We Wish We Knew These BEFORE Getting a Puppy...

We’ve had Apollo for almost a year now, and as first-time dog owners, we’ve been given a LOT of advice along the way. In this video, we sit down with Apollo and share some of the best advice we’ve received since getting our first puppy. For me, one of the biggest things I wish we’d done differently was leaving Apollo alone for tiny periods from the very beginning - even if it was literally 10 seconds. We spent so much time with him when he first came home that being alone was something we had to work much harder on later. Shan shares something our dog trainer taught us about eye contact and unwanted behaviour. Even when you’re not speaking to your dog, looking at them can still give them the attention they’re looking for and potentially reinforce what they’re doing. We also talk about the one thing that has FINALLY helped us get a full night’s sleep: taking Apollo outside for a proper little sniff and toilet walk right before bed. Rather than just letting him into the garden and hoping he goes, we wait until he actually poos - and since doing that, we’ve been able to get 8+ hours without having to wake up in the night. But probably the nicest advice we've received came from one of our neighbours: stop being so hard on yourself. Raising a puppy has its ups and downs. There are days where you feel like everything is going brilliantly and others where it feels like you've gone backwards. We're learning to enjoy the process a little more rather than constantly worrying about whether we're doing everything perfectly. Because ultimately, they're not puppies forever 🐾 These aren't professional dog-training tips - they're simply things that have helped us as first-time dog owners raising Apollo. If you're getting your first puppy, already in the chaos of puppyhood, or you've got some advice you wish you'd known earlier, we'd love to hear it in the comments. Welcome to The Puri Pack 🐾 Apollo | Life | Adventures #FirstTimeDogOwner #PuppyAdvice #Cockapoo #PuppyTraining #DogAdvice #LifeWithADog #ThePuriPack