Preparing for Your Puppy — Part 2: Educating Yourself in Advance
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
Hello Flood Farm Family,
In our last message, we began our Preparing for Your Puppy series by talking about getting your home ready for a new arrival. Today we want to focus on something just as important — preparing yourself.
German Shepherds are intelligent, thoughtful dogs who thrive when their owners approach training with patience, consistency, and understanding. One of the best things you can do before bringing your puppy home is spend a little time learning how these remarkable dogs think and learn.
Start with the Right Foundation
At Flood Farm, the principles we follow for raising and training our puppies are heavily influenced by the book The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete.
We ask that all of our puppy buyers read this book before bringing their puppy home. It provides a thoughtful, practical guide to understanding how dogs learn, how to build trust, and how to create a strong lifelong partnership with your dog.
Many of the ideas in the book mirror the way we handle and socialize our puppies during their first weeks here on the farm.
Watch and Learn
Another excellent resource we recommend is the “Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 12 Months” training program from Leerburg.
This program walks through the critical first months of your puppy’s life and provides step-by-step guidance for training, socialization, and building the habits that lead to a well-balanced adult dog.
Watching this before your puppy arrives will help you feel confident when those early training moments begin.
Build Your Puppy’s Support Team
A successful start for your puppy doesn’t happen by accident. Before bringing your puppy home, we strongly recommend:
• Finding a trainer familiar with German Shepherds and registering for a puppy class
• Scheduling your first veterinary appointment so your puppy can be seen shortly after arriving home
• Beginning to think about your training goals and routine
Having these pieces in place before your puppy arrives makes the transition much smoother for both you and your dog.
From Tiny Pup to Confident Dog
One of our favorite things here at Flood Farm is watching our puppies grow. It’s amazing how quickly they mature from curious little pups into confident young dogs.
Above is a look at one of our recent pups as she grows up — a reminder that those early weeks of guidance and learning truly shape the dog they become.
Looking Ahead
We are currently planning for a future litter and will share updates as plans develop. In the meantime, this is the perfect time to begin learning and preparing.
A little preparation now goes a long way toward raising the kind of dog everyone hopes for: loyal, thoughtful, and a joy to live with.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of our Preparing for Your Puppy series, where we’ll talk about the first days at home with your new puppy.
Warmly,
The Flood Farm Family 🐾
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