I'm going out of my mind... actually I've been going nuts ever since he was born! In two weeks I'll be driving up to St. Louis to buy my first puppy, ever. I've never bought a dog, always adopted or found strays. A friend from another message board bought a Belgian Malinois, and I've watched their dog grow up and have been impressed. Actually all of the dogs from that litter have looked good and seem to be doing very well with their 'jobs'. Now I'm buying her little brother from a repeat breeding.

I'm just so freakin excited, and scared at the same time. I've puppy proofed the house, I've bought all of his toys, I've set up his first vet appointment, I've even bought his food. The scary thing is that puppies drive me crazy. I'd much rather have an older dog, but to be honest, I'm tired of fixing other people's mistakes. All of my dogs have issues because of abuse, neglect, improper training, under socialization. It'll be refreshing to start with a clean slate.

For the past 5 months while waiting for the dam to breed and give birth I've been pouring over all of my dog information, rereading everything I know, finding more things I didn't know. I feel like I've put a lot of pressure on myself to give him the very best I can afford to start him out the right way. I'm even seeking out part time employment so that I can stay home enough hours of the day to get him house trained quickly and properly/have plenty of time for tons of socialization and exposure after he's been cleared by the vet. I'm very lucky that my BF is humoring me with not working as much, although I suppose it's more to do with the fact that he doesn't want to deal with a bratty puppy that soils all over the house!

Congrats.
What are your plans for this puppy?

The biggest emphasis is going to be agility, but also obedience and tracking, possibly doing schutzhund obedience/tracking titles just because I really love watching those dogs work. I don't want to dedicate the immense amount of time it takes to do bite work, though. His sister is doing well in Flyball, and his aunt excels at it, but I'm not familiar with it. We may just dabble for fun.

My long term goal is to learn on this dog and have a lot of fun, and then in the future get into SAR work once we've settled down and won't be moving for a while!

Frankly, of all the aspects of Schutzhund, I'd say tracking is the most time-consuming.

Good luck!

Really? Could you tell me why you think that? I might have to take that back and just stick to AKC tracking!

Congratulations on the puppy!

What are you planning on doing to start your obedience training?

Preparing for your first pup is really like preparing for a baby. So much to figure out, and then there are still tons of questions and things to do after the pup comes home. Its great that you have been able to arrange to be home more. Keep us updated. I can't wait to see pictures!

I wish I could have another puppy!

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

The scary thing is that puppies drive me crazy. I'd much rather have an older dog, but to be honest, I'm tired of fixing other people's mistakes. All of my dogs have issues because of abuse, neglect, improper training, under socialization. It'll be refreshing to start with a clean slate.

Lol, you sound like me! It seems like everyone just looooves puppies, but I'm not a big fan of them either.

Who knows, you might end up enjoying puppyhood, but be prepared to be miserable for 2 months.

It will pass though....my pup is 17 weeks old now and I'm finally really in love.

IMO, the hardest part about a young puppy is making the time for them. Just like a baby, its a lot of little bits of work all the time.

Five minutes of exercise, followed by a potty break, followed by a fifteen minute nap, another potty break, meal number one of the day, potty break, fifteen more minutes of play, three minutes of training, potty break, nap, potty, meal number two...

Its exhausting, but still a lot of fun if you have the time for it.

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

I'm just so freakin excited, and scared at the same time. I've puppy proofed the house, I've bought all of his toys, I've set up his first vet appointment, I've even bought his food. The scary thing is that puppies drive me crazy.

Whatcha gonna feed?

Got a crate?