02/07/2025
Bumping this post again for awareness. New puppies are a lot of work in the beginning.
It pays off with millions of future returns, but be aware of what your puppy needs - before you bring him/her home.
Be patient with your puppy and yourself!❤️🐶
Shurbeez Shih Tzu WAITING LIST MEMBERS &
NEW PUPPY OWNERS…….
As you wait for an available puppy and as you plan for your new puppy to come home with you, I want to chat about a common issue that breeders come across with new owners.
❤️🐶REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS🐶❤️
You watch videos and see darling pictures of puppies as they are growing up and learning here, where they were born and raised.
All of the puppies are so cute and social.
They sleep peacefully, mess free, and having fun playing in their puppy-safe ares.
We share videos of them being totally relaxed, happy, and playful. We tell you about their personalities and traits.
Everything flows smoothly and looks amazing and then you bring your puppy home.
AND…reality hits.
The puppy may cry in the crate or puppy-safe area that you have meticulously copied from what you’ve seen in our videos and website. The first few nights may be sleepless, making you tired and agitated.
The happy, social puppy that you knew is refusing to greet the half-dozen overly excited friends you invited over to finally meet your sweet puppy. Or they struggle being snuggled by frantically excited, playful children who want to chase, cuddle, and frolic endlessly with their new best friend.
The puppy refuses to walk on a leash. S/he may refuse to go potty outside. May not eat dinner or want to drink any water the first night home.
Many new owners are wondering how did my perfect puppy turn into a nightmare?!😢
So let’s discuss realistic expectations of when a puppy goes home.
First of all the puppy has been in the breeders home since birth. They’ve had their mother, littermates, and familiar routines, smells, and toys. They knew what to expect and were completely in their comfort zone.
Now suddenly they are taken to a totally new environment. Picture yourself being dropped into an unknown country, often in a different part of the world. You know only a few words of their language. You are surrounded by different trees, animals, smells, temperature and people.
Now in the middle of this we:
• are switching up your routine,
• decide to have a party with people you don’t know - all who display excited energy that you cannot interpret,
• quite possibly, we switch your diet up because we didn’t like what you were used to eating and have decided that what we have chosen for you will ge better for you,
• and we also demand that you become instant friends with strangers you haven’t learned to trust or communicate with while doing jobs you have no idea about.
Overwhelming to say the least.
This is what every puppy goes through when going to their new home. Stress manifests in different forms. From reluctance to play and greet people, being apprehensive at the vet’s office or as strangers reach for them, or barking endlessly. Refusal to eat, diarrhea, vomiting and depression can also occur.
It is quite possible that your puppy will seamlessly integrate into their new home, it’s not unheard of, but even if they adjust well there are things you can learn about and do to help them.
We try to prepare puppies for every eventuality, but even our solid techniques and training cannot simulate what it’s like to leave.
So what can you as a new owner do to help your little one acclimate?
START WITH THE FACTS
Most puppies take 3-4 weeks to acclimate to their new home. Repeat after me THREE to FOUR WEEKS sometimes even longer! Not 1-2 days.
I can’t stress this enough about how much time is needed for a dog or puppy to feel comfortable in their new home!
Please understand your puppy needs time to see you as their new pack. They need to have many positive experiences with you so they know they can trust you. Expecting an immediate bond is unrealistic.
❤️🐶BE PREPARED AND HAVE A PLAN🐶❤️
• Train your puppy. This not only helps you to bond but the puppy learns to look to you for direction and input. Short 5-10 minute training sessions are all they need at first. Training should look and feel like play to a puppy. They will lose interest quickly if it isn’t fun and interesting.
• Children are also big stressors to puppies, even thought they’ve been extensively socialized with children. Please keep an eye on puppy at all times when around children, and teach your child how to interact with a puppy.
• Prepare yourself, your children, and guest about what to expect and how to interact with your new puppy. **Keep all energy expressed - calm energy.
• If your puppy seems overwhelmed, you can limit guests during the first week. We understand you are excited to show off your new baby but they need time to adjust. **Their needs should come before yours.
