What ONE thing do you know now, that you wished you'd known then....

For us it has to be the importance of loose-lead walking. Harv seems to pick most things up incredibly quickly (we've been very lucky to have him as our first dog) but I do regret not putting more time into this early on - it's taking a long time to rectify this oversight ...

(On the positive side, had I known how fantastic dog ownership could be I may have had one sooner )

 

Just bought that wash bag, looks great!

 

Oh and another thing, to wash tennis balls thoroughly to get rid of the grit.

 

Definitely for me as well, together with having a clear idea of what I wanted to train from Day 1 , but then again I've only ever wanted Juno as a companion with good manners so perhaps I did have a clear idea

 

So many things! The biggest would be that I wish I had introduced Coco to my 2 cats when she was little. We kept them apart so the cats had their space protected (they are 12 and 2) and now we have an 83 pound dog wanting desperately to play with them. Keeping them apart in a 2 bdrm apartment is not easy!

Also, I wish I had taken more pictures when she was a puppy! I was so focused on training and managing behaviour, I forgot to document a lot of the moments.

 

Persisting with loose lead walking from day 1 is the one big thing I wish I had done

 

All of the above lol

 

This thread is very useful and I've not even picked up my puppy yet!! I wondered how you would have conquered the impulse control with other dogs?

Daniella

 

Ditto on Impulse control. And not to let a puppy free hunt rabbits and pheasants. I didnt know enoigh to recognise Brods' already hard wired hunting drive being stoked as a puppy and am still dealing with the consequences! If I had pups from strong working lines again they would be in gundog puppy class from the off!

 

Not all dogs are the same. Some dogs are more timid than others, and need more encouragement to interact with other dogs. Other dogs though - mine included - very quickly become confident with other dogs, then over confident with other dogs, then addicted to rushing over to say hello to every other dog he saw.

To be fair to him, he has had periods of isolation from other dogs, which hasn't helped his obsession, but still...

For confident, out going Labradors, I think socialisation with other dogs needs to be balanced with a bit of basic control around other dogs. I actually wince when I see small Labrador puppies already pulling their owners over to other dogs, and the owner happily following in the name of socialising their puppy. I did this, I'll never do it again.

Of course, I'd make sure any puppy went to appropriate puppy classes, and met a fair range of friendly, adult dogs. But....he would have to pay attention to me before he said hello to any dog. I'd work much harder, and spend much more time, on getting him to look at me and ignore other dogs than I would on getting him to meet other dogs. I'd go out, not with the aim of finding other dogs for him to meet, but finding other dogs for him to ignore.

 

I wish I'd spent more time on walking directly to heel, instead of approximately to heel, off lead and on.

 

I wish I'd concentrated more on heel work off the lead in the garden when Milo was a young puppy and persisted more with loose lead walking. Don't do anything with 7Kg puppy that you don't want to do with a 27Kg dog!!- certainly agree with that bit of advice!! A great thread.

 

The training stuff never really worried me started as i meant to go on, then rolled with it, as each of my dogs have been so different and had needs. I do regret and will always regret castrating Doug. Worst advise ever... regret it every day. If someone tells me stuff now I research and think about it. Hated myself for doing it he did not need it and would not have.
I will never do anything like that again

 

So, a summary for all the new puppy owners....

Cracking loose lead walking is absolutely at the top of the list of things to work on first.

And then:

Train impulse control
Don't do anything with a 7kg puppy that you wouldn't do with a 27kg dog
More socialisation around kids/men
Reward attention off lead from the get go
Make training fun, relax
Insist on 4 paws on the floor - always
Try to understand the dog you have
Put wee on cue
Don't ever chase your puppy
Get them used to handling and nail cutting early
Be careful about what chew toys they have to avoid tooth damage
Do not let your puppy chase wildlife