feet or any other body part. We desperately tried offering her treats and toys which worked for a few minutes at least…

Bitter Apple Spray

A trainer came into the house, and the first thing she said to me was bitter apple spray. And importantly, not bitter cherry or any other flavor. Only bitter apple. As a result I hopped onto Amazon to take a look, and ordered the biggest bottle of Grannicks Bitter Apple spray I could find!

I filled up multiple little spray bottles with it and had them in all my pockets and in every room. This. This worked better than I ever could have imagined!! Consequently I sprayed it on anything and everything under three feet of height. And it saved our shoes, slippers, furniture!

If she was going after our hands, one spritz did the trick. When she was already latched on, a little rub on the inside of her gums or spray sure got her to detach in a hurry! Also, the one catch with this is that it does tend to wear off after a couple of days so you need to stay diligent in your spritzing!

Eventually as she grew and learned we were able to put the bitter apple spray away. As a result, I now gift it to other new puppy parents who are having the same problem.

Housebreaking

The next thing I wish I really had figured out was the housebreaking. Sure, it is a part of the deal with a new puppy. But it had been many years since the last time I found myself faced with an eight week old puppy. And I knew I was in for piddles.

What I didn’t count on was how often they really need to go. In reality those little tiny bladders have almost no control. Consequently I was constantly falling behind. So one mess would be cleaned only to turn around to another one. And I was trying to run her outside as much as I could and somehow I still couldn’t manage to keep up with her!

I was going crazy, calling all my animals by different names and completely frazzled. And one major mistake I made was not using her crate and play pen area during the day when I was home.

Feeling bad putting her in there during the day and when I was busy I didn’t do it as often as I should have…it resulted in me sitting on the bathroom floor to get ready for work so I could keep an eye on her. But still managing to make messes, to make a long story short I needed to rip up and throw away the carpet in the upstairs hallway.

Signs They’re About To Go!

Keeping a close eye on Grace and learning very fast what signals to watch for I was able to get her out quick! So at any sign of sniffing, hunching or circling it was right out to the yard! And it was the middle of winter so I kept slippers at the back door and a jacket in my bedroom allowing me to get up, throw on the jacket and pick up the puppy and get the slippers on at the door very quickly.

If I could go back and do it over again, I wouldn’t hesitate to put her in her crate here and there.

Crate Training

In terms of the crate itself, I ended up getting a small one to start and then a big one when she started to outgrow it. Now I know I should have just gotten the big one to begin with and had a barrier to adjust the size. Instead, I ended up buying more than I needed to, and that little crate was only used for a few short months until she outgrew it.

She ended up loving her crate, and she will still find a small spot to curl up in between my bed and the wall after I took it down. And if I could have kept it up I would have but I was tired of having to crawl over it every day and push it around to get my clothes!

Grooming

I’m going to touch a bit on grooming here. If you have read anything on your new puppy, you know that you should be handling your puppy and getting it used to being touched all over. They go over this a bit in most puppy kindergarten classes.

It is very important though if you want them to be comfortable with grooming. As a result I cannot stress enough the importance of touching and gently squeezing your new puppy’s feet whenever you have a chance. And lifting their gums to take a look at their teeth. Similarly, it is important to touch their tail, look inside their ears and brush them regularly.

I still do this with mine every day and they are now more than a year old. Benson still gives me a hard time about it! It really just makes grooming that much more of a comfortable experience for everyone involved!

Bath Tips

The one thing I wanted to add here though is do not underestimate the importance of a good non-slip bath mat. So even if you are planning on taking your pup to the groomer for baths, there will be that inevitable time they roll in mud. Or poop…I had this happen several times. You will want to get them into a bath pronto!!!

I had been putting a towel down in the bottom of the bath tub to prevent slipping but it was still a major hassle. Then one day it came to me: get a bathmat. Wow, what a difference! Now the dogs are now a lot more comfortable standing in there. And it makes it a lot safer so you don’t end up with some chipped teeth (or worse). In addition it also makes cleanup easier.

Training

Training is a must with every new puppy. Further, it is an ongoing process. Benson, who is now almost 14 months old, is intact still and a walking hormone! Which has basically has him forgetting most of his training! I have to work with him diligently again on his walking, recall and jumping. Not very fun for people to have a 115lb dog run and jump at you.

While some people like to have a bit of a wait period, you can start training your puppy the day it comes home. But they are little sponges at that age. Grace was sitting almost immediately! However, their attention span is relatively short at that age. So watch your dog for signs that they have had enough and end the training session.

Puppy Kindergarten!

I got Grace into puppy kindergarten class as soon as I was allowed. Most will let you join after having their second set of shots. And living for the structure of the classes, it was very important in terms of Grace learning how to socialize with other dogs. Benson luckily had Grace to look to for cues, as we were in full lockdown when he first came home and I did his training completely on my own.

Since I had two puppies only three months apart in age, I had a dog walker come to take Grace out for walks twice a day. And that was when I worked separately with Benson. In addition, I had a special training collar and he would get super excited to see it! And the separate training was important as I did not want them to develop littermate syndrome. This is when they bonded more with each other than their owner which can cause a multitude of problems. So it was a LOT of work!

Food

Food seems to be another issue that many have questions about when they first bring home their puppy. If you think about it, your puppy is going through a massive change. They are in a new environment, with new people, and without their littermates and parents. Everything about their world has changed.

