More than 50% of brand new puppy owners experience the puppy blues within a few weeks of bringing
home their new puppy
and some experience the puppy blues up to a few months after their puppy’s arrival…
how can this be?
In this week’s video we are going to talk about how to overcome those puppy blues!
Michele here with How to Train A Dream Dog
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Maybe you’re sleep deprived or you’ve cleaned up one too many accidents
You're probably wondering if your dog is ever going to stop biting and learn to follow commands
Am I right?
Having a puppy in the home isn’t easy.
It’s a lot of work and can seem like you have an infant in the house, only this one
is furry and has razor sharp teeth
It’s normal for new puppy owners to feel overwhelmed and frustrated by their pup’s
lack of manners,
constant biting, repeated accidents and probably a whole bunch of other things you wished your
puppy would stop too, right?
The puppy blues is similar to what woman go through after having a baby or what we call
postpartum depression.
As a new puppy owner you may feel depressed and anxious.
New puppy owners thought they were bringing home a cute cuddly puppy that would bring
them great joy and be a best friend and companion.
If you’ve ever thought “what did I get myself into” or “may this puppy thing
wasn’t such a good idea” or “Maybe I have to rehome this puppy”
Hold up, not so fast.
It really does get better and there is a light at the end of the tunnel
But it is going to take your puppy some time to adjust.
You both are going to learn to work together
Remember any great relationship is built on trust and good communication…
These things take time to establish.
They aren’t something that happens the instant you pick your puppy up.
Remember they just left the only thing they knew for the last 8 weeks or so before you
brought them to your home.
No more littermates to play with or mother to feed them or come running when they cry.
They now have humans who care for them in a much different way.
The transition into your home can be a bit overwhelming for them.
This is why they might not eat or take treats right away
They might not want to play and they may pancake or lay down when you take them outside.
Everything new is overwhelming to THEM!
As for bonding and relationship building, this will take time.
It takes time to build trust as you get to know each other
It’s easy to get frustrated with your new puppy when they first come home and even up
to a few months after... because
there are so many things they Can do like walk, run, play, jump, and bark yet they have
trouble with potty training, crate training, and following commands right now
You look at them and they seem so much more mature than they are yet they have the mentality
of a baby, not even a toddler yet
As an adult dog they will have the mental capacity similar to a 2 year old toddler
Think of it like this.
Your puppy has absolutely no understanding of the words you say to them until you teach
them each and every new word you want them to know
To your puppy you sound like someone speaking a foreign language
They need lots of training to learn that the words you speak mean they should respond in
a certain way
Your puppy’s brain is still growing and so is their body, all throughout the 1st year
of their life
It’s growing at a very rapid rate during that first year
Since their brain and their body are learning to work together…
you will likely have to clean up accidents since their bladder can take awhile to mature
enough to hold it for longer periods of time
You can learn more about potty training in our new puppy starter kit.
You can find the link to that below this video under the description.
You’ll also discover that they want to put EVERYTHING in their mouth including you
This isn’t because they purposely want to hurt you, so don’t take it personally
Puppies are drawn to movement and hands and feet move a lot
You can learn more about what to do when your puppy is biting by watching this video here
but for now just know they have a natural urge to chew and need to soothe those sore
gums.
This means you can not scold them for something that is so instinctual to them,
you can manage the space they are in by removing items you don’t want chewed
Limit access to places where there are chewable things such as couches and shoes at least
until you teach your puppy what you want them to do instead of chewing your belongings
and until they are past the teething stage...
You are going to have to monitor and supervise them as well as redirect them to what you
want them to chew on instead.
Having a puppy in the home means you are going to be kept on your toes.
You will have to be proactive about keeping things out of their reach just like you would
a toddler learning to crawl or walk.
I know it can be frustrating to come back into a room you just left, after only being
gone a moment, and there’s either an accident or something got destroyed
Puppies really are like infants in that they need constant supervision and if you can’t
keep both eyes on them they can stay in a puppy pen or a crate.
Puppies are also like infants in that their sleep patterns are a bit off when you first
bring them home too.
Sleep deprivation is a real thing with owning a puppy and if you’re anything like me
You don’t function well on limited sleep.
