Owning a puppy is a huge responsibility and would require that you have good mental health, most especially in Nigeria. This is because the situation around the country is enough to cause anxiety and lousy judgment
So if you are considering owning a puppy, you need to examine your mental health to ensure you can do the job.
In this blog post, we will find answers to three questions, (1) what is good mental health?, (1) what is good mental health?, and ( 3) what steps can you take to build you and your puppy’s relationship. Now let’s start with the first point. What is good mental health?.
What Is Good Mental Health?
Good mental health is the ability to control your physical, emotional, and social well-being—the ability to express feelings and emotions transparently.
The truth is that your mental state might be perfectly attuned to that of humans but could be very poor when relating with other species.
This means that though you might be able to communicate your thoughts, emotions, and feelings well with humans, you may find it very difficult to express those same feelings and emotions to your pup.
So before you venture into owning a dog, or a puppy, it would be best to do some research. Your research should be focused on two things. First, what type of pet is suitable for you and your family, and two, how best to communicate your emotions to your pup.
We will cover blog posts dedicated to answering those questions in the future. But now that we have known what good mental health is, how can you tell if you are mentally prepared to own a puppy? Let’s find out.
Question yourself.
Owning a puppy in Nigeria is not easy, and as we discussed in the previous article, many Nigerians fail in their responsibility of caring for their dogs. If you missed that article and want to learn more, click here. Now to avoid adding to the number of badly treated dogs in Nigeria, it would be best you asked yourself these questions.
“ Why do i want a puppy? I’m i ready for the physical, metal and emotional stress it brings? Would i be commited to caring for a puppy up to adulthood?, am i ready for the financial implication of owning a puppy?” Asking yourself these questions would help you access your true motives behind wanting to own a puppy.
Say Positive.
Before getting your first Puppy, it would be best if you practiced Staying positive. This is because being a great caregiver for your Puppy also depends on your mindset.
Remember that caring for a puppy can bring frustration, especially in the early stages. Once you can ascertain that you are fully committed to caring for a puppy, no matter the stress, you are ready and on your way to becoming a great caregiver to your Puppy.
There is another critical facet to raising a perfect puppy. What facest? The relationship between you and your Puppy. So how can you create a strong relationship with yourself and your Puppy? The following section will answer that.
Build You And Your Puppys Relationship In Five Steps.
Draft Out a Plan.
Studies have shown that you are more likely to stay calm and succeed with a plan. A well-thought-out plan helps you stay focused and remember why you got a puppy in the first place.
So before getting your first Puppy, draft a plan that would work and make your and your Puppy’s life as stress-free as possible.
Ask your experienced dog owners in Nigeria what their biggest challenges are. You would need to remember that most puppies bred in Nigeria receive little training, so it could be very challenging to establish that first line of communication with them.
So researching ways to break that Barea could help keep your mental health intact.
Set Realistic Breed Expectations.
Most Nigerians choose a dog breed because they like how their friend’s dog looked and behaved. What they fail to ask is the amount of work put into the dog behaving and looking a certain way.
So before getting a puppy, make sure you have done thorough research and know what to expect at any given time.
This would help you set a realistic expectation for your Puppy. If you are unsure what to expect from a dog breed you would like to get. You could ask the breeders.
You could also ask your vet for more information. If you plan ahead of time, you can form a bond with your Puppy no matter the situation.
Spend Times With your Puppy.
Studies have shown that owners who spend time with their puppies tend to connect and bond more. This connection benefits the mental health of the pup and the owner.
Unfortunately, most of these studies and experiences are taken from outside Nigeria.
Most Nigerians see spending time with their puppies as irrelevant and would instead tilt towards mistreatment to get their feelings across. This should not be the case with you.
Take the time to exercise, play and train with your Puppy. Doing so would help improve your understanding and communication with your Puppy.
Teach your Puppy helpful Tricks.
Most Nigerians underestimate the power of trick training. They fail to realize that all dogs are programmed to worship the ground you walk on. The goal of your Puppy since it began to see you as its guardian is to please you.
A way to accomplish this is by trying to understand you. This process could be complicated and could lead your dog to engage in destructive behavior because he believes it would make you happy.
You could make this process easier by playfully teaching your dogs helpful tricks, tricks that would help you better communicate with them.
Discipline at the Right time.
Another critical area that has damaged the relationship of an average Nigerian with his dog is the area of discipline. Most Nigerians tend to punish their dogs for every little mistake instead of tackling the root cause of the problem.
For example, a dog barks a the sound of a doorbell. You tell your dog to shoot up, but it does not answer, so you go over to your dog and hit it.
This scenario and more like it are in every Nigerian home daily. They fail to see that the dog barks because of the sound of the bell and that discipline is not the answer but training.
Tackling the root cause of that problem would mean teaching your dog the right time to bark and not to bark. Once your dog understands that, you would not need to shoot him up whenever the doorbell rings.
Your Mental Health Is The Key.
To succeed in raising a puppy in Nigeria, you need to be ready to maintain and improve your mental health. Doing so with the above steps would help you better communicate with your Puppy and strengthen your love and appreciation for your pup.
