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Your New Puppy

By now, you are either really excited about your new puppy and having a great time, or you are wondering: "What have I done to my life!?" In my business I've heard mostly these two extremes when people call for puppy classes or behavior work.

Having a new puppy is a lot of work!!  For me, it's fun, rewarding and educational.   There is always more to learn about puppies, no matter how long you have been involved with them. But if you don't know what you're doing, having a puppy can be very overwhelming. What makes things even more difficult and confusing, is that you seem to get advice from everyone who has ever had a puppy before.  The value of that advice can range from completely inhumane to helpful.  Most of what people tell me they hear, is usually on the side of inhumane or just really outdated.

Although all puppies have their unique characteristics, they all learn the same way. I want to help you to enjoy your puppy to your fullest potential.  I want to help you prevent problems, too.  I can teach you how in a gentle, respectful way. Our training method is positive reinforcement, but positive does not mean permissive. You'll understand this more as you read on and start applying these ideas to your puppy.

Prevention of  problems is so much easier than fixing problem behaviors. In my classes, I stress prevention where ever possible. I call this being pro-active rather than reactive. Being pro-active about anything in life is always better than being re-active.  It always makes sense to prepare for problems and avoid them then to have problems and have to fix them.

Before I brought up my own puppies, I had many shelter dogs. These dogs all came with some unwanted behaviors. Some problems were easy to fix, like housetraining or lack of socialization, and some dogs had problems that were more difficult to fix, like aggression towards dogs or people.

Because of that, when I did get a puppy, I knew which behaviors I never wanted to see if at all possible. So my goal was building what I wanted and PREVENTION of what characteristics I didn't want.

First, before you even bring your puppy home, get prepared as far as the needs your puppy will have. There are some things you may want to have on hand:

  • At least one, but better yet, two crates. You should have a crate in your bedroom if that's where you want your puppy to sleep, and one in the busiest room in the house.

  • Two or three dog dishes (stainless steel is best)

  • Whatever dog food you are going to feed (preferably one that is well made with healthy ingredients, no ground yellow corn, no wheat and no soy)

  • Collars and a leash

  • Some good chew toys (nylabones, bully sticks, dried beef tendons)

  • A squeaky toy or two

  • One or two dog beds or crate mats

  • Training treats

  • A really nice and functional treat carrying bag

You may want to have a family meeting so everyone is on the same page about what will be allowed and what your goals are for your new family pet . Remember, your new puppy will become a dog and will hopefully be around for the next 10 to 15 years!

Pick a name that depicts a pleasurable pet. I see so many puppies live up to their name. I named one of my dogs Treasure before I even took him home, and he was just a total pleasure to be with at all times. He lived up to his name! Look out if you name your puppy Rowdy or Hectic!

Most important, have a training plan set.  We hope you will select a training program at It's PAWSible!  We love what we do and we've been doing it for over 25 years.  Not only have I had lots of personal experiences and professional ones, but my trainers are also excellent.  Each of them have been with me since 2010 so between the 3 of us there are 45+ years of experience for you to learn from.

We hope to see you very soon in class.  Keep in mind we also do one on one puppy/dog training sessions either here or in your home!
See you soon.