What to Expect When Adopting a Puppy

[Kayli McClelland]

What to Expect When Adopting a Puppy​

Written by Kayli McClelland, Communications Specialist

So, you’re getting ready to add a new puppy to your family – congratulations on this exciting new adventure! Puppies are utterly adorable, there’s no doubt about it. They have those precious faces, those wiggly little bums, those clumsy feet! There’s nothing quite as heartwarming as snuggling up to a sleepy pup.

But, that’s about 1% of having a puppy. It takes a lot of work to help your pup grow into a calm, confident and well-behaved canine companion. I’ve raised and fostered my fair share of puppies, and here are some of the things I’ve learned over the years to help set expectations and make the transition into puppy ownership a little bit smoother!


1. Puppy proof your home! Make sure small objects are out of reach, shoes are put away in closets, and anything you don’t want chewed or peed on is inaccessible to your pup. Setting up a crate for bed time, an x-pen for play time and baby gates for the rest of the time will save your furniture and your sanity. Make sure you have lots of different types of toys available to redirect your pup when they inevitably chew something they shouldn’t!

2. Practice patience. Puppies basically eat, sleep, poop and chew. They are agents of chaos, and it’s your job to help them learn how to be a polite canine citizen. You will get frustrated. You will end up with holes in your clothes and scratches on your arms. You will have to clean an alarming amount of pee and poop. You will not get a good night’s sleep for several weeks. I promise, with patience and consistency, it does get better.

3. Create a structured routine. Puppies thrive when they know what to expect. It will take some time for them to learn the routine, but it will help them with potty training and learning when to settle down for a nap. (Puppies need about 18-20 hours of sleep, and they become little gremlins when they’re overtired.) I generally follow a schedule like this:

• Wake up and go straight outside to potty.
• Breakfast and playtime for 20-30 minutes.
• Go outside to potty again.
• Back inside to nap for three-to-four hours.
• Repeat!

4. Ask for help if you need it. Pretty much everybody loves puppies, so talk to your friends and family about coming over to puppysit once in a while! This is good for your puppy to socialize with new people, and for you to get a break from the crazy. Don’t forget about puppy training and socialization classes, too! Training classes are less about teaching your puppy and more about teaching you how to teach your puppy. A good force-free trainer is an invaluable resource!


5. Don’t expect too much. It’s important to remind yourself that every time your puppy has an accident in the house or chews something they aren’t supposed to, it’s not their fault. They don’t know the rules yet. You may have missed a potty cue, or gone too long between naps, or forgotten to put the shoes away. That’s ok! Don’t punish your pup or yourself – just take a break and try again.

6. Remember the 3-3-3 rule. It’s actually less of a rule and more of a guideline to help you set your own expectations.

• Three days to decompress. For the first few days, you’re probably not going to see your pup’s true personality. Their whole life has just been turned upside down! Your pup may be shy, hide, refuse to eat, or even test boundaries. It’s important to give them a safe space and lots of downtime.
• Three weeks to settle in. As the weeks go on, your pup will become familiar with you, your home and your routine. They’ll start understanding what to expect and how to communicate with you. That doesn’t mean they’ll be getting everything right all the time, but you’ll start seeing some progress!
• Three months to feel at home. After a few months, your pup will feel like a member of the family. You’ll know more about their personality and quirks, and you’ll have a routine that feels familiar for you and your pup! There’s still much more work to be done at this point, but you’ve set the foundations for life together.

Having a puppy is wonderful and exciting, and it’s also stressful and exhausting. There might be points where you feel overwhelmed or like you’re doing everything wrong, but I promise you, it does get better.

With time, patience and consistency, your pup will grow into a wonderful companion and your very best friend. You’ve got this!


The post What to Expect When Adopting a Puppy appeared first on AARCS.