Our gorgeous Labrador puppy is in the last few months of official ‘puppyhood’. She is nine months old, pretty much fully grown and we all love her more than anything. I am by no means a dog expert, this has been my first experience of owning and living with a dog but I think that I have gained enough experience to share the things you need to think about before bringing a puppy into your family and home.
It is an incredibly rewarding experience and one that for us has been overwhelmingly positive but it wasn’t a decision that we made lightly, it took years of discussion and although I don’t regret the decision, there are so many things I wish I had known.
Dogs are expensive
This has been the biggest shock. I knew it would make a financial impact with food and vets bills but I don’t think I really realised how much. The weekly food bill for Liberty isn’t too bad but if you add in treats and chews, it soon mounts up. In addition to food, we have already had two trips to the vets which we hadn’t expected. We also pay monthly for pet insurance and also another monthly payment for check ups and flea and worming tablets. As I work for three days a week, we also pay for a dog walker to come in once a day on those three days. We have been lucky to find the most amazing dog walker but at £14 per hour, it isn’t cheap.
All in all we probably spend in the region of £200 – £240 per month (not including the trips to the vets) on Liberty which is a lot more than I bargained for to be honest. She is quite a big breed, so the cost of the insurance and food is probably more than a smaller breed, but it is a significant investment and you need to be sure that you can afford it before you make that commitment.
Insurance is a must
I know that there will be plenty of dog owners out there who will disagree with me on this one but not only have I decided that insurance is an essential but I have also paid for quite a high level. The reason is simple, if something happens to your dog, the vet bills can be huge and I mean thousands of pounds huge. I have a few friends with dogs who are only too aware of the potential cost and as I don’t happen to have a few thousand pounds lying around just in case, I would rather have insurance than take the risk.
Like with all insurance, it is worth shopping around and getting quotes. Be careful with the type of cover you choose, we opted for a lifetime policy (sometimes called ultimate cover) which means that if we claim for an injury or illness in one year, we can still claim again for the same illness or injury in subsequent years. This type of cover is more expensive of course, but other types of policy will only allow you to claim for an illness for one year and then it is no longer covered. I wanted to make sure we were covered for all eventualities.
Is your house puppy proof?
Puppies are so very cute but those sharp little teeth will happily chew anything and everything. We quickly discovered that our Labrador pup was a real chewer, chewing anything from the bannisters, carpets, rugs, furniture, leads and even hands and feet. Apparently, Labrador puppies are renowned for being terrible chewers but I had no idea quite how many things she would destroy in her wake. Seven months on, things have improved but it can still be a problem which we are working to solve with training and distraction. It is worth buying a selection of different types of dog toys. This can act as a distraction and will save you from a lot of stress. We did try pet behaviour sprays but to be honest, they didn’t make any difference whatsoever to our pup.
Make sure you have somewhere to keep important things like shoes and bags out of harms way. When you have teenagers in the house with expensive brands of trainers, you also need to train them to not leave them lying around to be the next favourite dog chew. That would be a very expensive mistake. The same goes for electrical equipment, controllers, chargers and the rest. We decided that all bedrooms would be out of bounds for Liberty so that she won’t be tempted and the children can all relax and not worry about their stuff being eaten. They just have to remember to shut their bedroom doors.
And the garden?
It is not just the house that needs puppy proofing but also the garden. Our once neat and tidy garden is no longer, it is filled with a variety of chewed up household objects such a insoles, shoes, doormats, a broom and plant pots. Around the edge we had to block the holes under the fence to stop Liberty from escaping and then there are several large holes which Liberty has kindly dug for us. Gone are all the pots full of flowers, she soon dug all the flowers and soil out of them. I am hoping that this summer might be easier as she is calmer and better trained, but I’m not holding my breath.
Training starts straight away
Being a complete novice, I was quite prepared to enjoy our little bundle of furry cuteness and not worry about all that training nonsense until she was older. I was wrong. Even at just 8 weeks old, it was really important to get some training underway before she developed bad habits. We signed up to do some training classes and although we only did 8 weeks, we have carried on many of the principles and watched lots of YouTube videos on dog training to help us. Liberty is, on the whole, really good and behaves well but it is easy to see how dogs can get completely out of control if left to do whatever they want.