• By all means, unless you want your puppy to become shy of strangers or reactive to people coming to your home, you need to make ‘people visiting’, ‘doorbell ringing’, ‘door knocking’, etc. normal activities. Continue practicing with those sounds like we have.
• Ask guests to not greet your dog with full eye contact, ask them to sit on the ground or chair and let the puppy approach them. Let them know that they should not have excited energy, sudden movements, squealing, or try to grab the puppy.
• Set up a good routine and follow it- from the first day home. Something your puppy can rely on as normal.
• Your puppy has been taught extensive denning skills to aid in their house training. No 9-12 week old puppy goes to a new home 100% house trained. They need YOU to reinforce potty training skills in your home. So, create a reliable potty training schedule, watch your puppy, and clean up accidents without punishment (with enzymatic cleaners so there’s no residual smells left).
• Restrict the puppy to a small area of the house. This not only reduces feelings of overload for puppies, but also allows you to watch them and helps them learn to be potty trained more quickly.
• To aid in house training your puppy should not be out of their puppy-safe area unless your eyes are 100% focused on puppy. If you see them beginning to sniff frantically, circle, or squat - quickly pick them up and place them where they can go potty.
• Please do not yell at or hit your puppy. If they are barking, there’s a reason. If they’ve had an accident it’s your fault. When we yell, grab puppies in anger, or swat them they learn that we are unpredictable and cannot be trusted. If these negative behaviors happen while they are going potty or p**p, they learn that they need to hide when relieving themselves, thus making house training 100% harder! You CAN loudly clap your hands for a distraction if necessary.
• Please don’t expect your 9-12 week old week puppy to walk on a leash like a pro. We have practiced with a leash and harness, but they are not skilled yet. Instead, work at home with a leash where they are comfortable. Let them drag the leash, use a teaser toy or treats to encourage them to walk with you.
• If your puppy is refusing to walk, stop and give them time. First puppy walks should not be around the block, but in your yard. Why? Because we don’t want puppies to learn that when they stop and get tired we will pick them up and carry them home. Unless you want to do this when they are a full grown adult too. Begin slowly. Short leash walks in the yard with lots of treats. When they get bored, we can release them from the leash for fun playtime. When we begin leash walks around the block, take it slow. Before puppies are fully vaccinated you can carry them in your arms or in a pet carrier on a walk around the block, to the park, near a school, etc. so they get used to the sounds, smells, and sights of places you want to frequent with them later.
• Protect them at all costs on a walk! What do I mean by this? I mean don’t let them interact with unknown or aggressive dogs. This can create walking reactivity. First time meet and greets should happen with dogs you know are 100% safe. If you don’t know how a dog will react, tread carefully. The same applies to people. As people approach your puppy while on a walk, and desire to greet your puppy, you can inform them of how to greet your puppy. All the same rules apply - calm energy, on their level, let puppy approach but not jump on people, etc. Carry puppy treats for strangers to offer your puppy. Read the cues of your puppy. When pup’s had enough thank your neighbors for the help in socializing your them and move along on your walk.
• If you want your dog to go places with you as an adult acclimate them to riding in the car with you, being in a carrier, or in your arms (at least until they’re fully vaccinated). If we start young visiting stores, friends, the vet’s office, post office, etc. all of our normal places become routine to them and they are willing participants. Continuing their socialization is key for lifetime success! Outings should be planned at puppy’s pace too! You might imagine a fun hike on your favorite trail, but in reality your puppy might only be able to handle walking a short distance that day.
• Always be patient. Having a new puppy can be stressful. When things don’t go as planned don’t declare “wow, there’s something wrong with this dog”. Nothing occurs overnight. Remember if the puppy was wonderful at the breeder’s house but now is struggling, you as the owner, need to help your puppy adjust. This takes time, patience and training.
• Have realistic expectations and give the puppy positive experiences.
• Each puppy is an individual, don’t compare your current puppy to past pets or judge their behavior based on how another dog handled things. Lastly, try to see thing’s from a puppy’s perspective and adjust situations accordingly.
Copied, edited to reflect my program and advice, and shared...
For attention:
Toby “helping” at work, Charlee/Wilson pup.
