Getting your first puppy is a very exciting thing! There's nothing better than holding your tiny little puppy for the first time and giving them all the love in the world. I just got my first puppy, and I can say that getting her was a great decision! In a short amount of time, she has wrapped me tightly around her little paw. While owning a puppy is a great experience, there are some things you need to know when you get your first puppy.

1. You aren't getting a puppy, you're getting a child.

When you get your first puppy, you will quickly learn that it is your first child. You will watch your little fur baby grow from an adorable puppy, to a great dog. You'll wake up at all hours of the night to take care of your pup, even if they just want to play for a few hours. You will hit all of the milestones like, giving it its first bath, taking it to the park for the first time, and potty training it. For a while, everything you do will revolve around your puppy, and when the time comes, you won't have it any other way.

2. It won't always be fun.

After your puppy wakes you up for the fifteenth time in one night, you may not be so enthused. There's nothing quite like waking up to your sweet little pup laying above your head biting your hair. Especially when it's 4:00am and you have to be up in an hour.

3. You'll get the joys of potty training.

Few things are more frustrating than trying to house train your dog. They will go everywhere. They'll go in your bed, on the floor, and everywhere else you tell them not to go. No matter how hard you try, it seems like training your dog to notdo their business in the house will be an impossible task. In the end, your dog will learn what's right and what's wrong, and all of your hard work will not be in vain.

4. They sleep... a lot.

For every 10 minutes of playing, your puppy will sleep for about an hour. This isn't proven, but you'll learn quickly that it's true. Puppies get a lot of energy in short bursts, then they're done for a while, and it's time to nap. For some reason though, they never seem to sleep much at night. Weird.

5. You'll want to take your puppy everywhere.

You'll be so proud of your new fur baby, and I can almost guarantee that you'll want to take him or her everywhere! No matter how tempted you are to take them for a walk on campus or to the local Pet Co., try to resist taking them out as much as possible. While they're so young, puppies are very susceptible to all kinds of diseases. Parvo is one disease that puppies can get, and it almost always ends in death. Until your pup has its shots, it's best to not take them out in public as to reduce the risk.

6. You'll have a new best friend.

Despite all of the accidents in the house, the waking up in the middle of the night, and constantly telling your puppy "no" every time they do something wrong, you will get a new best friend out of this. Training them will allow this bond to develop between you and your dog, and they will grow to love, respect, and protect the human who always took care of them and loved them no matter what. Raising your puppy is definitely not easy, but it will be more than worth it in the end.