6 Things to Know Before Getting a Puppy

There’s no doubt about it: puppies are adorable. The idea of having a tiny puppy that you can watch grow and love for their entire life is one that appeals to many. Especially for young children, puppies can be a popular choice.

Nevertheless, raising a puppy is a lot more than cute cuddles, adorable photos, and getting compliments from everyone who sees it. Puppies can be a lot of hard work and stress. That isn’t to say that the payoff of a long and happy life with your four-legged friend won’t be worth the effort, but it’s always good to know what you’re getting into if this is your first time with a puppy.

Here are six things to know.

1. Puppies Can Be Very Destructive
In true ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt’ fashion, puppies look cute but don’t let that distract you from the fact that they can destroy your home. Puppies like to chew everything, scratch everything, play with everything, or even do their business on everything. Even if you begin with training straight away, puppies can sink their claws into a lot of things before their destructive behavior stops.

2. Puppies Can Make Your Home Messy (and Smelly!)
You’ll undoubtedly run into a lot of bathroom accidents with a puppy who is still learning, which means they can risk soiling anything in your home, despite your best efforts. When training your puppy with training pads, having these in your home — even when cleaned and changed straight away — can also lead to a build-up of musty smell until they can go outside.

3. They Will Need All Your Time and Attention
While adult dogs can comfortably be left alone for a short while or even just curl up in a corner without needing your attention all the time, puppies will need your full focus. This is primarily for training, as you will need to be on the ball when it comes to your puppy’s naughty behavior or if they need the bathroom.

This may require you to take some time off work to give your new puppy the full attention it needs.

4. The Initial Costs Can Be High
There are a lot of things your puppy will need straight away. Not only will you need to buy all their necessities from scratch, such as food, bowls, training pads, and toys, but you will also have a greater number of vet bills in a shorter space of time. This is because puppies will need initial injections and vaccinations as soon as possible.

To make this a little easier, finding a more affordable vet service, like easyvet.com, can help to keep your puppy costs down.

5. You May Not Get Any Sleep
Puppies won’t like to be away from you. This means if you’re trying to train your pup to sleep outside your bedroom, they’re not going to like it. Puppies may cry, howl and scratch at the door during the night to gain your attention.

6. Puppies Grow Quite Quickly
They won’t stay that tiny forever! You may be surprised how quickly your puppy grows, which means you may need to spend more money on replacing things like collars and body halters, as well as bigger bowls and more food.

As you can see, choosing a puppy takes a lot of consideration and planning. As long as you are prepared, there’s no reason raising a puppy can’t be a rewarding experience.

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