Buying a puppy
At 6:00 PM the dogs awake and are taken out to use the bathroom. The puppy is doing very well about going outside and the family is very happy about this. It was planned for a lot of messes as the puppy had not been in a house and is not potty trained.
After a bathroom break it is time for the first walk through the neighborhood. Having a dog already lead broke proves to be beneficial for the family as the puppy follows its new big brother the entire walk time. In most cases the puppy would not be doing well on lead and this would be another challenge for the new owners. After some good exercise and introduction to the neighborhood the family visits some friends in the neighborhood and introduces them to the newest family member.
The family arrives back home around 8:00 PM and is starting to feel the exhaustion of the long day. To their surprise the new puppy is ready to go some more and is running and playing throughout the house. Instead of resting, the new owners start a crash course in the command “No” as the puppy thinks every item is the house is free game to be chewed. The existing family pet has long since laid down and decided to rest. While chasing the puppy the family discusses if they ever had to work this hard with the first dog when he was a puppy.
By 8:45 PM the puppy is exhausted and finally lies down. At this point the older dog is awake again and the family gives him some needed one on one attention and praise him for doing so well welcoming the new puppy into their household. Without the family noticing the puppy wakes and has an accident inside. The puppy is taken out the mess is cleaned up by the family. While the puppy is outside it finds a big mud puddle from the rain earlier in the day. With a puppy being a puppy needless to say it begins to splash and roll in the mud before the new owner can catch it.
Bath time starts at 9:00 PM to remove the mud from the young pup. The pup is not use to bathing and becomes very scarred and needs much comforting from the owner as the bath is going on. This is very important as the family do not want the puppy to view bathing as a bad experience.
At 9:30 PM the puppy is done bathing and taken back out to use the restroom and one last romp, this time watched carefully so it avoids the mud. The entire family comes back in at 10:00 PM and finally gets a well-deserved break from the hard day of work.
While the puppy sleeps inside of the house it begins to begin breath rapidly. This is of immediate concern for the family as they have had other pets and never seen such rapid breathing while a puppy sleeps. Being Internet savvy, the family begins searching online for causes of rapid breathing and finds one cause is lack of oxygen and several other issues. Concerned the family it is better to be safe than sorry and call the emergency animal hospital and the breeder. The breeder is called first and he is not in so a message is left. Next the animal hospital is contacted and after a brief discussion about the puppies behavior the owners decide to take her in to have her breathing examined. While preparing to leave, the breeder of the puppy returns the owners call from earlier. The behavior is described to the breeder and he immediately knows the cause. He explains to the owners that the pup is not use to indoor conditions as she has lived in a kennel and the temperature is kept much cooler during the winter than indoor conditions and the rapid breathing is being caused by her temperature raising so quickly being indoors. Satisfied with the response from the breeder, the family cancels the appointment at the animal hospital and decides it is definitely time to get everyone ready for bed.
The puppy is introduced to its crate and it does not seem to like the idea of sleeping in the crate. The family wishes they had introduced the crate earlier in the day at this point. The puppy and its big brother are both placed in their crates and told good night. The family lays down at what is now 12:00 AM and is exhausted. Within five minutes of lying down the puppy decides it does not like the new crate and begins to whine and bark to get the owners attention. Although difficult not to rush to the puppy, the owners know that if they try to talk to her that she will know that if she whines then she will get attention. This is not a behavior the owners want to enforce and decide to out wait the puppy. After an hour the puppy decides to finally lie down at 1:00 AM and the family can finally get some rest from the big day.
At 5:00 AM the family is awoken by puppy barks and a messy cage and the family prepares for another event filled day!
This article is dedicated to our newest baby girl, Madison. She has brought us so much joy and we look forward to years of great times ahead. Love You Baby Girl.
Additional Resources
Part I of So You Are Ready for a Puppy
Chat about Puppies and Choosing the Right Breed at DogGroups.com.
Find training tips in our Puppy Training section of the site.
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