This post is sponsored by Purina, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Puppyhood.com, but MyDogLikes only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Nestle Purina is not responsible for the content of this article.
Adopting Charlie at 6 months old turned our world upside down. We went from a calm and relaxed household with a senior golden to one filled with more energy, puppy shenanigans, and most importantly, love, than we knew what to do with!
We think this adorable video sums up the experience pretty well:
Many of you may look at Charlie and think he isn’t a puppy anymore, but there is a fun little adage we have come to accept as truth around the MyDogLikes household:
Golden Retrievers spend the first year growing their body, the second year growing their brain, and the third year growing their coat.
A little over a year after rescuing him, our friend Charlie, a.k.a “puppy brain”, is still working through the growing pains of being a puppy. Instead of wishing away the puppy days, we have focused our time and energy into our sweet boy, helping to shape him along his journey to becoming a happy, well-adjusted adult dog.
The Puppyhood
If you’ve ever owned and loved a puppy you know that every day presents with new challenges. Knowing that you only get one chance to get their first year right, Purina® Puppy Chow® wants to help new and prospective puppy owners navigate through puppyhood with an all new website, PuppyHood.com!
The Puppyhood website is an amazing FREE resource center where pet parents can find answers to all of their questions about selecting, preparing for, and raising a new puppy. All resources are easy to understand and cover topics like nutrition, grooming, exercise, health, behavior, training, and puppy planning, that are important for raising a happy, healthy pup!
Not sure where to start on your puppyhood journey? Go on a virtual dog walk where you will encounter hotspots that bring up puppy related content, including tips and on nutrition, behavior, training and what to expect as your puppy grows.
My PuppyHood
For a customized experience dog moms and dads can register for a personalized My Puppyhood account. Joining the Puppyhood gives you and your pup a customized learning experience; providing helpful tools, exclusive benefits, and coupons on the journey to doghood.
As a member, you can access special features, including:
- Expert Advice: Have a question on puppy training, housebreaking, health or behavior? Submit a question and have it answered in a live monthly hangout!
- Community Puppy Destinations & Resources: Find local hospitals, grooming, parks, & veterinary services.
- Puppy Milestone Tracker: Not sure what to expect? The milestone tracker breaks puppyhood into 4 distinct phases helping pet parents to know what to expect at each life stage and what is yet to come.
Why MyDogLikes: Purina Puppyhood.com
Even the most prepared pet parents cannot possibly anticipate every challenge that pet parenthood presents. The Puppyhood is an amazing, free resource for pet parents to answer all of their questions and ensure that the first years of their dogs life help to shape them into happy, healthy, dogs that are a part of the family. We can’t help but think that if more people were prepared for the joys and challenges of raising a puppy, there there be more successful adoptions and happy families!
Getting off on the right foot…
MyDogLikes and Purina want to help you get your pups first year off to a great start. One of the keys to raising a healthy puppy is providing complete and balanced nutrition from the start. Purina Puppy Chow offers a unique healthy-start blend made with high-quality protein, plus DHA and essential nutrients also found in mothers’ milk.
We are offering a giveaway for 2 lucky readers!
Each winner will enjoy a Purina Puppy Chow Package which includes:
1 Bag of Puppy Chow, and 2- $5 Coupons!
Unfortunately, this giveaway is now over!
If Goldens mature at the same rate as Labs (which for some reason I’m assuming they do) I can sympathize. One of my childhood dogs was a Lab and he had a severe case of ‘puppy brain’ until he was 4 or 5. Having a great resource for owners to find out about all their puppy issues is awesome; it’ll make it so much better than trying to google every single thing that comes up and try to filter & find the best results.
It is a great resource. Although we love checking out your articles too. Its so amazing the resource that are out there now and help pet parents to be informed!
We have always adopted older dogs and have never had a puppy, but this seems like such a great program especially for new dog owners. Great post!
Thanks. Charlie was an older puppy when we adopted him and is now almost 2 but we still think a lot of the information applies. It is a great resource for people who are adopting for the first time!
I think that our Tucker the Golden was the most mischievous of all our puppies. He was also the sweetest “Pocket dog” in the world. *Pocket dog is when your dog is always as close as your back pocket! LOL@
Awww, yes Goldens sure do have their puppy years. But its so worth it….Tucker just sounds like the sweetest!
First time hearing that expression, but I love it!
I so love that commercial, and I really have to go check out that puppyhood site… hopefully I’ll be getting a new puppy next year!!!
OHHHHH!!! How exciting! Even for an experienced pet mom, I was able to learn some new stuff!
Mom loves puppies even though they make her tear her hair out a lot! We are sad Bailie is turning two this week as she is starting to have some more adult moments, but there is still lots of puppy left which makes us smile and laugh.
Yes, I imagine she will always show you some puppy, it just seems to be her sweet silly personality. We tell Charlie he is out comedic relief…you know because not everyone can be serious all the time, except for you Emma the Diva 🙂
Love what you said about Goldens and the 3-year growth plan! 🙂 This website looks like a great resource, especially for first-time puppy parents… it can take a lot of anxiety out of what to expect!
Definitely can reduce some of the stress of the unexpected with new or new again puppy parents. I love that little adage, but we can’t remember where we first heard it, so true though!
It’s been a long time since we’ve had any puppies here! They are sure a handful 🙂 By the way, I love the title of this post lol.
Charlie certainly turned our world upside down at 6 months! Later this summer we are puppy sitting for a 3 month old boxer so I am sure as delightful as it will be, I will be thankful for the moderate amount of activity once again! Thanks for the compliment on the title….I had a lot of hood references, but this was by far the most appropriate.
I’ll be sending my puppy buyers over to puppyhood. Thanks for sharing.
I am always amazed when I learn something new, and I learned several new things to look out for in the teen years!
What a cute video! Puppies are a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding to watch them develop.
We couldnt agree more!
I love that quote about Goldens! Considering the fact that Sheba can still act like a puppy at 10 1/2, I’m not sure that Goldens ever really grow up, do they?
Puppyhood sounds like a great resource to keep in mind if we are ever foolish enough to get another puppy…LOL.
Very well written post! Puppies definitely turn lives upside down, but it is so worth it.
I really like the grooming section of the site the best.
I like Training the Puppy.
I like the training section.
Great post and #MyPuppyhood is fantastic!
My dogs will love this
Has awesome resources you can go to for almost anything.
i like the behavior section
I love the puppy planning feature!!!
I really like the behavior section. It has articles from planning schedules, keeping puppies busy, and more. It’d be good for grown dogs too. 🙂
What a great company.not only do they care for animals,but there parents.thanks so much for sharing
I love your toy section, I have a German Shepherd and you have given me ideas on what to buy him and what not to buy!
Thank you so much! Please stop back and let us know what you have tried and how your pup liked it!
I like the section about training your puppy.
Absolutely – there is a ton of great info there.
The grooming site and all the cute pictures.
I like the Puppy Milestone Tracker to help us anticipate what’s to come and how to handle pupppy issues.
We love that feature too! So important to know where you are and whats to come!
I like the training tips
My favorite feature of the Puppyhood website is “Paw Print Training A Puppy – The Basics”.
Love the training tips, great information
My favorite feature of the Puppyhood website is the training section.
That is a great part! We love all of the tips!
This website has a lot of great information for pet owners.
I like the training but they have so many answers to my questions
My favorite feature is the Puppy Milestone Tracker. I think it would come in handy for our pooch.
My favorite feature of the Puppyhood website is the training section
I like the training tips the best.
My favorite feature is the Grooming section of the site.