Reddit reviews Puppies For Dummies

About 1,5 years ago, I was in a similar situation. I had no previous experience of dogs, no idea what to expect. Also, about 6 months ago, my girlfriend moved away and I've been solely responsible for our dog since. It's not easy, but you have to realize that from this point onward, that dog is part of your family and comes first.

First things first: Puppies for Dummies, read it now (or some other book).

As many others have pointed out, there's no way a reputable breeder would give out a puppy at 6 weeks. Around here, 8 weeks is the minimum (otherwise I agree with everything cirocco wrote). It might feel that it doesn't matter, but as you will soon find out, a week is a major milestone in a puppy's development. Anyway, that's happened so let's focus on the future.

A dog is pretty resilient, so you have some margin of error, but I can't emphasise how important each week is and how you need to really focus on the puppy for the first year or so. You'll be rewarded later on.

I'm guessing getting the dog was primarily your girlfriend's idea? That doesn't matter now and you can't use that as any excuse, because you're both going to be equally important to the puppy. If you think about it as your girlfriend's dog, it's going to be a mistake (as I learned out pretty quickly). It will love and depend on both of you. The longest stretch your dog can be left alone is around 8 hours (when adult). However, you're not even close to that yet and you need to teach your puppy that being alone is ok. But that's only possible once your puppy feels safe and trusts its surroundings.

The puppy will poop and puke in many interesting places (and continue to do so when adult). In most cases, this will be normal and caused by something the dog ate and will go away soon. A change of diet will pretty much always guarantee strange poops. Your puppy will soon learn that it should go outside to do its business, but because of a weak bladder it will not be able to do so for a long time and this is the reason why it's never ok to blame the dog for making an accident.

In a year, you won't have a finished end-product. Yes, it will be much easier on many fronts by then, but your dog will still require attention, care and leadership. When you'll girlfriend leaves for graduate school, your dog will miss her but will soon be ok. However, at this point you really need to make sure that there are others that can take care of the dog when you personally can't (trip, sickness, etc.). At around 1 year, your dog is going to be very active and you need to make sure all its needs are taken care of or you will end up with a bunch of behavioral problems. It will get easier, but you can't take it any less seriously. Taking care of an active breed by just yourself means that you'll spend a lot time out with your dog.

You might want to consider taking up a dog-related hobby like obedience training or agility or something.

> for what? So I can "pet" something?

You have lost your independence, but you have gained a new best friend for life. Yes, vets can be expensive. Yes, your life changed and you can't get it back. You chose a breed that has a pretty long lifespan, is relatively active and which is not considered to be "easy". It's up to you to think hard if you're up to the challenge. What you will end up is much more than a "pet".

We talked about gettinga a dog for a year before actually doing so. We borrowed our friends' dog for weekends. We researched breeds and met breeders. Even so, once the puppy came home I was scared, I wasn't sure I was up to the task. But now I couldn't be happier. It is hard, and most of my time goes with my dog but for me it's all worth it. When I get home after a day at work, the massive amount of love that awaits me at home is just amazing. Those tiny feet jumping at me, so happy that I'm back after a boring but successful day guarding the dog fort.

TL;DR: If you jumped right here, you might not be up to the task. I was in a similar position, and it's not going to be easy - but so rewarding if you have the right attitude. You will not learn the guitar nor go regulary to the gym for at least the next 6 months.

These are the books I read! The training the best dog ever was probably my favorite as it focusses on manners commands like recall, stay, leave it, drop it, yours/mine as well as socialization methods. Puppies for Dummies is a lot about the first week/month/year of dog ownership and includes training but also health info, nutrition, supplies, budget, etc. 101 tricks is basically a party tricks book, not focussed on manners more on obedience training/showing off to house guests. I think it's always good to read a book about your dog's breed too so that was my last one.

Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-Week Program Using the Power of Positive Reinforcement

Puppies For Dummies

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog

The Australian Cattle Dog: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet (Your Happy Healthy Pet)