A little while ago my husband and I decided to adopt a dog. After a couple months of researching, attending adoption shows, and culling through advice from our friends, we were ready to take the plunge. We found a dog through a local rescue organization but something was fishy about the whole interaction. So, we ended up at the Howard County (MD) Humane Society one Saturday and found a little guy (Ok, not so little – he’s 50+ lbs at only 5 months) that melted us immediately.
Everyone says having a puppy is a HUGE responsibility. Friends that have both kids & puppies said the puppies are more work (!). For some mysterious reason, we still went through with our desire to adopt a puppy (probably because the grown dogs we met seemed like they would hunt our 2 beloved cats!). Every minute of every day since we brought him home has been altered to include him. The house had to be rearranged. Schedules had to be altered. Behaviors (ours’ mostly) had to be refined. Our 2 cats had to be coddled and cuddled. Baby gates, food, bowls, toys, bed, medicine, spray bottle, leashes, collar, halter, tags, registration, crate, deodorizing spray, treats, supplements, and bio-bags had to be purchased in short order.
Turns out Harvey, our 5-month old Doberman Pinscher, IS a HUGE responsibility. He takes constant vigilance, correction, and brain power from both of us every minute that he is awake. He is a beloved member of our exhausted family now.
If I were to share any advice with someone who is getting a puppy (or an energetic dog of any age)- look into these toys, which are the only way you’ll get a few minutes of peace & quiet until he’s fully grown:
#1 Kibble Nibble – purple puzzle ball dispenses food one at a time when the dog spins it around, which slows down his eating & exercises his brain, check out a video of Harvey demonstrating here»>
#2 Squirrel Dude – a purple kong toy that can be crammed with treats for extra motivation. When you throw it it will bounce around like a squirrel and cause the dog to run further and more happily than regular fetching.
#3 Bio-Bags – not a toy, but a biodegradable bag that’s great for picking up after your little guy or girl, and it can be conscientiously discarded in a variety of ways, including compost.
#4 Wood Chuck – this ball-throwing stick keeps you from having to pick up disgusting, slobbery, dirt-coated balls at the dog park to throw for your pal. Again, maximum exercise means down-time for you later on!
#5 Primal Raw Bone Marrow bones- frozen raw bones clean teeth, provide rich nourishment, and about an hour & a half of puppy distraction (enough time to watch one HBO show and wash the dishes). Don’t give them too many of these, although its tempting!
Alyssa works at all MOM’s locations.
MOM's Organic Market Blog 
I have seen this toy and heard great things! It’s one of those cognitive training toys too. Adorable video. Bio bags are also a great idea that I need to get on. Do you take your dog on runs or lots of walks?
My dog is med-high energy but behaves like an angel — we go on too many walks for him to have enough energy to misbehave.
We walk Harvey about a mile a day on weekdays, and up to 3 miles per day on weekends. Any time that he is awake he is anxious to get into trouble, though! Perhaps he will grow out of this in the next couple months (hoping!).
In the meantime, the weather is turning cold and he shivers on long walks, which is when we do most training. Not ideal. In addition, he is now limping! Vet says its not an injury, but more likely a “growing pain”! Sigh, I can’t walk him enough with this pain going on, and running is out of the question.
His toys are even more important than ever! Thanks for your Reply, and give your little angel a hug for me!
Aw! He’s growing too fast to keep up!
You sound like phenomenal dog/puppy owners.
we’ve always pleayd tug, you just have to make sure you win most of the time. which honestly isnt hard.even my new puppy plays tug with our older dog, and the older dog lets him win about 10% of the time.do what feels right with your dog. if he refuses to ever let you win, or gets overly aggressive, then its not a game for you guys. if he’s like our dog where they just flat out suck at it, or you can drop the toy and they know to either give it right back to you, or that the game is over and they need to give up, then its a fine game. you have to learn your dog.
He certainly is growing fast! Thanks for the vote of confidence, we’re going to need it! Also, we just booked an in-home puppy trainer so I’ll post when we have some feedback on that experience! Cheers 🙂
I stumbled upon your blog today while looking for cognitive dog toys, lol. I have to tell you, I truly enjoyed your article and had a good laugh while reading it (it’s all I can do these days to keep me from crying in exhaustion and frustration at the damage our lovable 6 month old Macy has done to since we brought her home). Macy, our most loyal and loving Weimaraner pup is a handful, to say the least. She requires CONSTANT supervision. To make her an even more challenging pup, she has severe separation anxiety now requiring medication. She would drool so badly while we were gone, we thought she was having seizures during our absence; we would return home to find her trembling and covered head to toe in thick, wet, slime. We thought perhaps it was urine; it was sooo much! A trip to the vet showed she would dehydrate during these episodes. A video film showed what was happening. The diagnosis was evident.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips and your love for your pet. I found it helpful and it so made me smile. Thanks again for all the detail. We’ll be getting some of these!
Sincerely,
L. Rouse
Hi Lidany,
Oh my, your Weimaraner sounds like quite a handful! I certainly wish you much luck, patience and general sanity in your raising of her. I heard from a friend recently that also has a dog with severe separation anxiety that when she dog-sat a friend’s dog (one that did not have separation anxiety) and she crated them side-by-side somehow her dog calmed down much quicker (stopped barking before she even got to the car) and seemed to be learning from the visiting dog not to get so worked up. I thought that was an interesting idea and when I read your post I figured it couldn’t hurt to share!
I’ve also used some Rescue Remedy for Harvey before his vet visits to calm him down (about 2 notches) since he gets way anxious in the waiting room.
Thanks for your comment & best of luck to you!
Thank you for sharing. We actually have an older Weim (six years old) with the same problem. You should see what we’ve had to do to her crate to keep her safely contained as freedom does not help while we’re away; the looks of it is quite comical to us now. Behavior vet has been a huge help; I don’t know where we’d be without her guidance and help. We absolutely adore our bundle of trouble, Macy and can’t imagine our lives without her 🙂 Best wishes to you and again, thanks for sharing!