I'm a big fan of crate training. Many people are not fans of that because they feel like it's harmful or doesn’t lend itself to a great relationship with your puppy by using it. But I’ve come to find that if you crate train the puppy when they're young, they can be overall house trained. And then they can stay out of their crate once they're a little older and can be more trustworthy.

They make a lot of great toys out there. I always recommend a stuffingless toy if they need something soft. If it has stuffing in it or a squeaker, they will rip it out and potentially eat it. And that could lead to you coming to see me because they may need surgery. But I like the Kong toys. They are overall pretty durable, and they're also still a little easy on their teeth. They have a lot of variety, and also the Nylabones. They make some pretty good ones as well. You want something durable but not going to break their teeth.

It depends on how old they are, but most of the time, I usually say that a puppy will need to be let out to urinate based on their month of age—they only have about one to two hours per month of age that they can hold their bladder.

It is. People do it every day, although it’s a big commitment. You certainly want to make sure that you can provide that puppy with the appropriate time once you are home from work because they will need training. They are going to need to be able to be let out during the day sometimes.

So, If you have a tiny puppy, you have to keep in mind that you may need to be going home during your lunch to let them out just because they won't be able to hold it as far as needing to urinate or have a bowel movement. So, that may be something to consider as far as getting an older puppy or an adult dog instead.

It's similar to baby-proofing your house. Anything they can get into or chew on, you need to get that out of harm's way—shoes, dirty laundry, anything like that, that they could inadvertently chew on and destroy or ingest—the same thing with chemicals or toxins that they can get into. You also want to get a trash can that they can't flip the lid up on. If you have cabinets that are pretty easy to open or push open, you’ll want to get child locks on those. Anything that you can think of that a child could get into that could be harmful; then you’ll also need to puppy-proof that.

It depends on your lifestyle and what type of breed you're looking for—a small breed or a larger, giant breed. You want to ensure that the puppy's personality matches what you're able to do for them. It’s also important to know how big they're going to be whenever they're an adult. And I know that can be a little hard if you're getting the puppy from a shelter or a rescue, as they might not know what breed mix they are.

You also don’t want a puppy interfering with housing or anything like that, especially if you’re renting. All of those are things you have to take into consideration whenever looking at puppies.

You want to consider the breeds you are interested in and how they match your lifestyle. So, in the case of an energetic breed, make sure that your lifestyle is pretty active. Because if you have a more sedate-type lifestyle, you may be in for a rude awakening as far as how much energy your puppy has.

The commitment and time you need are the two most important things about raising a puppy. Puppies are going to be around. They're going to turn into adult dogs. They're not going to stay little puppies forever. So, you have to realize that. They're going to turn into big puppies at some point or another, and eventually adults and then senior dogs. So, you need to make sure that you have the willingness to commit to that and to that time and make sure that you're putting in the effort and the budget for it.