The excitement and anticipation before a puppy coming home is palpable when you know that just in a few days or weeks you will have the cutest bundle in your arms and the beginnings of a life-long friendship! There is quite a lot to prepare before you puppy ever sets foot in your house.
Prepping For The Puppy
Puppy-proofing your house is essential! I do recommend that every room you are going to allow your puppy that you lay down on the floor on your stomach and look around the room, do you see any wires, electrical cords or objects that you would prefer not to become your puppy's personal teething toy? I advise to make sure all the things that would be a detriment to your dog or to your emotional well-being to be placed up and away from the floor if at all possible and conceal or hide as many cords as you can.
After you know that all items are up and away go ahead find the most common and well-trafficked area in the house is. Here is where you will want to find a home for your puppy's new crate! (Keep in mind even if your puppy is going to be in your bedroom you need to find an area for your puppy to nap and take breaks where he can see you easily, this will help with separation anxiety as dogs in general are accustomed to being in a pack). You will also want a puppy pen as well, this may take some rearranging of your furniture to add these things in. This is the time to get it set up so it's all prepared.
Pre-Puppy Checklist
One of the most daunting things is knowing exactly what you need to have when you bring a puppy home. Here we will provide a checklist of things we thing you may need. You can find all of them HERE on our wish list
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Soft Carrier - If you are driving or flying this is a must have to keep your puppy safe and cozy on the trip, and can be reused for vet visits or other traveling while small.
Puppy Pads - Not recommended for potty training (unless you plan to continue this method as an adult)but a must have while traveling home with your new puppy to place in his soft cover carrier.
Dog Back Seat Cover - I guarantee you this will save your car when you look over and found your precious puppy is covered from nose to tail in mud or water, gets car sick, or has an unfortunate accident.
Crate - This is a must have for any dog, even if you plan to let your dog roam free this is the best method for potty training and those formative puppy years during their training.
Crate Cover - This will help you puppy feel like they are in a cozy den and does dress it up a bit to make it look better in your home as well, two birds and all that.
Puppy Pen - If you are not watching your puppy you must contain your puppy. This is the safest thing for everyone involved.
Dog Bed - Although we don't advice to give one in the chewing puppy stages your adult dog will love this, and will help protect his joints as he ages.
Snuggle Puppy - This product is one of the best out there to help your puppy feel less anxious, it recreates physical intimacy, warmth and "real feel" heartbeat.
Bowls - We do recommend slow feeders as for some larger breeds this can help prevent the dreaded bloat (very lethal to most dogs).
Water bowl - This is always a challenge as most people will tell us what sloppy drinkers they have, this helps minimize some of the flooding on your floors.
Cleaners - We have tested and tried many cleaners and these by far are the best for taking stains out of light colors carpets and white paint. You wont want to pass up these gems
Collar and Leash - An absolute must have! here are some adorable versions that are relatively inexpensive until your puppy fully grows.
Doggy bags - Buy in bulk, you will use them all.
Toys - You will find over time you buy many toys for your pup, here is a list of toys we found to be some our dog's absolute favorites over the years.
"Honey! I'm Home!"
Congrats, you've made it back safely with your bundle of love! Before you let your new baby run around and investigate you need to set up boundaries, introduce your puppy to one room and allow them to become accustomed to that one room only, from there you introduce your puppy to another room and then another. You can take as long or as short of a time as you wish, I personally waited days with my first dog, and less with my second. I will say my first dog quickly learned you don't eliminate in the house, it took my second much longer to learn this concept.
Do not allow your puppy to wander the house and explore on their own, although this is cute, this is setting up a power dynamic that your puppy is in charge. You need to slowly introduce him/her and enter that room first then allow the puppy to enter, by doing this you are establishing your the leader and that this puppy falls into a hierarchy below you. You do not need to act and be "alpha" just know that your calm and steadfast demeanor will do it for you, but remember, if you do not take charge your puppy certainly will.
Once you have introduced the home and the yard comes the fun-filled time of playing and engaging you puppy! Keep in mind they are still very young and probably will sleep often, you may find that it is on a 3 hour cycle of pee, eat, play, sleep.
The Dreaded Doggy Dilemma
One of the hardest dilemmas to having a puppy is agreeing on where the puppy will sleep. Some love to have their dogs and puppies in the bed, and some would vehemently disagree. There is no right or wrong answer to this, however with that being said, I HIGHLY recommend crate training the first year of the puppy's life before allowing it bed privileges, and let me explain why.
Crate training has many wonderful advantages for your puppy. It will help your puppy have a "safe" space where they can go when they feel nervous, it will allow them to be potty-trained much faster as they will not want to mess in the
It is not easy that first night when they cry all through the night, it's definitely scary for them and it's exhausting for you. I advise moving the crate in your room during the night especially those first few months, if your goal is to have them sleep out in the main area you can slowly transition that, but it will be easier once your puppy has acclimated. The second thing I would suggest is that you expect to be sleeping on the floor in front of the crate for the first week. Puppies are used to having very close contact to their litter mates, so having a snuggle puppy in there and having your familiar scent will reassure them they are not alone. Thirdly, plan to caffeinate heavily over the next week because between crying and midnight potty breaks you will be tired. Have heart! this is only temporary and you will find as a few weeks pass things will get much better.
Eventually you will have a well-behaved dog that you can invite into the bed if you so choose, but also tell them to go lay down. This is immeasurably helpful! I had my first dog before I had children and that 90lb boy slept in our bed. When I brought a newborn home and had to nurse or co-sleep it was beyond helpful to know my dog was already trained to go to his bed and stay off unless he was invited up. This kept our baby safe during the beginning stages of his infancy.
Training the Terror
Last, but certainly not the least important is finding a good trainer for your puppy! Of course
there are many available options to having a trainer come in, puppy classes, training and boarding and more! If you are anything like me, sending my fur-baby away to be trained was not something I was willing to do, and my schedule was so that I couldn't take him to puppy classes. Now with the additional stress of COVID and trying to minimize contact during the colder seasons it's hard to find a solution to help.
We found BAXTER & BELLA and they were a game changer for us! They have a life time membership that will help your dog through any stage of life, not just your typical puppy training. We are talking about transitioning to a new home, bringing a child home, bringing a new pet home and other major life events that your dog may struggle with. They have one-on-one training and over 75 lessons, and 100 how-to-videos, unlimited one-on-one coaching, phone calls, and so much more available to you.
We believe in it so much that we are offering 25% off their lifetime membership. just use DOODLESELITE when you register for their program.
Foundation To A Fantastic Family Pet
There is so much to raising a puppy that there is no way we can put it all into one blog post.
Hopefully we have given you a good foundation and groundwork to build one of the best relationships you can possibly ever have with another species. We wish you the best of luck and if you are in the market for a new puppy come check out our website and available puppies and upcoming litters!
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