Puppies will be Puppies….for a LONG time.
Because I train a lot of puppies, I see a lot of the mistakes that people make. When somebody first gets a puppy they’re so excited. They’re happy and have expectations of how fun everything is going to be. And they genuinely want it to be a good experience; for themselves, for their families, kids etc. Most people go into it with really good intentions. But then the reality sets in. You have to get up in the middle of the night, you have to get up first thing in the morning, you have to clean up after accidents, and you have to deal with the puppy biting your hands whenever you pet it. And then…it starts becoming like work. Well if you signed up for it, you gotta deal with it. But if your mindset going into it is reasonable and without unrealistic expectations, then it can be an enjoyable experience. A puppy is going to be a puppy for a long time. When most people close their eyes and picture a wonderful dog; one that comes when it’s called, that is a companion, that doesn’t pee or poop in the house, I can assure you that what they’re picturing is NOT a puppy. So while the puppy stages might have moments of fun, the really is that it takes work and time. Puppies CAN’T be the dog we picture as the greatest ever. They don’t have the consistency, patience, or reliability of an adult dog. So there is no substitute for time. When somebody gets a puppy that is 5 months old, in 2 months it’s only 7 month. Often times frustrations set in and people think by now that the pup should be listening and responding to whatever they say. When actuality it’s probably that their expectations are too high and unrealistic. I was always told that you can’t make an elephant jump like a tiger. So when you have a 6 month old puppy it is just not capable of being as reliable or consistent as a 2 year old dog. So to expect anything close to a 2 year old dog is really unrealistic. So with a puppy you have to be patient. You have to have a game plan, and you have to be willing to raise the dog to be what you want it to be.