Do your research
This isn’t a decision to be rushed. There are so many different things to think about. The cost is the first thing. Secondly, what sort of breed will suit the needs of your family? What size? Male or female? Where will they sleep? What food will they eat? Where is the best place to get a dog? Do you want a puppy or could you rehome and adult dog? When do you start training them?
Be prepared for the mess
If I had a pound for every time I have cleaned up after the dog, I would be a millionaire already. It doesn’t help that this has possibly been the wettest winter on record but it does feel like Liberty brings in half of the garden every time she goes out. Add to that, dog hair which actually gets EVERYWHERE!! And again the chewing. We have lots of chew toys and there is an area in the kitchen which looks a little bit like a toy tip. All of the toys are half broken where those powerful teeth have been hard at work. We have tried a number or boxes and baskets to keep them in, but she chewed them all. She chews mats, rugs, walls. Yes, walls! She does now respond the word ‘no’ and we can now control her by telling her no and distraction techniques are also good. I would definitely recommend that you buy lots of chew toys, you don’t have to spend a fortune, but they are money well spent if they protect your house from those restless jaws.
Which breed is right for your family?
When we made the decision to have a puppy, it took a lot of research and discussion to decide which breed would be best for our family. We took to the internet, which was useful as there are lots of brilliant websites out there. But to be honest, the most helpful advice came from friends and family who were dog owners. They were much better placed to advise us. You need to think about the size of the dog, the temperament, the amount of exercise it will need and of course the temperament. For us, we had a ten year old daughter who was terrified of dogs and one son with extreme anxiety. I am also allergic to fur. It was a long discussion but in the end a Labrador ticked all of the boxes. The right temperament and size, we looked for a female as they tend to be smaller and calmer and Liberty is perfect for us.
Where to get your puppy?
Again, this was something I had no idea about. I had no idea that this could be a minefield. We did consider looking for a rescue dog but we really wanted a puppy and although rescue centres do have puppies, there tends to be a waiting list. But if we went through this process again, I would definitely consider a rescue centre as they make sure that you are the right match for your new dog and you know exactly what you are getting for a nominal fee.
In the end, I took to the Kennel Club website as there are members who advertise puppies on a daily basis and you can search by breed and location and all these dogs are Kennel Club registered which gives you assurance that these are reliable breeders. In the end, a friend told us that she knew of some puppies that were an hour away. When we checked, the breeder was Kennel Club registered and highly recommended in the area.
Wherever you find your puppy, you need to be able to see at least one of the parents when you go to see the puppy for the first time, look for signs that the puppies are being well looked after, have the puppies had the correct vaccinations, are the puppies clean and healthy, does the breeder ask you any questions (a good breeder will ask you some questions to make sure you are right for the puppy) and that the breeder has paperwork in place for you both.
It is a big commitment
Whatever breed or size of dog you go for, it is a huge commitment of time and money. Not only that, but you have to adapt your life completely. Family days out? Can you take the dog? If you can’t, how will the dog cope at home on its own? Can someone else pop in and take it for a walk? Family holidays? The same questions. If you work away from home, you will need to consider either employing a dog walker to come and take the dog for a walk once a day or leaving your pup in ‘doggy day care’.
Whatever you do, you need to think about what will happen to the dog. Of course, you can leave the dog on its own for short periods of time, but particularly with younger dogs, they need regular toilet breaks, so you can’t leave them for long.
This post might feel like I am trying to put you off having a puppy. That is definitely not the case, as I said, we love Liberty so much and she is very much part of the family and we wouldn’t be without her now. But there are lots of things to consider before having a puppy and I hope that this post will give you the necessary list of things to consider before you get your precious pooch.
Useful reading! Having a puppy is great but it can disturb our budget. First cost of puppy, than food and other stuff make our budget out. Thanks for a great post.
Great ideas you have summarized here! I believe dogs are meant to be outside and not inside the house, but a puppy can and will make a great mess if we are not careful enough.
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