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5 Steps For Bringing Your Puppy Home
- 22/03/2017
Bringing home a new puppy is not too dissimilar to bringing home a new baby, and you need to ensure that you prepare adequately for the arrival of your new family member. We’ve put a few of our top tips together that you can use to give your puppy the best chance at settling in and growing up into a healthy, happy dog.
1. Establish The Rules...
A puppy is a big commitment, so it’s important that the whole family is on board. It’s also essential that you’re all on the same page with regards to setting out rules for your puppy. For example, will he be allowed on the couch or the bed? Are there any rooms he won’t be allowed in at all? Establishing these things first will ensure you don’t confuse him and hinder his training.
2. Stock Up On Supplies...
- A comfy bed where your puppy can relax.
- Stainless steel, no tip food and water bowls.
- Good quality dog food to give your puppy all the nutrients it needs.
- A brush suited to your dog's fur type.
- Flea and tick control.
- Dog shampoo, dog toothpaste and toothbrush.
- Good quality toys that your puppy can chew and play with.
- Treats to assist with training.
- A crate or cage that is large enough for when your pup is fully grown - this can be used on long journeys too.
- A collar and a lead. You could also think about getting a harness, and definitely an identification tag with your number on.
3. Prepare The House...
You will find that you need to make a few changes within the house to help things run smoothly. It’s a good idea to stock up on newspaper, puppy pads stain removers as these will help protect your floors from any accidents. You could invest in a baby gate to block off sections of your house, especially while your puppy is not yet fully trained. This is also good for confining your puppy to a single space when you are out, that way he can’t cause too much mischief! Puppies will chew anything and everything, so make sure that anything that could harm him (or anything that you simply don’t want to get chewed to pieces), is up and out of reach.
4. Bringing Your Puppy Home...
The care ride home is likely to be a stressful time for your puppy, so it’s important to create a very calm environment so that you don’t stress him out even more. Try and let him go to the toilet beforehand so there are no accidents, and hold him in a towel or blanket, talking to him to distract him from the journey. It’s best to bring your puppy home at the start of the weekend or in the holidays so that you have a few days to spend lots of time with him to get settled in. You need to establish his routine from the start, with regards to where he sleeps, goes to the toilet and when he eats for example.
5. Once Your Puppy Is Settled...
There are now other things to think about such as which vets your puppy will go to. You should think about arranging a check up and for your puppy to get any vaccinations or dog microchipping if he hasn't had them already. You should also look for a local puppy class. The earlier you socialise your dog with other people and other dogs, and the earlier you start with his training will give him the best chance of growing up into a happy and healthy dog.
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