Puppy raising? Good idea? Any tips or suggestions?

Question

I'm an Adoptions Counselor at Maricopa County Animal Care & Control. We're the nation's second largest shelter and therefore, we take in a LOT of homeless dogs. To try and help out, I fostered a Chihuahua for a little over a month, and I absolutely loved it. I'm nearly ready to start fostering again.

However, this time; I was considering puppies.

Underage puppies are forced to be euthanized if we can't place them in rescue or foster homes, just because we're so overcrowded and we simply can't keep them until they're grown up. My heart goes out to the little guys.

My concern is that I've never raised puppies before. Is it REALLY as horrible as people make it out to be? I would only be keeping the puppy for a maximum of 4-6 weeks, though more than likely in the 2-5 week range. What are some things I need to know? I would not foster puppies who need to be bottle-fed, since I do not have enough time in the day to do that. But with things like socialization, training, chewing, pooping and peeing all over the house... I'm not sure how to handle it, since I've never done it before. Is it horribly difficult? Do puppies really tear up everything? =/

Would fostering puppies be a good idea?

If you guys need any extra information, just ask. I'll edit my question with the answers. :)

Thanks.

Answer 1

I fostered a litter of puppies not to long ago. It has been about 2 years since I have had a puppy of my own and I forgot how much work it is. I have 3 adult dogs of my own so I decidied to crate train the puppies. Having the crate really helped, the puppies were almost completely housebroken by the time they left. Some puppies will chew anything they can get their little paws on. Just make sure that you get some toys for them.

Answer 2

Okay if you get a puppy you need to remember that they need walks more often than adult dog so prefeably every 4, 5 hours so you're going to want a schedule that fits that.

If you get a puppy remember to socalize the pup as best as you can! Bring him around people and around other dogs often. Puppies only tear up things if that's their last resort. With my dog (chihuahua mix) he only bit up his pee pee pad a couple times.

It takes some time to train a puppy but trust me it's so worth it.  

Answer 3

Briefly: yes, raising a puppy is hard.  However, it's also been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.  

With crate training, you'll often have an easy time with potty training, but a young puppy needs to be let out every 30 minutes to 2 hours and can hold it longer as they get older.  

Socializing can be difficult since they shouldn't go to a dark park until they are at least 4 months old and fully vaccinated, but lots of gentle and consistent handling will help a lot and a puppy class will help with other dogs.  The puppy class will also help with training, which is mostly them teaching you how to train a dog, and how to handle specific problems that come up with your dog.  

Chewing can be difficult, but a young puppy needs to either be in their crate when you can't supervise them, or you are watching, so if they get into something you can stop them (though, hah, it can happen in the blink of an eye!).  Though chewing and destructive boredom will vary in degree by the breed.  A lab may chew your sofa legs and, as I learned, your floor molding.  A great dane puppy may destroy your kitchen table.

The big thing for you to consider will probably be the time factor.  Is there anyone home to let the puppy out of the crate to go potty during the day, or is there anyone that can stop in every couple of hours to do so?  And if the puppy is a little older, they can hold it longer, so you can start doing every 3-4 hours, then every 5-6 and eventually 8 hours.

Though, I think some people do weird set ups in garages and stuff when they can't let a pup out every couple of hours so that they have a place to potty without ruining their crate or housetraining, but I don't know anything about it...

Answer 4

You will have to puppy-proof your entire house. My newest dog would get into things that we didn't even think about with our older dog! He ripped up sections of our carpet, ate a towel, destroyed an expensive rug, ruined two pairs of my shoes, a silk skirt, my mum's new towels, a lot of stocks, and for quite a while, everything else he could get his little mouth on! He was trained to go outside to pee very quickly. It does hugely differ depending on the dog though. My 12 year old dog never destroyed things, and was always very gentle, as he was growing up with kids around, but my 2 year old dog was an insane puppy, and still eats towels and socks when he can find them. They really are as much work as people say, and so much more, but is it ever worth it! I wish I could always have a puppy or two around, even when you start to think to yourself, why did I choose to put myself through this??

Answer 5

You should train your puppy when its still very young or else if you wait until its older it will be harder to train. My sister has a puppy in the house and she lets it outside once in a while to let it p**p and stuff out there and not in the house.  But occasionally you will have it pooping and peeing in the house. ^_- Good luck!!!

Answer 6

Omg. I just want you to know your soo nice for working at an animal shelter. Keep it up!  I would say you should take in some of the puppies because that would be soo nice. also there are many books about raising dogs and puppies. im sure you can handle it! I TOTALY SUPPORT YOUR ANIMAL SHELTER! <3 TAYLOR

Answer 7

I have no suggestions for you, since my specialty is cats.  But wanted to chime in and say thanks for all the hard work you do.  You're a champion for the animals and should be commended.

Good luck in your quest.

Answer 8

It's not awful at all. It's great!

There is no need for them to pee and p**p all over the house.

They really only need one room.

I keep mine where i mostly am - the kitchen and the tv/computer room.

It is tiled... no carpet.

The rest of the house is blocked off.

The hardest part is that thet can't be left unsupervised for more than 2-3 hours.

I crate train mine  but 2-3 hours is the max.

Go for it!

Answer 9

Bless you and yes it is alot of work.  The only thing I could suggest since this would seem to be an ongoing enterprise would be to set up something on a permanent basis to minimize work and shock load especially since you are working.  The biggest issue I would think would be cleaning up and the babes do not get advance notice on when it is time to "go" until they are 12-14 weeks.  I am sure you must be aware of what the puppy pens look like at work in the morning. I hope you are not talking about whole litters.

You might try networking off of some local Yahoo Pet Groups to see if somebody would be up for the whole shebang, somebody who stays home and has a really big heart, I belong to a couple of groups and there are some really good people out there still.

I will say it again, bless you and keep working on it, maybe you could do both, at home and some pup angels to help.  Best wishes.

Answer 10

I have 4 shitzus and 2 are female and 2 are males we have one that is a stud and our 2 females got pregnant are one female is a miniature and we had to hand raise all 3 of them first thing is make sure the puppies are warm second you need to bottle feed them every 2 hrs then as they get older gradually lessen the hrs until they are able do eat soft puppy food this is usually round 4 to 5 weeks of age them around 6-8 week they will be getting their teeth and then give them hard puppy food if anymore questions just ask