Here is my philosophy for how I set myself up for get a puppy.
From a Breeders, and dog training perspective
Before I even bring home a new puppy I have already started my preparations long before even looking for a litter. I spend time on researching the breed, what the breed was originally bred for and any health issues that the breed may be prone to. I like to know what temperament and behaviour traits the breed may have. Understanding the breed and what the breed was intended for helps me to plan training around what drives the particular breed more than it would others.
looking into exercise requirements, grooming requirements it needs and researching what breed characteristics suit my households life style and that we have the time and energy to provide puppy and eventually adult dog what it needs.
I will already have an understanding of what I want from and for my puppy and what I can give them. I research what the best possible diet would be in my price range and choose the most natural, non problematic ingredients that promote health not behavioural issues. I will have an understanding on how I would like them to behave as an adult, so I can implement the training methods as a puppy in order to get my desired result for their adulthood which also suits the dog.
I create training plans for my puppy, planning out different development stages and how training may need to be altered as the puppy grows. I already have it set out how I am going to train having training sessions already planned out for all stages of their development, with a mindset of training in order to prevent bad behaviours developing not waiting for them to develop to then try to fix them. Setting myself good foundations to set me off on the right foot, so when plans need to change you already have the foundations, to help guide you in right direction. Not setting expectations but setting goals to aim for, as Expectations can be broken but goals can be amended. Setting training plans whilst also understanding they may need to be changed to suit the individual puppy's needs. Training that isn't right for that puppy is like setting them up, to fail.
I start all my training by thinking on what a behaviour will look like in a fully grown dog and understanding the consequences that a certain behaviour may have, can this be dangerous, can this cause harmful or cause upset, will this result in my dog being injured or injuring someone or another dog. Having an understanding that behaviours that my puppy might display can be problematic when that puppy is grown up. Problem behaviours in a puppy will only grow as the dog grows, bigger the dog gets, big the problem gets.
Without any training intervening with the problem behaviour as a puppy it will continue into adulthood.
Most importantly understanding that training doesn't mean teaching your puppy to sit or lie down, it's teaching your puppy how to behave in all situations with a calm well-mannered approach that will keep them safe. Teaching boundaries and manors and an underestimated trait, teaching them to switch off. Its having a bond with your dog that's mutually beneficial and enjoyable for you and your dog.
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