Am I Ready To Get a New Puppy?
How exciting! You’re considering to get a new puppy….. and not just any puppy, but a Newfypoo! We are excited for your Newfypoo journey and we are glad you are wise to consider the joys and frustrations that will come with not just having a dog at home, but a puppy. I can oooooo and aaaahhhhh over all the awesome and amazing things about having a new puppy. You will find below, that I’ve left out all those yummy feelings in my descriptions below and share the bare bones of what it will take to bring home a puppy. Once you read over this, take the bare bones and pair it with your excitement of a new puppy and make the best choice for your family.
Maybe you’ve never had a dog before, or maybe never a puppy. Perhaps you had a dog as a child, but you were never the sole caretaker. You’re in the right place!
Maybe it’s been years since you’ve had a puppy and you’ve recently lost your beloved dog and your heart longs for another dog to snuggle with or perhaps you want to bring home a puppy before your older dog crosses that rainbow bridge. You’re in the right place!
Whatever the reason, the place where you are in life, it takes great consideration as to whether or not you’re readyto get a new puppy. We encourage you to be realistic and not leave the potential puppy excitement to the side as you really think about your life, your schedule, your wants. It’s ok to decide that you’re life isn’t ready for a puppy but that an adult dog would be better (also understanding that adult dogs have their own issues) or that you need to wait a bit until a few things in life change or slow down a bit. Once you decide that you are ready for a puppy, then you can choose the breeder that best aligns with what you want in how they communicate with you and how they will raise your puppy.
Am I Ready to Get a New Puppy? - Life Schedule With An 8 Week Old Puppy
Life is exciting and full of joy. It’s also full of sleepless nights and strict schedule. It’s a time where you will slow down and take the time to set appropriate boundaries and routines to set your puppy up for a lifetime of success. Let’s discuss what a normal day may look like with a new puppy.
When you bring home a puppy, the next 8 weeks need to be fully dedicated to the puppy. Can you do that? It will be totally worth it. After the pup is 16 weeks old, life can loosen up a tad bit.
This is probably what your day will look like with a new puppy…..
*Best puppy setup is a small crate or a large crate with a divider and 4-5 playpen panels ziptied to the crate. For Newfypoo puppies we recommend the tall playpen panels or ones that only have vertical bars – as they learn to climb them early on. A playpen + crate helps a puppy learn that he wants to keep his space clean and aides in potty training. It also provides a safe space for your puppy when he can’t be tethered to your hip or have your eyes on him 24/7. This is probably the best and most efficient tool that you will have in your home. A new puppy should NEVER have full run of a room or house unless you are watching him closely for short periods of time.
*5:30 am – wake up and take out to potty, feed breakfast (set bowl down for 15 minutes and then take away), water. Before putting the bowl of food down, take 5 minutes to work on some training. They are hungry and food will motivate them. This is a great time to start working on Sit and rewarding eye contact.
*After breakfast – your pup will have the zoomies! They just slept and are full of energy. Play tug of war, play with toys and teach them it’s ok to chew on toys and not you. Use the words “No Bite” if they mouth at you. Don’t let them jump up on you and pet and praise when they have all 4 feet on the ground – even more so if they are sitting! Everything is training! Remember, your Newfypoo will grow fast. You don’t want a 70lb dog jumping on you or others.
*As they play they will have to go to the bathroom again. Always be aware of potty behavior like sniffing the floor and circling. We start the puppies on house training and we follow a strict potty schedule. Just because they are started doesn’t mean they know it. They are just use to it. Now it will be up to you to figure out your individual puppy’s potty needs and follow that strict schedule. There are puppy potty training apps that can be very helpful in figuring out their pattern so your tired brain doesn’t have to remember.
*Nap time is after playtime (aprox 8am-10am). We recommend that you place your puppy in his crate for nap time. He may cry and fuss (each pup handles this differently). While he bawls his eyes out, IGNORE him. You must ignore him. He is safe, he needs to figure out how to self soothe himself. Just ONE instance of you giving in can set him back for days because you will have reinforced the crying by talking to him to comfort him. Are you strong enough to listen to this pitiful crying that may hurt your ears and your heart? Nap time can last 2 hours.
*Potty time is immediately after taking him out of his crate. When he potty’s remember to mark it with a clicker or say “YES!” in a high pitched excited voice. You can incorporate a word like “Good Potty” or “Go Potty” so he soon learns to associate that key word. Later when you take him out and say “Go Potty” he will know what he is suppose to do instead of wasting time just being nosy about his surroundings.
*Playtime/Training Time. This is a 2 hour span where the puppy spends time with his people. He should be tethered to your hip or free with eyes on him at all times. He can get all the snuggles you want to give. He may need to go potty in this time frame, keep an eye on his behavior to see signs.
