[bigpoodleperson]

I know alot of you have gotten puppies, or plan on getting puppies. In your opinion, how much work do you think puppies are? I know some people that swear they will never own a puppy again, and i know others who think its a breeze. Obviously they are very time consuming. Riley is over 7 and perfect now so i am a little biased, but i dont think he was that bad. I havnt had a puppy since, but i help clients all the time at work with it. I am planning that my new puppy will be easy.

 

[wishpoo]

I think it all depends of the type of the person and type of the puppy one gets. Same as with children LOL . One can have a baby that sleeps through the night at 8 weeks or a colic baby that does not sleep through the night till 2 years old !!!! (I HAD BOTH lol) Now - if I had a only one of those - I would either say - oh pffffft - having a baby is a breeze - just giggles and smiles and snuggling and fun OR I would say having a baby is almost traumatic experience where one needs nerves of steal and endurance of a horse LMAO !!!!

I had a puppy that was angel on earth - and having him as a baby was the most wonderful thing. Now , I have a friend who got shy and aggressive puppy and she just had a hell going on at her home !!!! She had to return him to a breeder since he was either growling at her children or peed submissively when any HUMAN male would come into the house and after he nipped at her daughter out of the blue - she just had no choice but to return him (it was not a poodle BTW) !!!

 

[Keithsomething]

I agree with wishpoo
its all case dependent
I was really lucky with Elphie, she was a wiz to potty train and she knows a few things like sit and stay
especially with the environment she came from I wouldn't have expected it to be as easy as it was

 

[Cdnjennga]

Now - if I had a only one of those - I would either say - oh pffffft - having a baby is a breeze - just giggles and smiles and snuggling and fun OR I would say having a baby is almost traumatic experience where one needs nerves of steal and endurance of a horse LMAO !!!!

Ahaha, you're hilarious wishpoo! That really made me laugh.

 

[Cdnjennga]

I haven't had a puppy in a long time... And never one that's been my own as an adult. But all my experiences with our PWD pups and with housesitting my friend's Shih Tzu pup have been very positive! It's a lot of work, but I just love being around puppies, so it's joyful work.

Talk to me once I have my new pup though and have been up and down in the elevator from my 12th floor condo 100 times a day. Then I might change my tune.

 

[KPoos]

It totally depends on the personality of the puppy. Some puppies are a lot of hard work as they go through teething they will chew up anything and everything in your house. Some are harder to housebreak than others. Some are just a breeze and catch on to everything and it's so wonderful you want another one as soon as they are grown. It's like children, you really never know what you are going to get until they are already in your house and it's too late.

 

[plumcrazy]

The last two puppies in the house have been totally great (Lucy actually potty-trained faster than Meau did, and we thought Meau was a superstar when she went through it!) My mini dachshund was still pooping in the house and chewing everything made of fabric when she was two years old (she's 8 now, so she's been good for 6 years!)

I have to agree that it all depends on the puppy and what else you've got going on in your life - it also helps if there are multiple people in the house to help with training.

 

[bigredpoodle]

It does depend on the puppy for sure But I must say that most poodle puppies I have ha no trouble with. They seem to be intuitive right away. this last litter was trained to potty outside at three weeks .. And Neelix is not a second of trouble . Now the setters man o man .. they were pretty naughty. Chewed on everything..So is it better owners or better dogs?

 

[dbrazzil]

I agree with Wishpoo, I couldn't have said it better. I have 2 children, the 1st was so hard as a baby and the 2nd one was a breeze. All 3 of my poodles were also different as puppies.

 

[Fluffyspoos]

I've never owned a puppy, just late puppyhood or adult dog.. so I'm sucking in as much info as I can before I get my standard pup! I'm hoping him or her will be an easy pup.. but I'll be able to pick my puppy on personality completely, the breeder I have doesn't do the 'pick your puppy the first week it's born' thing.

 

[Marian]

If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have said (and actually did say a few times) that I would prefer to adopt an older dog because I didn't have the time or patience to raise a puppy.

Fast forward to August and there I was considering a puppy. The major factor that changed was in the ability to bring Teddy with me to work. If I had not been able to do that, I would have been more likely to get an adult dog.

I think we have both benefited greatly from being together all the time. He has been well socialized and exposed to all sorts of noises and things that could frighten a dog, and he keeps my anxiety (and probably my blood pressure) in check. And, I have left him home with the cat for several hours on a few occasions, and he seems to handle it very well with no SA. So I'm very pleased with the result so far.

