Helpful Hints for you and your new puppy

First time owning a dog or unsure of what you will need once your make the decision to add that special little guy/gal to your home…. Hopefully this will help you a bit.

The Supplies You MAY Need

Before you bring your puppy home, be sure you have the following supplies:

Personally I use www.upco.com to order the majority of things I need. I have found them to be very secure, quick and super fast shipping, please reasonably priced

1. Premium pet food to get your new puppy off to a good start. We use and recommend Pro Pac Professional Puppy & send along a bag of this! It will be attached to the dog crate.. We do realize it is not always readily available, and that being said, you can mix the puppy food we send 1/2 and 1/2 with Iams, eukanuba or Royal Canin, Any of those are very good food, always get puppy food though.

2. Stainless steel, non-tip food and water bowls.

3. Identification tags with your puppy's name, your name, phone number and your veterinarian's name and phone number. A collar and a leather or nylon 6-foot leash that's 1/2 - 3/4 inches wide (consider using a "breakaway" collar with plastic clips that will unsnap in case your puppy gets hung up on something). You will want to wait to get the collar or harness until the pup arrives since often they are smaller than you think and for some bigger *smiles*

4. (this can wait a while too)  If Crate training a home crate that will accommodate your puppy's adult size. We recommend Pet mate’s though they are not the best thing out there. This crate will serve as your puppy's new "den" at home, and when traveling or riding to the veterinarian's office you will use the one he is shipped in. His scent in the crate will provide comfort and a sense of security during these stressful times.

5. Stain remover for accidental soilings. We highly recommend "Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover". There is nothing that works as well as this product, do not buy any imitations it will not work as well.  We have many that recommend using window cleaner to kill the remaining odor in the carpet that we would not even smell but a pup could

6. Brushes and combs suited to your puppy's coat; we recommend buying a Slicker Brush, Pin Brush & a Boar Bristle Brush.

7. Tearless Moisturizing Puppy shampoo (if you can find moisturizing, if not just tearless is fine until later and as an adult go with a moisturizing, toothbrush and paste.

8. High-quality, safe chew toys to ease teething. Please do not go with any that have the “fake wool look” they often swallow these which in itself does not hurt the pup but when going potty, part will come out in the poo while some stays in and makes a real pain for the pup & a mess for you.

9. Heartworm, flea, tick and parasite controls, if needed in your area, talk to your vet about this too. You can get these items from your veterinarian at your first vet visit, these products need to be age appropriate for your puppy. We personally have not had any flea or tick issues because we treat the lawn and such and have never had to treat an adult or pup for this problem plus the climate we live in there are few months that there are actual fleas about. However we have found that MOST areas do need something and normally new families do parks and such where they are bound to pick them up. 

10. Nail clippers & Quick Stop (Quick Stop prevents nails from bleeding if cut too short).

11. Treats, boiled chicken livers are "very" nutritious, inexpensive, and make a great "all natural" treat but honestly for a pup, we have found that putting a dozen pieces of puppy dry kibble in a zip loc bag with a bit of water, to make them moist, will be a a big treat for them and it is a good reward for them you know they will not have any problems with. Cheap and easy to come by at 8 Am when you run out .

12. Here are two more links for you too but compare prices!!! A pooper scooper to pick up doggie poop. And maybe an empty plastic bucket, or small trash can, that you can carry around the yard to put the poop into. They also sell small septic tanks for doggie poop for $30, you can find them in the Foster and Smith catalog 1-800-826-7206 (order a catalog they are free and have lots of neat stuff) or on line at: www.DrsFosterSmith.com . In the catalog you can find puppy gates, exercise pens, chain link portable dog runs, and just about everything you can think of! Another catalog we like to use is www.revivalanimal.com or 1-800-786-4751. We have found too that toys and such are very inexpensive at WalMart so check there before you pay shipping on something.

13. We send along a toy that the other pups have been with and ship this with your puppy to be sure the pup has the comfort of his litter’s smell with him. Seems to really help in the transition.

14. Puppies go thorough a critical period of socialization between eight and 16 weeks of age.  During this period of time they mature very rapidly.  If isolated from external stimuli and not exposed to the outside world, they can grow up to be fearful adult dogs.  How do we get our puppies socialized so they grow up to be well-adjusted, adult dogs that are comfortable meeting strangers, children and other dogs?  The key is to make sure your puppy gets exposed to everything he may ever be exposed to during his lifetime, while he is very young.  If not exposed to new situations during this critical period, your puppy may always be fearful when exposed to new things in the future.

15. An important thing to consider when you bring a puppy into your home is that puppies chew and jump. Toys will get destroyed, as well as socks, shoes, hats, gloves or any item left within the puppy's reach. If you have small children, an exuberant puppy jumping up to kiss their faces could scare them silly. With either of these situations you could very easily find yourself in the position of having a child that dreads the sight of the dog. Plan ahead. Make sure the children know to pick up the toys when "Puppy" is around. Set up a "toy-free" area for your puppy to live in during the housebreaking period (which we believe to include learning not to chew). Make sure the puppy is confined to a small "child-free" area, unless it is supervised, until it learns how to behave around the children.

 

 

Helpful Hints

IMPORTANT: Never use the crate as punishment! 

A list of what you will need when you go to the airline will be in the email with the shipping information coming to you later.

Use stainless steel, non-tip food bowls, which won't break or absorb odors.

Plan on spending at least 24 hours with your pup before you start on a schedule with him.

Due to diseases and such that are always unseen, we do not recommend you visit any friends, parks or major pet traffic areas until your pup is over 12 weeks old & has had one additional booster since you got him/her and their rabies shot. However socialization is important to please plan to have your puppy around “NEW” people just have them come to you.

There are tons of books out there, often giving you lots of mixed information. Much like raising kids, much of it is trial and error and what works for one, does not always work for another so use your common sense.

Toys with parts that squeak or whistle can be dangerous if swallowed. Rawhide, though sold by the truck load, is very dangerous if swallowed in large pieces since they can not digest it, often needing surgery to remove, we DO NOT recommend ever offering this to your pup.

For a comfortable collar fit, allow for two-fingers of space between the collar and your dog's neck; consider using an an adjustable collar.

 

We use www.upco.com for most our purchases & highly recommend them

Things You MAY Need & Want to Get