I get down right cranky and miserable to be around when I don’t get enough sleep.
Maybe your puppy is waking you every 2 hours in the middle of the night because they have
to go potty outside.
Remember a puppy can only hold their bladder for 1-2 hours at a time when in a crate, and
even less time when they are out of the crate
The more space they have to roam around in, the more frequently they will need to go potty
outside.
Well at least you and your puppy are experiencing this sleep deprivation together, right?
Yes, even your puppy may be sleep deprived.
An overtired puppy can be a cranky, bitey, barky, unpleasant puppy to be around.
This is why we want to make sure our puppy gets naps throughout the day.
For more information on what a puppy schedule should look like be sure to watch this video
here all about The Puppy Schedule.
I also think that new puppy owners, who experience the puppy blues, feel as if they don’t have
anyone to talk to who will understand
They don’t want friends and family to think they are giving up or that they can’t care
for a puppy
I’m here to tell you you are not alone.
We polled our Puppy Training with Michele Lennon Facebook group recently to see who
was feeling the Puppy Blues,
Within a matter of minutes we had hundreds of responses of YES, I’m feeling the blues.
You can join the Facebook group, Puppy Training with Michele Lennon, by clicking the link
below this video in the description.
Now you can’t instantly make the 1st year of raising a puppy go by in the blink of an
eye just to make things a bit easier
Beside you wouldn’t want to miss all those adorable puppy moments
You know the ones… puppy’s first bath, sleeping puppy, puppy doing cute things with
their toys…
But what you can do is learn what to expect… knowing what’s to come or what’s going
to happen during that first year will be a big part of it
When you manage your expectations you won’t have unrealistic goals
You can watch this video here all about the kind of expectations you should have
You can also work through the online puppy training course we offer with your puppy and
the rest of your family.
30 Days to Puppy Perfection is like a puppy training blueprint covering everything you
should teach your puppy and in what order
When you have clear guidelines and training tips to follow it will make the whole experience
so much more enjoyable
Learning together and teaching your puppy new and useful skills will also help you build
a better relationship together!
What ever you do don’t take your frustrations out on your puppy.
This will break the trust and your puppy will not be eager to engage, train and trust you!
Yelling, hitting, or causing any physical or mental harm will only damage your relationship.
I can promise you with 110% certainty that your puppy never purposely does something
to upset you.
They do not have that kind of human thought process.
If your puppy knew how to do what you expected of them they would do it!
Currently they rely on only what they know and natural instinct.
Even if you taught your puppy a certain skill in one location, it doesn’t not mean they
will be able to perform it in all locations.
Each new location and stimuli is new and often very distracting for your puppy
This means dogs don’t easily generalize a skill you taught them.
If you taught them to sit and stay in the kitchen they also need to go through all the
training steps to learn that skill outside with lots of other distractions present.
One important tip I really want you to take to heart and listen to me carefully on is…
be patient with not only your puppy but yourself
Raising a puppy is not only about loving them and providing food and water to them but also
its about learning how their brain works and how to teach them new skills
It’s not like you can just tell them to do something, you know what the words mean,
they do not!
At least not until you teach it to them!
Take a deep breath, give your puppy rest time in their crate, work through the training
games in the course and soon enough those puppy blues will be a thing of the past!
I’ve got one last thing to say about the puppy blues...
Before I share my final thoughts, if you haven’t done so already hit that subscribe button
so you can be the first to hear when next week’s video comes out!
Now I’m not an advocate for giving up on puppy at the first sign of trouble.
I don’t encourage you to get a puppy and then when the going gets tough turn them over
to the rescue group or give them away...
But.... and this is a BIG but… if you have exhausted all options, tried professional
training, and determined that your home is not the best fit for your puppy
because of lack of care, space, or their health and wellbeing is in jeopardy then it may be
time to make the difficult but well thought out decision to do what’s best for the puppy.
This does not give you a free pass to rehome your dog just so you can get a new one because,
that new dog will also come with all sorts of new puppy woes as well.
You may end up with even more puppy blues than you did before.
In the comments below let me know if you or someone you know is or has experienced the
puppy blues?