When you’re bringing a new puppy into your house, you need to have a puppy checklist on hand so that you can ensure that you have everything ready. Puppies are a big commitment. You have to remember that even though the dog may not live for the rest of your life, you will be living for the whole of theirs, so you need to make sure that they are comfortable and that you are prepared to be a dog owner.
Taking the time to prepare yourself is going to make a big difference to how your puppy settles into your home, and you want them to settle in pretty quickly so that they can feel comfortable and secure where they are living. The last thing that you want is a dog with separation anxiety who’s barking all day long because they don’t know what’s happening. With the right preparation, however, you can avoid that from being the case, and you can ensure that your puppy is happy, that you are happy, and that the rest of your family settles with the new dog too. Let’s take a look at a checklist of things that you need to get done before you go and collect your new puppy to bring them home.
1. Puppy proof your home. One of the best ways to make sure that your home is puppy proofed is to be on your dog’s level to see what they can see. Even if it means feeling silly by lying on the floor in your tummy, you need to be able to see what your dog can see so that you know where the dangers would lie. Installing one of the best Endura Flap Pet Doors is going to help you to keep your home puppy proof, too, because it’ll be protected from poop! You need your dog to be able to feel comfortable going in and out of the garden when they need to, so a puppy dog can help. Puppies love to chew everything, so you need to make sure that you are avoiding any ingestible or dangerous items, electrical cords that they could chew on or anything that could jeopardize their health. Pick up the items that they could eat, secure any cords and limit their access to danger. You could even get a baby gate, but just make sure it’s one that has mesh rather than bars.
2. Go and find an excellent vet. If you have pets in your home, then ideally you will know all about which veterinarians to go for. Talking to friends and family can help you to select the right veterinarian that you trust to care for your puppy. When you are doing your research, you need to evaluate more than just the financial considerations, but how they look after animals. Look for a vet that is up to date in animal trends, including medicine, with an emphasis on Wellness testing. You also want to make sure that you find a vet that can offer low stress visits with additional help on hand in case your puppy is nervous.
3. Look into pet insurance. Before you bring your new puppy home, you want to make sure that you have a pet insurance policy for them. You might be able to get one tagged onto your current home insurance, especially if you already have encompassing insurance. Policy that does your car, your home, and your contents at once. There are some policies out there that can reimburse you for unforeseen medical expenses, but there are also some that can cover preventative care. You have to remember that your pet is about to be a part of your family, so you need to look after them the way that you would your actual children.
4. Get a comfortable crate set up. Some people don’t like to create a trainer dog, but it’s one of the most important ways that you can help them to settle in. This is especially the case if you have children in the house who are going to be very over excited that you brought a puppy home. Setting up a comfortable crate for your puppy, for safety and for a training aid is going to make a big difference to their comfort. Crate training is regarded as one of the most effective methods of training, so you want to make sure that your puppy is doing it properly from the beginning. Puppies often don’t urinate or have a bowel movement where they sleep, so you need to make sure that you have an appropriately sized crate that makes your puppy feel comfortable. The creature is big enough that they can stand, turn around and lay back down, but not too much bigger than that. Too big and your puppy may designate one area for sleeping and one area for urinating. Purchase a comfortable bed to go inside it as well and just remember that pub would like to choose, so choose a bed that is going to be difficult to destroy.
5. Get some puppy food. Along with your food and water bowls, you need to choose a well-balanced puppy food. This is where you need to choose one that your vet recommends. It can be very difficult to separate the science from marketing hype, so you need to think about it from your veterinarian’s point of view. They’ll be able to provide you a list of different options for your puppy, and then you can conduct your own research on it. Always seek out food manufacturers that conduct feeding trials in accordance with the Association of American Feed Control Official Guidelines. This makes sure that you have board certified veterinary nutritionists making the decisions. Ideally, you don’t want to feed your puppy from the table, and if you do decide to go for a raw diet, make sure that you’ve done your research on that too, because it may be too much for a puppy’s tiny tummy.
6. Buy some treats. As you’re bringing home a brand-new puppy, they’re going to need training, so you’re going to need to have several types of treats on hand to find out what your puppy is going to prefer. Small treats should be about the size of your pinky fingernail, and they’re great for rewarding your puppy when they are listening and when they are doing as told. The larger treats can be broken into smaller pieces, and positive reinforcement by rewarding good behavior is so much more effective than negative reinforcement. You want to make sure that you find an ideal treat that your people like so that you can use this strategy to your advantage and train them properly. There are so many different options out there for puppy treats, so again, call your vet if you’re concerned.
7. Be ready to take them for a walk. You may not be able to take your puppy for a full walk until they’ve had all of their vaccinations, and you’ll also want to make sure that you keep them away from heavily traveled areas until their vaccines are complete. But you can leash train your puppy from an early age, and that means buying an acceptable leash and collar. Ideally, you should go for more of a body harness than a throat collar because you don’t want your dog to pull on the collar and strangle themselves. Start by walking them around the garden or even inside the house so that you can train them to be on the leash without pulling. Use the treats that we mentioned earlier to ensure that they feel comfortable and that they are listening to you along the way.
8. Buy some entertainment items. Puppies need to be on the go all the time, so it’s important that you provide them with some menstrual stimulation. From licky pads that offer you a chance to put down some mush for them to lick up, to several different toys- from plush toys to rubber chew toys, you can find puppy toys that give you some ideas and options to keep them busy. You need to keep in mind that puppies have the ability to be very destructive, so look for toys that are durable and stand up to the heavy chewing that is often going to happen.
9. Be prepared for messes. Puppies like to make a mess and they will have occasional accidents. Buying in a good enzymatic cleaner, which is intended for cleaning pet accidents, will also break down those enzymes and proteins in puppy urine and poop so that they don’t smell it and continue to poop there. You may also want to purchase some puppy cleaning wipes so that you can spot clean your puppy when a full bath isn’t necessary.
Enjoy your brand-new puppy because they’re about to bring a lot of joy and a lot of laughter and a lot of frustration to your life.
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