The Biggest Mistakes We Made as New Puppy Parents
Happy National Puppy Day! Now that the cat (er, puppy) is out of the bag and our online community knows we are bringing a puppy home in a few weeks, we wanted to take a look back and reflect on the mistakes we made as new puppy parents. Navy was mine and Zach’s first puppy. We did as much research as we could prior to her arrival, but we truly had no idea what to expect.
I often see dog instagram accounts offering advice on puppy raising. However, many of these accounts come across as being a bit condescending. While all pet parents make mistakes, it is important to recognize them to avoid reporting them. One of the primary reasons we started this blog was to share our tips and tricks of raising a puppy. We are no experts in puppy training, but if sharing our mistakes helps others, then we are more than happy to share them.
Here are a few of the (many…MANY) mistakes we made as first time puppy parents.
1. SEPARATION ANXIETY
Have you read our experience with CBD blog post? If you haven’t, you should ;). In this post we talk about our biggest mistake with Navy. I guess you could say by giving her too much attention and love she developed separation anxiety. Anxiety in dogs can come in a number of different forms. As a puppy Navy would whine, bark, destroy things, and have accidents when separated from us. Luckily, after time and the help of CBD, we were able to work on her anxiety issues.
2. BARKING
Navy the yap queen. Yes we joke about Navy’s non stop yapping, but it is actually incredibly annoying and embarrassing to both Zach and I. When Navy started barking as a puppy we took the advice of a popular YouTube dog trainer who recommended teaching a dog to bark on command which would help the learn to not bark on command. This obviously did not work for Navy. We tried a couple other tactics to prevent Navy’s barking, but they did not work.
3. SNAPPING AT KIDS
We really thought we did a good job of socializing Navy as a puppy. Navy bonded instantly with my niece, Mia, and sat patiently with neighbor children as they pet her. We thought she would be great with kids! Unfortunately we let a few small children touch Navy without asking. They were a little rough with her and ever since she has become reactive towards children. It is a work in progress but we are slowly introducing Navy back to children and keeping a careful eye on their interaction with her.
4. CONSISTENCY OF TRAINING
It is safe to say that I took training Navy more seriously in our household. Zach and I were not consistent in our training with Navy. Because of this, she easily got confused and would act out as a puppy and now as she has grown. We’ve had to completely start over on Navy’s obedience training recently, and it has not been fun. When we bring Duke home, we plan to take training more seriously.
5. TAKING TRAINING TOO FAST
Like our previously listed mistake, we took training with Navy a little too fast. Navy is an incredibly fast learner. She picked up on tricks and training fairly quick. So here we were, new puppy owners thinking that Navy had all the basics down and we could move onto more advanced tricks. We were wrong. Here is one example: when Navy was a puppy I taught her how to wait patiently for treats placed in front of her and release her on my command. She learned this very quickly, so we moved on. After about a month Navy conveniently forgot this training and would rush to treats. Needless to say we had to go back and teach Navy how to wait and many other commands as well.
6. ALLOWING ROUGH PLAY WITH BIG DOGS
Ughh. Honestly, this has been our biggest issue lately. Navy gets along with all dogs but loves playing with big dogs. We used to not think anything of her rough play with bigger dogs, because what damage can a little 20 pound corgi do? Our lack of attention to her rough play led her to get a little rough around some smaller pups. Now that we are bringing a smaller puppy into the house, we want to make sure Navy know how to interact with her little brother.
7. JUMPING ON AND OFF FURNITURE
Yes I know fully well that corgis and only stumpy leg dogs should not just on and off furniture. Navy is an independent pup and makes her own decisions, and the second she learned she could jump up onto furniture there was no stopping her. We scold Navy when she jumps on and off furniture, but she sees it as a game. If anyone knows how we can prevent this from happening, please let us know!
What mistakes did you make with your puppy? Let everyone know by commenting your experiences below.
HAPPY NATIONAL PUPPY DAY FROM OUR GROWING FAMILY TO YOURS!
3 COMMENTS
Anna
5 years agoI LOVE this. We also are first time puppy (and first time corgi owners) to our little Chester who is now 6 months old. We struggled soooo much in the beginning. I remember crying a lot in the first few weeks because he was stressing me out so bad, was so destructive, and I couldn’t stand the constant biting and barking. All of those things are still a work in progress as he is only 6 months old but here are a few of our biggest mistakes: 1) not being consistent with training 2) being quick to give negative reinforcement like yelling No or nose bopping then slacking on positive reinforcement 3) leaving too many toys out at once so he gets bored very fast of certain toys (we no longer do this, we rotate toys every few days) 4) were still working on puppy biting, even though it has gotten a lot better, he still loves to nibble on hands. 5) THE BARKING. This is probably my biggest nightmare about our pup. I also find it so embarrassing and annoying. But time outs and other attempts at training this have not worked.
But here are some things we did right! 1) he’s very well socialized, loves all dogs and loves all humans even more 2) we take him for walks and to the dog park frequently for exercise and socialization and he loves it 3) we love on him unconditionally 4) he is well fed, well groomed, and in great health (we love our vet, Chester doesn’t as much but he’s a good healthy boy and that’s all that matters) 4) he can potty on command! This was a big win.
As many things as we did wrong and as hard it is raising a puppy, we love him with all of our hearts & it is so nice to hear stories from others about the same struggles 💕 thank you guys for sharing!
Betsy Svensson
4 years agoHi,
We have a fluffy Cardigan, also. I noticed that Navy has a trimmed tummy and some trimming all over. I have only had our girl, Gracie’s tail and haunches trimmed a bit. Any tips and/or suggestions? He tail hair had reached a length of 12”. Did Navy’s?
Thanks for any comments.
Betsy
Minden, NV
Alex
4 years ago AUTHORYes! We trim Navy’s tail, around her ears, her skirt and tummy a bit. 2-3x a year we take her to a groomer for a professional bath and sanitary groom. Navy and Duke love to play outside so we like to keep Navy hair clean and manageable. She only gets a small trim. If needed we occasionally give these areas a light trim at home.