*Lunch is at 11 (ish). This is again, a great time to take 5 minutes before you put the bowl down to reinforce training. He will go potty pretty soon after eating.
*Nap time (approx 11:45-1:45), this could be in his crate, or you may want to allow the door to be open and allow him to choose his sleeping place of crate or playpen area.
*Potty time immediately after waking.
*Playtime/Lunch Time/Training time, repeat of above. (Approx 2-4pm) We like to feed lunch between 3-4pm so that it is well before bedtime and we don’t have poop mess emergencies in the middle of the night.
*Nap time (approx 4-6pm)
*Potty time immediately after waking
*Playtime/Training time (approx 6-9)
*As you settle for the evening, maybe you’re watching TV, this is a great time to sit on the floor and brush your pup. This creates a bonding experience that he learns to enjoy and creates a good habit in you since doodles need regular brushing so they don’t get matted.
*Bedtime at 9pm, in the crate (the first few nights at home we recommend allowing the crate door to be open, however this isn’t a hard rule, but one you can feel out to see what works best for your puppy). Again, remember to ignore the crying. Soft music may help him calm down. If you practiced the self soothing during the day, he should settle fairly quickly. The first week expect to get little sleep due to the crying. It’s very loud.
*2:30am (approx) – take your puppy out to pee. Only speak to him when he pees and say “Good Potty!” or whatever you choose your words to be. Extra talking makes him think it’s time for fun. Keep this extremely low key and boring.
5:30am – it all starts over again.
Can Your Life Handle The New Puppy Schedule?
We just reviewed a pretty solid example of what your life schedule will be like with a new puppy. There is a lot of joy and fun in the waking moments, but it’s also a rigorous schedule that many are surprised by. If you ever brought home a newborn, it is very similar to the amount of tiredness you will feel. However, if done correctly, it’s short lived! Of the puppies that we have raised, a good solid week of intense schedule reinforces the behavior we want and we can finally sleep again. Sleep always makes things better! Can you give tough love by ignoring the crying? Can you go a good solid week (maybe more) of being tired? Can you keep yourself on a solid schedule to set your puppy up for success? If yes, then you are ready for a puppy! So your heart is ready for all the puppy cuteness, the kisses, cuddles and companionship. We don’t share this to scare you away. Not at all. But we think it wise for you to know exactly what to expect your life to look like until your puppy matures a little bit more.
As your puppy grows those time spans will lengthen, which gives more flexibility in your schedule. They say that a puppy should be able to hold it’s bladder 1 hour for every month old it is. Every pup is slightly different as they mature, but that is the general rule. So, on average, an 8 week old pup should be able to make it those two hour stints. A 12 week old puppy should be able to go 3 hours. A 16 week old puppy should be able to go 4 hours.
Is my House Ready For a New Puppy?
Every house is so different, it’s difficult for us to sit on this side of the computer and tell you how your house is going to need to change in order to be puppy proof. However, a playpen is KEY. It is SOOOO worth the investment. It save not only your sanity, but your shoes, your cords, your kids toys, your trash can and so many other things. A playpen also aides in potty training and you can slowly grow your puppies area until he understands that the whole house is his domain and he doesn’t want to soil in in. A play pen also gives you time to figure out exactly what in your house needs to be puppy proofed.
Your yard is another consideration. Your puppy does not know how to keep himself safe. He doesn’t know that he can’t walk on the water of your pool. Your puppy will need a safe space where he can romp and play and get his zoomies out. If you have a fenced in yard and a fenced in pool, you’re golden. You are ready! If you a back yard that is fenced but the pool isn’t, you will need to invest in some sort of fencing around your pool (temporary or permanent) until your pup is old enough to be taught to swim and how to get out of the pool. (My sister once went to a neighbors house and found their dog drowned in the pool – it happens!!) If your yard has no fence, you may need to invest in some fencing, again, temporary or permanent. Puppies aren’t ready for the collars that beep/shock to keep them inbounds. We find Newfypoos to respond easily to that form of fence, but at this age, they aren’t ready. There is very nice “no dig” fencing at lowes if you want it to look really nice. Or you can get the white posts from a farm store and a roll of chicken wire and make a temporary puppy yard for a few months until he’s old enough to be taught the wireless collar.
Be prepared to have to fence or gate areas off.
Be prepared to have to find home for things that you normally leave out.
Be prepared that if you leave things out, they will probably be destroyed.
Be prepared that, if not supervised or put away, your puppy may eat things that lead to ER visits.
I really do think I'm ready to Get a New Puppy!
Wonderful!! We are so excited for you! If you’d like to learn more about our program and the current/upcoming puppies that we have, send us a message and we’ll send that right over to you! (This is not an automated email, so please allow 24 hours for us to send the email – look for an email with the subject “Newfypoo Inquiry.”
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