Our family is almost three weeks deep in puppy life and we are all entrenched in the wavering emotions a transition entails. Having a puppy is a ton of work and can be exhausting in those initial weeks. I wish someone would have told us to see the first two weeks like preparing for newborn days because you can find yourself in a swirl of learning curves and shifted schedules.
Preparing your schedule in those first days with a puppy at home to be more focused on that transition can be extremely helpful with the changes.
Have easy meals planned, limit commitments and take time to just learn one another and adjust to the flow of potty training, sleep scheduling, and puppy bonding that will take much of your time and your energy.
I keep thinking of those of you who are contemplating this chapter and how being asked questions to process through could be a helpful guide in your decision making on the right timing for your family.
Ask yourself the following questions.
Are we in a chapter of life that we can invest in puppy training?
One can see dogs interacting with their people out in public and the beauty of seeing this partnership and love in stride on a walk or playful moment together can invite someone to want that same experience.
Puppies can feel like little newborns/toddlers/teenagers all mixed in one as you are teaching them everything and reinforcing positive behavior all the day long. Those dogs you saw in public have gone through the hard work of training and their owners have sown in patient days to guide them on how to walk on a leash, handle distractions of others, and to listen to commands that will help interactions. Your sweet puppy comes home needing to learn all of those things so the investment of getting to that point can be months of training.
Having a plan for training is so helpful. We are doing this online puppy training school and it has been the best guide for us in our family’s dynamic and schedule. Being prepared mentally on those expectations and best course of action can help the process of learning curves for all of you.
Are we in a season where sleep can be stretched?
Potty training is 24/7 and little ones can only handle the wait for so long. Puppies learning how to sleep in the crate or whatever your family decides upon can be tedious work and varying in late nights/early mornings will be part of the chapter for some time.
Knowing if family members are in a season of sharing that sleep space will help you identify which season is best for you to bring home the puppy.
What is our family’s busiest season?
Our family’s busiest season is Fall, so we decided on bringing home a puppy in January so that by the time we hit that season, the puppy would be potty trained for the most part and could handle longer stretches in a crate as we needed to be gone for longer times on the weekend.
Knowing if you are in a season where someone is able to be home more with a growing puppy will help you identify if it’s the right time for you.
Are we prepared for financial adds to our budget?
Adding vet visits, dog food, toys, pet sitting is not for every chapter of your story. Identifying if you are in a place financially that you can add to your monthly expenses with another addition will help you prepare for it.
Are you ready for a longer term investment?
Life expectancy for dogs is higher than other pets you may bring in home, so the commitment is a longer stretch of family investment as you think through your growing family and decide if a dog is something you want as part of those memories together or not.
Knowing that bringing in a puppy is some hard work investment will help guide you on when it’s the right time for your family to partner together and put in the energy for it, resulting in an experience to find the rhythm that fits you best as you grow and you learn together.
