4 Things I Wish Someone Told Me About Having a Dog

I obviously love having a dog. I am no longer able to imagine my life without at least one dog in it, and rely on having a dog to help keep me honest in my daily routines, with exercise, having consistent mealtimes and so on.

But for as much as I have loved them, I do remember feeling quite cheated by no one warning me about a few things that became apparent very quickly into my new life with a dog. It's only after the fact that people say "oh yeah, my dog did that!", and at the time, I felt almost betrayed by my friends and family leaving me out of the loop.

So it is my hope here now, that I can spare you some of the rude shocks and frustrations I went through as a new dog owner.

1. A Dog Will Test Your Relationship

When we introduce a dog into our homes, some people think of it as a soft launch for a human child. There are inevitable bumps in the road as your dog or puppy settles in, regardless of age and whether they're a rescue or bought from a breeder.

If your partner doesn't contribute evenly to the care of the dog, if they're inconsistent with training or have a different set of rules to you, it can become an unexpected source of resentment and frustration, one you may not have known existed in your relationship to begin with.

A dog will test your ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with your partner.

It will reveal whether your spouse is truly willing to make good on promises made, especially during the times your dog is acting like a teenage tyrant or behavioural issues are starting to flare up that weren't obvious initially.

2. The Puppy Blues Are Real

When you first start thinking about getting a dog, people tell you how wonderful it is, how it's the best decision you've ever made. Then your puppy comes home and instead of elation, you feel isolation, regret and overwhelm as you question whether you made the right decision.

Puppies may act fearful, or even aggressive, when they're overwhelmed in a new home. They may struggle to settle on their own. Or they may be perfectly lovely but the sudden addition of responsibility, and no longer being able to nip down to the pub without a second thought, can be quite depressing.

In my experience, part of the reason nobody tells you about the hard side of having a puppy is because in the grand scheme of a dog's lifetime, that worst initial stage is fairly fleeting. The best thing you can do is make sure you're adequately prepared with education and then create a routine to get you over the line and surviving puppyhood.

Once your new routine is established and your puppy catches wind of it too, the puppy blues begin to subside. Education really is the key to making that shock to the system pass as quickly as possible.

3. Teenage Dogs Can Be Arseholes

Can be.

The first dog I had in my twenties was a Bull Arab mix with my then-partner and I picked up from the pound. I thought I was being strategic, getting a teenage dog who'd already done his puppy school and toilet training, skipping all the hard stuff. I could not have been more incorrect.

Layering inconsistent homes into the mix of hormones, and discovering the dog in question didn't really have much education at all, I had a dog that would do everything you imagine a naughty dog would do. Looking back, I now realise I had never been taught anything about drive fulfilment, the importance of training, or the importance of structured rest, even having had several dog trainers out to help me.

Above all, without being able to settle on his own and without a proper outlet for his predatory drive, we were both up shit creek without a paddle.

While they are testing you, and while they may give you that vacant, thoroughly adolescent stare during training, I beg of you not to make the mistakes I had made with my bully mix. Give them an outlet for their teenage angst in the form of play. It creates a bond and fulfills their needs while their brain simply isn't there for formal training.

Keep them on a long line for longer than you think they need it. (They will just bugger off randomly.) Train consistently and enforce rest times like you would for a puppy, because despite what they tell you, they very much are still a baby, no matter how independent your dog thinks they're ready to be.

The teenage phase is also the most common time owners give up, not because the dog is beyond help but because nobody warned them it was coming and they have no framework for getting through it.

This is exactly where The Art of Play course comes in. It's designed for this phase specifically, using play-based training to maintain engagement and build drive when formal obedience feels like shouting into the void. If your dog is currently in their terrible teens and you're wondering whether there's light at the end of the tunnel: there is, and it's not that far.

4. Having a Dog Will Make You More Assertive Than You're Used To Being

I've always leaned towards being a bit of a people pleaser, which has actually suited small business ownership reasonably well. However I had to learn to advocate for my dog, and advocate for myself as a trainer, when I brought home my blue heeler, Sherrif.

We need to remember that our dogs may not be for everyone and we shouldn't subject

them to being touched by strangers if they don't want to be. (Unless you're at the vet.)

Our dogs hand over agency to us when we put a lead on their collar and dictate where we

go and who we can interact with. It's important to work through the initial discomfort of telling someone no, because if our dogs are left to fend for themselves every time they go out, feeling like they have to protect their space from strangers and strange dogs, we create a melting pot for reactive behaviours that we could have avoided entirely simply by not having the interaction in the first place.

I remember feeling judged and guilty for declining people who wanted to meet my dog, but I reminded myself that I would choose my dog over the approval of some random on

the street, 1000 times over.

The more I practised saying no, the easier it became. Sheriff's agency over his own body and who got to interact with him was initially what I found most challenging about

him, and then became what I loved most. (Cattle dog lover for life.)

If any of this resonated and you'd like support navigating a specific stage whether that's surviving the puppy phase, getting through the teenage months, or working on a behaviour issue that's crept up I'd love to hear from you.

A private consultation is the fastest way to get clarity on what's going on and a plan that actually fits your dog and your life.

hello@northsidedogtraining.com.au

Love, Olivia & Bon x