Important Things to Know Before Adopting a Puppy

Most dog owners will tell you that their families weren’t complete until they brought their four-legged friend into the mix. Dogs are incredibly loyal and loving pets and utterly adorable when they are puppies.

If you have been considering adopting a dog, you have likely thought about going for a young pup. Many people feel that adopting a dog when it is a puppy will allow them to train the dog from its earliest days to behave according to what they want. Moreover, adopting a dog when it is a puppy means that you will get the most time possible with your new best friend.

The biggest draw to adopting a puppy, though, is how cute and sweet they tend to be. It is easy to fall in love with a little pup and want to bring it home with you. However, before you do so, it is important to make yourself aware of a few points regarding adopting a puppy.

There Will Be Some Long Nights

Even though your new little puppy is the picture of cuteness, you might find very quickly that your cute pup is going to cause you some long nights in the beginning. A puppy’s bladder is incredibly small, and they typically don’t have much control over when they go to the bathroom.

This means that you will be spending some long nights taking your pup outside to relieve itself. There are also inevitably going to be a few accidents along the way as your puppy learns all about being housebroken.

It will take some time until your puppy learns the ropes when it comes to being toilet trained. So, you will need to be prepared to be patient for those long nights and for those little accidents.

With the right level of perseverance, though, you can have your puppy housebroken in about four to six months. You might even be able to train your pup to use an automatic sliding door whenever it needs to go outside to take care of its business.

Aside from toilet training your pup, you might also find that your new little friend needs attention for other reasons in the night. For example, if they have a hard time sleeping through the night, you might need to be there to offer support and comfort to get them back to sleep.

You Will Need to Puppy-Proof Your Home

Much like babies, puppies like to get into mischief when they start to move around a space. As a result, they will naturally want to investigate anything and everything in sight. For this reason, you will need to make sure that you properly puppy-proof your house before you bring your pup home for the first time.

It is important to get down to puppy eye level so that you can spot all of the things that might entice your puppy. Anything that could pose a risk to your dog needs to be put away so that they won’t be able to get their paws on it.