RESCUE TAILS / New Puppy, Now What?

Contributed by FKSPCA Staff

There are some experiences in life that no matter how ready you think you are, when it actually happens, you can still feel totally unprepared. Having a baby for the first time can be one of those. As exciting and wonderful as it is, welcoming a little one into the world comes with so many new responsibilities, demands, and yes, even worries. It can feel totally overwhelming. Oddly enough, bringing home a new puppy shares some similarities.

Obviously, we are not experts at bringing home baby humans, but baby dogs are something we do know more about.  Life with a new puppy can sometimes look like an inverted bell curve. The day that adorable puppy comes home, a family is typically over-the-moon, with excitement and joy peaking at the top of the bell curve. But in time, reality can begin to creep in. Living day to day with an unfettered bundle of energy with piercing shark teeth who requires seemingly constant and endless supervision to prevent mess and destruction, and who has absolutely no clue what good manners are, is NOT what most new puppy adopters thought they were signing up for.  If expectations were a bit high to start, those initial positive feelings towards the puppy can change and begin to slide down the bell curve, sometimes even bottoming out.  The question may get asked: “WHAT HAVE WE DONE?”

The short answer is “YOU GOT A PUPPY!” and all that comes with it. This often-reached challenging stage of the relationship can be a crossroad, affording different options.   One, don’t keep the puppy. Two, keep the puppy, grit your teeth and accept the chaos. Or three, begin doing the work it takes to develop a strong relationship built on trust, understanding of each other, and connection.  Help the puppy develop all the skills necessary to live successfully while navigating our complex human world.  All three options are possible and there are times when options one or two may be necessary and reasonable choices. But if the hopes and dreams one initially had for a puppy are ever to materialize, option three is the only path forward. YES, it will take time. YES, it will take patience. YES, it will require learning. But in the end, both the puppy and the humans will be better for it. As progress is made and your relationship deepens, your feelings toward the puppy will start to move back up that bell curve. What may have begun as a more superficial infatuation will deepen into a true connection, which is why we invite dogs into our lives.

Feeling compassion for a puppy who is making our life harder isn’t always easy, especially on those days when we are already feeling pushed to our limits by life itself. But that isn’t the puppy’s fault and it isn’t your fault. It’s simply a case of the competing, and at times conflicting needs of human vs. dog. That’s when it’s time to look to those professionals to help guide and support both of you.  There are many good resources available but one newly-published book we recently discovered called PUPPY NUTURE by British trainer Shay Kelly stands out. We found it to be comprehensive, reader-friendly, science-backed, and filled with warmth, kindness, and support on every page.

 If you and your puppy are at a crossroads, please check out Behavior Helpline resource page on our website or contact us at [email protected].

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