 

[cbrand]

How much work are puppies? A whole lot! There are benefits to raising a puppy, but overall, they are a royal pain in the patootee.

Give me a trained older dog any day!

 

[jester's mom]

It all depends on the puppy and the situation of the owner, like how long do they have to be away from the home working.. social life... etc. But, to me, the joys of the puppy out way the work involved. Now, I have to say, my three spoos were EASY. Definitely the easiest puppies I have ever raised... well, I can't say that entirely, my current doberman girl (Jade who is 8 yrs old now) was a super breeze of a pup to raise too. I find that raising them from a puppy rewarding as I love to watch them grow and learn and bond with me. But, if I were unable to take proper care of a pup, I would certainly adopt an older dog. The only problem I see that could arise with this is that you can end up with an older dog that has problems that need to be addressed and they can be sometimes harder as they are ingrained and need to be trained "out" of them. My pups are crated when I am not home so they do not develop the bad habits that they could as in chewing and soiling the house. But, I think both ways are very rewarding, and I personally enjoy the puppy age.

 

[Fluffyspoos]

I think it also depends on the dog.. like, you read everywhere that poodles are super easy to house train, where as I've read that bassets and bichons are TERRIBLE to housetrain!

 

[Teresa]

Puppies!


I've fostered puppies and actually I'm fostering a yorkie mix baby boy right now.

It's a matter of ensuring your home is safe-- because everything goes in the mouth. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Think of it as bringing home a toddeler.


If you can't keep an eye on him/her, the crate comes in handy.

I have a traveling baby bed. The kind with mesh on the sides... that makes a great play area that keeps any of my tiny fosters safe.
There's room for a little bed, some toys , food, water.. and I cant imagin having a puppy to care for without it. I picked it up at a 'free sale'.
My director uses a puppy x-pen. It really does take some of the pressure off of having to always watch when you have to get laundry done, or mopping, or just about anything that takes your attention away.


Lots of chew toys

Lots of love..
Lots of one-on-one..
Lots of socializing (don't forget you can take puppies to hardware stores!)

 

[Marian]

LOL - I have taken my puppy to hardware stores. I've also taken him to the drug store and to the store where I buy my clothes.

Just as it does with human babies, puppyhood goes by so quickly, so the work doesn't last forever, and by raising a dog from a puppy you get the chance to make sure it has a good behavioral foundation that will allow them to mature into a dog who is a pleasure to have around. To me, there is nothing sadder than seeing a dog who gets locked away in the basement, a bathroom or a backyard when company comes to visit because of misbehavior. I like to think of my dog as a little extension of myself; if you don't want my dog around, I don't want to be around you. But by the same token, I will make sure that your experience is a pleasant one when you're with us.

 

[Locket]

I find puppies to be a lot of work, but the last puppy I raised was Matrix, and he's a nut.
After getting Mitch as an adult, I definitely enjoy the perks of getting a well adjusted dog past the puppy stages, and sometimes think I'll never want a puppy again. But I don't think I could go through the rest of my life without getting at least one future dog as a puppy.

I've worked at a day care center for two years and somedays the kids are worse than puppies cos you can't pop them in a crate

 

[Keithsomething]

haha locket I've part timed at a day care for the past 4 summers...and some of those kids NEED a crate let me tell ya...
xDD

if I had to choose between one of those kids and another puppy...the puppy wins HANDS down

 

[puppylove]

Yes puppies are lots of work. Most of the best dogs abandoned are adolescent dogs that no one spent the work on and seem uncorrigible and defective to their owners. And puppyhood lasts far longer than that adorable ball of cuteness lasts.

 

[Harley_chik]

I mentioned this in another thread but I think it depends on the situation the older dog comes from. An unsocialized, untrained, unhousebroken older dog is much more work than a young puppy b/c the older has formed a habit of that behavior. If you can find an older dog that is trained, socialized and housebroken then that would absolutely be easier, but I don't think dogs like that are easy to come by. I guess show puppies that didn't make the cut and retired breeding dogs would be a good options, but rescues don't have tons of resources to undo the damage done by irresponsible pet owners. I have a dog that was adopted at a year and came from a bad situation. He has been soooooo much work, but is definately worth it. I got Harley as a puppy. While he did come from a BYB, they socialized him and he was pretty much housebroken when I picked him up at 10 weeks. Compared to Bailey he was a breeze. Crate training helped a lot too.