• Dogs live with routines. Today is no difference from yesterday, no matter if it’s the time for dinner, time for walks, or amount of socialization with other dogs.
• Raising a dog is like raising a baby; they both cry, needy, and make your life very enjoyable in the end.
• Dogs are pack animals, so as a follower, they need to be told what to do. You will have to stick to a schedule where everyone follows and create a structure of routines for your puppy to follow. Otherwise, he will feel lost and confused and thus lost focus and might start destroy what’s around him, whether it’s furniture or himself.
• Dogs keep you grounded. That means no more happy hours until you walk and feed him first.
• Classic way of giving a potty training is to take him out regularly, on the dot, starting at ONE HOUR INTEVAL, then 2, then 3; as he can hold longer and longer, he will get the idea, and that will complete the training.  This process takes anywhere from 1 to 4 months.

Sounds like a lot of work?  It does, but as you go day by day, things only get better.  But before you decide to get a puppy, please evaluate your life seriously and see if you can really dedicate all of your personal time to give a love-filled home for a puppy, not just leave him at home and only take him out when you feel like it.

It sounds easy, but it is actually hard to grasp sometimes. But you ask, how do I wear my puppy out? Ask yourself, do you:

• take him/her out for a walk?
• set aside some time each day to play with him for at least 15 minutes?
• Provide him with some kind of exercise opportunity, whether it’s a walk, a fetch game, run with you, or play with other friends of his/hers?
• Give him/her some challenging treat game to be occupied, like Kong?
• Give him/her a few of his/her favorite toys to play with?

If you answer yes to at least 2 of the above items, then you are on your way to make your baby the happiest dog on earth!

Try to find something fun to keep your puppy busy, no matter if it’s a Kong treat or taking him for a long walk after work. You will find it very rewarding for both you and your puppy.

Some might ask, but I have left a Kong before going to work, and take him for a long walk after work, but my puppy still destroys my house by shredding up books, furnitures, slippers, pee in the house, or just endless barking that all neighbors are complaining; what can I do? Well, maybe your puppy is just a social butterfly and he needs extra happy hour! Consider dog walker, day care, or if you can, take him out for a short walk during lunch time.  I will go into detail about the benefit of a dog walker in a different post.

The most important thing is your life style.  Ask yourself if your life style actually will be able to tolerate having a dog.

1. Puppy proof your house.

• A lot of people forget about this, but this is actually one of the essential thing to do. You might get a puppy who just loves to chew on anything that is string-like, which will include all of your sneaker laces, electrical cords, and even your necklaces. Put everthing away behind any cabinets you have.
• Do you have a precious ireplaceable furnitre you absolutely love? Put that away until maybe your puppy grows older and more under control.
• Some puppys mark territories at all plants. Do you have lots of plants on the floor? Be sure to put them on a higher unreachable height. A lot of plants are actually poisonous to dogs, check with references to find out if you have any dangerous plants.

2. Supplies

• Collar and Lead
• Tag. Put essential information on it. I put my dog’s name, my phone number, and address but left out the apartment number. That way if he ever gets lost near by, whoever found him can take him home ASAP.
• Water and Food bowl. Ceramic has proven to be the best bowls to use since all leftover can be cleaned and non of germs will stay behind!
• Food. Stay with Kibbles, it’s less fattening and keeps teeth away from plague. Be sure to find out what brand of food is the new puppy currently on. If you prefer another brand, you can start transitioning him in a course of 7 days by adding a bit more of the new food little by little, until the existing one is fully replaced. I suggest you start after he is home for about a week, it’s better not to disrupt his fragile stomach while he is trying to adjust to the new home.
• Toys. Toys are not just commodity; it keeps your pup busy, build bonding experience between you and him, and most of all, keeps him away from your furnitures! But 1 from each kind, from rope, plush, bone, and plastic. When he arrives, you will be able to find out what he likes the most and get a few more to rotate and keep him busy.
• Accident cleaning agents. This includes a spray that you can spray after an accident to keep the scent away so he won’t go there anymore (Nature’s Miracle), towels, paper towels, and a spray to prevent him from biting on something you don’t want him to (Bitter Apple).
• Body Cleaning items. Bath gel (Earth Bath), wipes (if you wipe your pet everytime after potty break, I guarantee there will be no unpleasant smell,) bath towels, ear wipes, eye wipes for those with heavy tear stains, ear wash (Halo Ear Wash), nail clipper, comb, and flea comb.
  
• Treats. Treats are the most effective training reinforcement. Use it when your puppy is doing something you like him to do; when he does potty at the right place; and for those training classes.
• Training class.  Enroll in a class, even you’re not planning to teach all advance tricks to your puppy. It’s a place where you establish the “pack order” and build solid bonding experience. Remember, whatever you teach him or let him do during the 1st year of his life, will be with him for the rest of his life. So do him a favor, do yourself a favor, make his life exciting.
• Pet insurance.  Just in case.  And it’s not expensive at all!  I have been blessed by that for sure.