One day, you bring home a little furball that practically fits in one hand. A week later, they’ve somehow outgrown the crate you just bought. You fed them dinner at the usual time, but they’re staring at the empty bowl like they’ve been starved for weeks. And suddenly, they’ve gone from prancing all over the…
One of the first things new puppy owners do after the initial excitement settles is start quietly worrying. Is my puppy too small? Too heavy? Growing too fast? Not fast enough? I’ve been through this cycle with the first couple of pups I’ve raised, and I can tell you, the anxiety is universal. While worrying…
Before you bring home a puppy, you need a reality check on how big they get and how fast. A strong understanding of puppy growth timeline is crucial because a lot of key decisions depend on it. For instance, it helps you assess whether the crate you bought will last six months or two years,…
The first few weeks after bringing home a puppy can feel like trying to reach a goal post that is constantly shifting. One week your pup is a sleepy, wobbly little thing you could cradle in one arm. The next, they’re tearing through the house, chewing your shoes, and apparently deaf to their own name….
Watching your pup snooze away for the better part of the day (I’m talking up to 18 hours or more), can leave you wondering, “Seriously, how much do puppies sleep?” After all, you probably imagined lots of play time and activities when you brought your furball home and here they are sleeping like their life…
Feeding a growing puppy can feel like a moving target. Puppies grow unbelievably fast, doubling or tripling in weight in just a few months, so their meal routine needs to keep pace. In this guide I’ll break down the puppy feeding schedule by age, so you’re not left trying to read labels and make sense…
New puppy parents tend to get a lot of conflicting advice about vaccines—which ones are essential to when to start, and how many rounds are actually needed. It’s a lot to take in, especially in those first overwhelmed weeks. But here’s what I’ve learned from years of raising GSDs: the timing isn’t arbitrary. The puppy…
If you’ve brought home a puppy recently, you’re likely already familiar with the chaos that ensues. Those frantic bursts of energy, the zoomies at midnight, the inability to sit still for longer than 30 seconds. It’s easy to assume that tiring your puppy out is the answer to mellowing them down. But here’s the thing:…
If there is one thing I’ve learned raising dogs over the past decade and a half, it’s that a puppy’s needs change a lot faster than most people can comprehend. From balanced nutrition to right care, new social experiences, plenty of mental stimulation, and a lot of patience and reassurance along the way, your puppy…
Raising a puppy is a journey full of surprises. As a seasoned German Shepherd mom, I can tell you with certainty that what feels like a roller coaster ride is, in fact, the normal curve of puppy development stages. Puppies grow physically, mentally, and emotionally at lightning speed, and each of those phases can bring…