Every Puppy is Different

So as some of you know I brought home a new German Shorthair Pointer pup on July 1 from Peregrine German Shorthair Pointers in Grande Prairie. His name is “Ari” and more information will be coming up about him for the blog and website. Ari is now 15 weeks old and has been living with me and my family (human and canine) for the past month and a half.

Having a new pup around has been fun and also challenging. It’s easy to forget the obstacles I faced when I’ve brought home previous fur babies. Marco is now 2.5 years old and by all accounts one of the easier puppies I’ve had.

What is becoming the most obvious is that you can NOT compare one puppy to another. I’ve had puppies of various breeds and from every background imaginable. This little guy has come from an excellent breeder and luckily has an amazing little temperament. However he is distinctly different from the other furballs that have joined the family.

It would be so easy to get caught up in well Russ was house trained by now or Marco wasn’t vocalizing in his kennel anymore at this age. But really that wouldn’t be fair. All of these puppies are so intrinsically different. Russ came from a breeder who started the whole litter on house training at 5 weeks old. Thanks Sandy & Denise for that! Russ is still the only puppy I know who house trained in 3 days and he also came home to us at 10 weeks of age not 8 weeks. In the case of Marco well the little guy was from a more independent environment and preferred dogs to people. So of course being kenneled next to Tank his Uncle was no problem. Comparing Ari the extremely people focused pup to Marco would not be fair.

I often have clients who compare their new arrival to a dog that they had for years and years. It’s easy to forget just how challenging puppies can be especially after living with a well-adjusted adult dog for so many years. All new puppy parents need to give their puppy a chance to develop at his/her own speed. There are no hard and fast rules about when a puppy will be house trained as it depends on so many factors. The same goes for training a puppy or an adult dog anything. Just like people they all learn at their own rate.

So my new baby is a great reminder for what my guys are experiencing and also not to compare. By the way did I mention Ari is already the most focused puppy I’ve ever had! He’s a smart kid and he’s bound to pick up the rest in no time.