My husband and I got our lab puppy a month ago. We’ve both had dogs growing up, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve had a puppy and I certainly wasn’t the one doing the work when I was growing up. But we researched everything and my bestie is the biggest dog fanatic I know, so we knew what to expect. Middle of the night potty breaks. Crate training. Piranha Puppy behavior. Educating our kiddos. Essentially going back to having another toddler since the puppy would need constant supervision and attention. Part of me felt a lot of anxiety, especially at the thought of the constant sleep disruptions.
But our dude has been awesome. He’s been all of the work mentioned but he’s been worth it. He’s taken well to learning to use the bathroom outside. He runs to the back door 90% of the time and if there is an accident it’s either right in front of that door and I just didn’t get it open in time, or I was distracted and missed his cues of starting to sniff around.
He’s def in his teething and biting phase but we’re all quick to pop a chew toy in his mouth or put him in the crate for a nap when he seems way overstimulated and he comes out much calmer.
Crate training has been great. He naps in there and is finally sleeping through the night. We feed him his meals in there so he associates it with a super positive experience.
We do lots of enrichment toys and spent time during the day going over some obedience things like “sit” and “paw” and “down”. He’s a quick learner.
He’s been really exhausting and my hands are chewed up a bit but his personality is coming through more and more and I can see the amazing dog he’ll become. If you’re in the trenches, please stick with it. It DOES get better. Consistency is key, along with having grace and compassion for them and yourself.
submitted by /u/coffeemama86
[link] [comments]