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Should I get a puppy or a dog? 6 major Differences between The Two
Should I get a puppy or a dog?
After having both at the same time we rapidly found out that there are major differences between training a puppy vs dog.
It has been numerous moons because we last fostered an older dog.
That all changed 9 months ago when we brought home a golden Retriever not so aptly named Raven (she’s an English Creme golden Retriever practically white in color).
A short 2 weeks after Raven entered our home we picked up our 8 week old service canine puppy in training, Archer.
We had both an untrained adult dog and puppy for the first time, simultaneously!
We rapidly found out that there are some major differences between training a puppy vs dog.
Should I get A Puppy Or A Dog? 6 major Differences between The Two
Quick Recommendation: If you’re planning on getting a new puppy or canine we recommend getting a good book on training like Puppies for Dummies which we read several times before bringing home our first puppy, Linus.
If you’re trying to choose between a canine and a puppy then some of these elements may be the difference-maker when trying to decide between the two.
#1 History
Many people who are interested in bringing home a puppy are doing so because they want a pet with a known history.
If you get your puppy through a breeder (even in some cases from a rescue organization) you can oftentimes meet both parents and siblings as well as find out the lineage of your puppy.
Archer: We got to meet Archer’s mama and papa as well as all of his siblings. We also had the opportunity to temperament test a select group of puppies from his litter.
Raven: We knew she grew up in a kennel and wasn’t socialized, but we mainly learned on the job with Raven. She was terrified of the crate. She wasn’t potty trained. She didn’t know basic obedience. Her house manners weren’t so great as she tried to get on the couch and bed. She had some behavior issues including jumping up and getting mouthy with people.
Winner: PUPPY. Ideally, I think we’d all like to know the history of our pets.
We were lucky and it wasn’t too challenging to instruct Raven and introduce her to things like her crate.
However, we are still working to socialize her and build her confidence in areas as basic as our neighborhood walks.
UPDATE: It’s been 4 years because I originally wrote this article. Archer is a working service canine in Seattle, WA. Raven lives with us and is now a well-behaved fantastic family dog.
#2 Bladder Control
An 8-week-old puppy doesn’t have the greatest bladder control.
If you brought home a puppy recently then you may have already experienced your puppy going potty outside then coming inside and going potty again.
Yep, puppies have smaller bladders than adult dogs.
Archer: As I discussed puppies will in some cases get their company done outside and then have a pee accident inside and Archer was no different. While we have gotten pretty good at detecting when a puppy has to potty by viewing for signs like circling, sniffing, etc we are still not 100%. I feel like in some cases Archer didn’t know he had to pee until after he started peeing. Ahhh…the joys of raising a puppy ?
Raven: When Raven concerned the house she had great bladder control her problem was she didn’t know she was expected to potty outside. Because she had better bladder control than a puppy we gave her much more freedom. She is potty trained now, but if we had treated her like a puppy (limited freedom, viewing her 100% of the time) I have no doubt she would have had zero accidents in the house and she probably would have been house trained within a couple of weeks time or possibly less.
Winner: DOG. While I haven’t potty trained many older dogs the fact that they can physically hold it longer than a puppy is a huge plus.
#3 Immune System
Puppies don’t have a fully developed immune system and this makes them susceptible to sickness and disease.
The guideline of thumb is to be much more cautious with your puppy until they are fully vaccinated (around 16-20 weeks of age if you’re following a standard vaccination schedule).
When our puppies are not fully vaccinated we typically avoid areas frequented by unknown dogs like parks (especially canine parks), and pet stores, and we’re extra careful at the vet’s office.
Archer: lucky for us Archer is being raised as a service canine so there are plenty of places for him to socialize where dogs don’t regularly frequent like grocery stores, shopping malls, book stores, restaurants, film theaters, and many places the general public can go.
Raven: As an adult canine we weren’t concerned about Raven’s immune system when taking her out. Her most significant issue was anxiety which we characteristic to element #1: History.
Winner: DOG. Sadly, we’venull