What to do when you bring your puppy home

Everything, for the supplies and preparation steps, to the first puppy car ride; the first few days how to introduce him to your family and more.

By Abhai Kaul.

THIS SECTION STRIVES TO INFORM YOU ON EVERYTHING: FOR THE SUPPLIES AND PREPARATION STEPS, TO THE CAR RIDE HOME ; THE FIRST FEW DAYS HOW TO INTRODUCE HIM TO YOUR FAMILY AND MORE.

Before you bring your puppy home, prepare yourself with the following supplies:

Premium puppy food

Stainless steel non tip water balls

Identification tags with the puppy’s name and your contact information.

A collar, a leather or nylon 6 foot leash thats 0.5 to 3/4 in wide.

Stain remover for accident

Brushes and combs and other grooming equipment

Dog shampoo

Tooth brush and dog tooth paste (remember dogs can not use the same tooth paste as us as theirs are fluoride free)

High quality safe chew toys to aid them through teething

Flea, tick and parasite controls

Nail clippers

A room or a place he can call his own where you can place his crate that would fit him his adult size and of course Treats

PUPPY PROOF YOUR HOME

Raising puppies is like raising small kids, their innate curiosity and the spirit of adventure compels them to get into everything. SOme of what they get into can be potentially hazardous to their health. So start preparing for your puppies arrival long before the actual date. You’ll thank yourself later!

It may help you find things that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise like electrical wires, small objects that could be hidden under couches that could be swallows or hiding places where a small pup could get stuck.

There are sprays that could be applied to furniture legs, woodwork and other movable items to help deter your puppy from chewing on them.

Are there rooms that your puppy should be restricted from entering until he is better trained or more reliable? If so, install a baby gate or keep the doors to those rooms closed till you have your puppy matures or till the teething in over.

EXERCISE PENS are an excellent resource when you’re home but busy to fully dedicate your time and attention to supervise your puppy. If you are cooking dinner, rather than locking the puppy away or putting him in a crate alone, set up an exercise pen in the kitchen with you. This will allow them to get acclimatized to your family’s routine while also staying out of the way. It will also allow the puppy to feel like its part of the family.

Once your house is ready, its time to bring your new family member home.

You want to do best to keep this from becoming an overly stressful experience for your puppy. ***Try making the car ride home as calm and stress free as possible.***

It may not be the best idea to bring the whole family along, especially if you have excited young kids.

Keep in mind, the vibrations, sound and movements of your vehicle can be particularly scary for a young puppy and make them nervous.

On the first trip home, its okay to have a passenger hold your puppy in a soft blanket or towel in the lap.

After the first trip though, you should be having the dog travel secured in a crate for its safely and the safety of other passengers in the car.

PUPPY’S FIRST DAY HOME

The ideal time to bring the puppy is when the house is quiet. Do your best to minimize the number of visitors stopping by the first few days so you can establish a daily routine by following these steps:

STOP AT THE FUTURE POTTY SPOT

Before bringing him in, stop by the area of the yard which would be designated as his potty spot. Spend a few minutes there. If he goes, praise him. if not, proceed into the house but be sure to take him to the spot each time he needs to go to the bathroom.

TAKE HIM TO THE DEN OR CRATE HE WILL CALL HOME

Take him to the room which will serve as his new den and if using one, set up his crate. Put bedding and toys in the room and let him investigate. If he chews or urinates on his bedding, permanently remove it.

Understand that a young puppy is not like an adult dog. The way you interact with a puppy at this stage is critical to his socialization.

SPEND EXTRA TIME WITH YOUR NEW PUPPY

You should spend a little extra time with your puppy on his first day home, but should acclimate him to your regular routine quickly. if necessary, hire a dog walker or ask a neighbor to come take him out at regular intervals during his initial training period and going forward as your pup grows up.

SUPERVISE YOUR PUPPY

Supervise your puppy at all times and interact with him regularly.

BE ALERT FOR SIGNS

Be alert for signs of sniffing and circling that he has to go to the bathroom. You should take him out to his designated area immediately before he eliminates in an undesirable spot like your expensive Turkish rug!

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE

A young puppy has no bladder control and will need to go potty immediately after eating, drinking, sleeping or playing.

At night he will need to relieve himself atlas every three hours.

DON’T PUNISH AN ACCIDENT

Never push his nose in the waste or scold him. He wouldn’t understand and may learn to go to the bathroom when you are out of sight for the fear of being punished.

PRAISE YOUR PUPPY

Praise your puppy overtime he goes to the bathroom outside.

APPROPRIATE NUTRITION

Feed your puppies the kibble formula designed for puppies or whatever your breeder instructs you to. Like a human baby, he needs nutritious highly digestible food

FOR THOSE WITH YOUNG KIDS

Another extremely important part of bringing home a new puppy is making your kids know how and how NOT to handle a young puppy. If your children are young or aren’t familiar with how to handle puppies, you need to spend time with them and the puppy together explaining the common sense rules on how to play with the puppy. For instance, tell them the little ones have sensitive hearing so its imperative that the children use a calm voice when interacting with the puppy and not shriek or yell.

Puppies in particular NEED A LOT OF REST just like a growing child.

Limit puppy-children play sessions to 15-30 minute periods 2-3 times a day. You need to keep an eye on the puppy. An excited puppy can be strong when he jumps and playbites which can be too rough for young children.

Always supervise interaction and separate them if play is too rough.

IF YOU HAVE OTHER PETS, you will also need some time getting them used to having each other around. At first, its best to keep resident pets separated at first for the initial few days so they can get used to each other’s smells and then INTRODUCE YOUR NEW PUPPY TO THE OTHER PETS GRADUALLY. Let them smell and touch each other through a slightly open door. Do this several times during the next few days. After that, give the resident pet access to the den area with your new puppy. Supervise their meeting and go back to through the door meetings if trouble arises.

Exercise pens can also help old and new pets get used to each other’s presence in a restricted and a safe manner.

A helpful tip is to get down on your hands and knees to “view the word” like your puppy will.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *