“It was easier raising my son than raising this puppy.”

I have heard that statement more than once. Working with many puppy owners each year, I can see the frustration on many of their faces. Bringing a new puppy into the home can be a lot of work. Your puppy doesn’t know where to pee and defecate, chews everything, bites your hands, jumps on children, you get the picture.

Starting today, you can take steps to help you survive puppyhood.

Survival tips:

1. The first thing to understand is that the most important point to remember is that raising a puppy is all about handling. You have to constantly keep an eye on your puppy. The same way you would have to take care of a two year old. Fortunately, we have great management tools that we can use with puppies. Using a crate can be a great help while raising your puppy. When you can’t keep an eye on your pup, you can feel comfortable that your pup is in the crate and doesn’t have a chance to get into trouble.

2. Keep a leash on your puppy. Puppies love to wander into other rooms and get into trouble. Knowing that you have to constantly keep an eye on your dog, a leash can go a long way. Instead of always putting your pup in the crate, with a leash you can step on it to keep your pup in the room with you. You can secure the leash to sturdy furniture to restrict your pup’s freedom. The leash is also great for pups who love to steal underwear. Some puppies will grab any item of clothing and scamper away. Owners often chase the puppy around the table, sofa, and get angry at the puppy. With a leash, you can step on it and finish the game of chase.

3. Use Baby Gates – A baby gate is a great way to keep your pup in the room with you. A baby gate can make it much easier to do any activity that needs to be done in a room without worrying about your pup wandering off.

4. Chew toys: One of the big problems with puppies is that they like to chew on everything and anything. One of my favorite chew toys is a Kong toy. They are nearly indestructible, and a Kong can be filled with goodies over and over again.

5. Establish leadership – Dogs are social animals. An important step in raising your puppy is establishing leadership. You can start this early. Leadership is established by controlling the activities that are important to your dog. Dogs love to play, they need to eat, they need to sleep and they enjoy contact. Understand that you can control play, control eating, control sleeping areas, and control social contact.

6. Dog Daycare: Exercise is crucial. Dog trainers have long said that the only good dog is a tired dog. Dog daycare has become extremely popular and is a great way to give your pup the mental and physical stimulation he needs.

7. Get Help – There are many resources available to help you raise and train your puppy. When I opened my business it was not going very well until I decided to seek help. Once I asked for and got the help I needed, my entire business changed for the better. The same can happen with you and your puppy.

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