Get pet insurance. Or put $100/mo aside just in case in 10 years the dog ends up eating some gravel. Two years after eating a safety pin.

St. Hubert’s has an amazing puppy training class. Take it or one like it.

Be patient. Dogs are a lot of work but well worth it.

Rule of 3: 3 days for dog to decompress, 3 weeks for dog to learn your routine, 3 months for dog to feel at home and comfortable.

Martingale collars are excellent, especially if the dog is prone to wiggling out of a harness.

Give your dog a space (ie: crate/pen, etc) of its own where it can retreat and feel safe.

Consistency goes a long way. Good luck and give your doggo lots kisses and pets

Your dog will not understand you. They do not speak English. You can teach them words but to them they will be sounds. They will never understand what a word means, just what happened after the word was said and the outcome of what happened. Try to get into this mindset from the start, and be consistent with your cues (what we might normally call commands) across your entire family.

Some dogs will respond to physical cues better than verbal cues. Try to get in the mindset that you aren’t giving the dog a command, you’re giving them a cue. Do the all the steps of X when I say Y.

Martingale collars are great and can be used in conjunction with a harness. A harness is fine with training. It is true that dogs find the tugging rewarding but a well trained dog will behave regardless of what they are or are not wearing.

Look up LIMA training. Look up the Two week Shutdown

Look up the Three DS of training YouTube is an invaluable resource, but pick your content creators wisely, I would recommend a Lima trainer. I like Kikopup because the content is easily digestible.

If you THINK your dog is ready for X, consider that it is not and you need to revisit whatever you are working on. When you KNOW they are ready, consider it again.

Crate train, but the crate is never a punishment.

You will soon have a new best friend and an incredibly rewarding relationship. It will most likely be hard at first but it will be worth it.

Don’t eat the yellow snow.

It is natural to want to show off your new dog to all your friends and family members right away, but it's best to give your dog a few weeks to settle in to their home routine before doing so. I volunteer with a rescue and so many times, people adopt dogs and immediately take them to their family members' house or a party or some place similar and completely overwhelm a dog who is already overwhelmed just by the nature of their circumstances.

Understand that it could be hard at first. Dogs aren't great at adjusting to sudden change. Have lots of patience with them while they adjust and adapt to their new surroundings and routine with you.

You might see some bad behaviors or the dog doing things you don't want it to do at first. This is normal while they deal with the stress and anxiety of the situation.

Go slowly with them, introduce new things gradually. The first time you bring them home give them time to explore outside, get used to some of the scents. A walk outside will also help reduce nervous energy.

When you get inside keep them on the leash at first and guide them through your home room by room. Let them smell everything.

Know that they are going to have accidents, accept that they will find ways into things you didn't expect. Try not to get mad at them, don't yell. Instead when they do something you don't like try reflecting their attention to stop the behavior.

It can take a few weeks for the dog to get comfortable and settle in and for their true personality to come out.

Especially if you are a first time dog owner, check out /r/dogs, /r/dogtraining, and /r/puppy101

Also, there is some outstanding content on youtube for dog training. Kikopup, Simpawtico are two of my favorites.

Get pet insurance. Get a good harness. Costco pet food and treat prices (especially Greenies) are really amazing. Get some puzzle toys to avoid boredom. Find a nice dog park to socialize the pupper. Have fun!

Dogs needs exercise every day. One person doing the training works best. Be patient!

If your dog is not house trained, rotate feeding them in every room. Dogs inherently have cleanliness instinct to not pee or poop where they eat and sleep. We house broke our puppy in a week by doing this

PLEASE make sure you know the foods that dogs can/cannot eat. A big well-known no-no is chocolate but grapes are less known and are worse. It might not seem like a big deal if your dog eats a grape but it could be life or death if you don’t act quickly.

Here’s a good list of things to avoid feeding/letting your dog eat: https://www.petsbest.com/blog/20-foods-dogs-shouldnt-eat/

If you’re getting a strong, aggressive breed, do your research on the dogs background, especially if you have kids. Dogs like pitbulls are better get to get as puppy’s so you can train them better.

Invest in a FI collar, costs $100/yr. It’s a GPS tracking collar, our rescue was a flight risk and pulled a Houdini and escaped our fenced in back yard a couple times. Found in in line 10 minutes

Get pet insurance, we didn't and our dog has needed hip dysplasia surgery and ended up getting an auotimmune disorder that cost us $6000 for three days in the animal hospital.

Oh, and pick a good rescue. We used Castle of Dreams in central jersey - they rescue animals from kill shelters in the south. If you're looking for a specific kind of dog, you can tell them and they can call you when they see one.

We also used a dog trainer who came to our house, I think it was The Social Dog? She was affordable and very helpful.

oh, and get a good harness - we use a freedom harness and our dog LOVES it, when we grab the harness he knows he is either going for a walk or going to the vet (and he loves the vet because he gets to meet a lot of people)

Please train your dog.

Love your dog more than your stuff. Meaning if your dog eats your favorite shoes or tears up the sofa, don't surrender them to a shelter. Work with them and teach them and practice patience. You are their whole world and family. That's something many dog owners don't get. Wish you the best of luck. Dogs are amazing.

Most people haven't talked about the adoption process. Every shelter is different. Some won't even consider you without prior pets and want prior vet and references to confirm. Some will want you to have a fenced yard. Some may even want a house visit.

St Huberts is where I got my pup and they are much simpler. Quick form, meet dogs pay price and they will call to see how things are a few times over the next few weeks. Also their training is cheaper if you adopt from them.

Also just note that most of the shelters have pit mixes labeled as lab mix, gsd mix, etc. Pits can be great but not for everyone.

As far as training I recommend 2 books by Shay Kelly, Canine Enrichment and Dog Training and Behavior. If you are getting a puppy Canine Enrichment is a must IMO, it will give you plenty of ideas to keep your buddy busy and give you a much needed break.

I recently got a puppy and a lot of advice is so dependent on the breed of dog. If it’s a working dog make sure you find ways to engage him more. Keep taking puppy clases and don’t stop until he is a year old. Not only does it help with socializing it just makes the dog better at listening to YOU. I know there are online apps but your dog needs to learn in all different environments.

Read dog food ingredients and buy high quality dog food. I swear it's kept my dogs healthy and extended their lives.

Don't do grain-free, it can cause cardiac issues.

Life as you know it will end.

Try not to take him to the dog park. Dog parks are overrun by Karens and people who have never trained their dog. Get a good collar, not a harness. You want to control the dog, not have him pull you or the potential to wriggle out of the harness. Petco has dog training classes, not expensive, I strongly suggest you take them. Socialize the dog as much as you can as frequently as you can. Give him a hug for me.

Don’t do it.