This is why keeping them on the food that my breeder had them on for several months was important while adjusting to their new living conditions. And they still both ended up with diarrhea. But if you think about everything they are going through this is relatively normal. Note that it should correct once they start adjusting to their new environment. Your vet will also likely check them for worms to make sure this is not the culprit.

Your breeder has a good reason for using the food they do. In addition, my breeder even gave me the choice if I would like them to be on raw or dry for when they came home. After several months, and research, I ended up gradually switching them over to another food. If you do it slowly enough it should not be an issue. And I am now in the process of switching them from puppy to adult kibble.

Treats

We all want to spoil our new bundles of fluff with lots of treats! And you can find almost any kind imaginable out there and the choice can be overwhelming. Also, reward based training with treats can be very effective (unless you are like the one unlucky family in puppy training class that had a dog that did not like treats, good luck to them). And the high value treats are amazing to gain your pup’s attention, I found liver treats were like gold.

My puppies seemed to have chronic diarrhea off and on though, with no health reasons behind it. And then it was like a lightbulb went off and I though about how many treats they were getting during the day! So as an experiment I cut back on the amount and starting substituting kibble for a good amount of their training, and voila! Guess what, normal poops! It really can be quite funny how a normal poop from your puppy can make your day!

I found that my dogs absolutely love dental kibble. So now I mix it in with their regular kibble, and also use it almost exclusively for treats. As a result we almost never have poop issues! And I am also going to be experimenting with making my own treats so that I can control the ingredients going into them, so stay tuned for our reviews of different recipes!

Collars and Leashes

Collars, harnesses and leash choices can seem a bit overwhelming when you are picking out goodies for your new puppy! I know I have been through several of each already before finding what works best for me and my pack. When Grace came home I started with your typical collar. Then looking at the leashes I picked out a basic six foot lead (thinking that it was cruel to only give them four feet on a for walking!).

No Pull Harnesses

The collars were working well for a while and were recommended at the pet store as the sales person told me that harnesses encouraged pulling. However, Bernese Mountain Dogs were bred as working dogs, and I found that they were pulling with the collar and I did not want them to do any damage to themselves by pulling too hard (this was during the training process).

I ended up switching them to no pull harnesses with a clip in the front and on the back. The idea behind these is that when you clip them in the front and they pull it pulls them gently to the side, which they do not like the sensation of, which leads to less pulling. In fact, these have been a MIRACLE for us and our walks. Their behaviour changed immediately!

We are still using these types of harnesses. In terms of the leash, I switched from the good old regular leashes to extendible ones. Only do this if you want to throw all your leash training right out the window! They were unruly on them, it was far too much freedom and it was crazy! As a result I ended up switching back to their regular ones recently. And the shorter four feet leads I found were better than the six feet ones. In reality you have much greater control with these and I like the short ones as I can keep my dogs closer to my side in a busy city environment.

Sleep

Another thing most new puppy parents do not realize is that puppies sleep. A LOT. They are growing rapidly (in my case 100lbs in a year!) and their little bodies need the downtime to grow. So make sure that you let them sleep and consider setting aside a certain time of the day for quiet time in their crate or safe spot. In addition, some people find that a blanket over the crate can help.

Mine were good about self regulating their sleep. Grace has a favorite place on the cool tile at the front door that she will crash out on (it is where she is right now while I am writing this actually), and Benson just flops where he is standing when he gets tired. The sound of a big dog hitting the floor like a bag of bricks is quite something!

Dog Beds

I have dog beds spread through the house for them too if they feel the need for more comfort. When they were babies I had the dog beds, but ended up picking them up for a while. However, Grace used them as chew toys and Benson for whatever reason thought they were the ideal place to go to the bathroom!

If you want to give them more comfort you can try putting some blankets down in their crate or in a cozy place on the floor, they are a LOT easier to clean than dog beds!! As a test I would put them away and take them out every few weeks to see if they were ready for them. However, it was many months before I could leave them out.

Exercise

As with sleep, you also need to watch how much you are exercising small puppies. Too much exercise at a young age may not be good for them and you can end up with injuries. The same goes for dog parks, as many puppies can get injured by larger or more active dogs.

Walks, while important, should not be overly long. I have seen many sites advocate for 1 minute of walking per week of age (so if you have a 10 week old puppy a 10 minute walk should be sufficient). Also, if you walk them for too long or exercising them too vigorously it can lead to joint problems as well, particularly in large breed dogs.

Stairs

Stairs need to be supervised! With mine, as they are large dogs prone to hip and joint problems, I put up gates at the stairs and carried them until I physically was not able to anymore (did not take long though, I think I made it to around 4 months with each of them).

Jumping onto and off couches and beds should also be discouraged. And do not think that you need to walk them every single day. And yes, you can play with them as a way to burn off energy! I found tug quite effective at tiring both them and myself out!. It should be noted that training is also very tiring for a young puppy. So be sure to let them rest after doing a training session!

Now that my dogs are getting older, I find myself missing the good old puppy days! And we have learned a lot together and are still learning every single day. However, I do wish that I had thought of some of these things ahead of time and been better prepared for some of it as it would have made things a little easier on all of us. But when I find myself in a giant pile of puppy fluff in the evening it makes it all worthwhile.

Are there any other things that you wish you knew before bringing your puppy home? Comment below!

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