21 Things You Should Know Before Bringing The Puppy Home

Collar & leash

Crate

Food

It’s a no-brainer and your puppy needs good healthy food to grow into a happy healthy adult dog. One thing you wants to make sure that never abruptly change your puppy’s food. A sudden change in food can cause diarrhea. You should slowly adjust your puppy to the new diet.

Water Bowls

Selecting water bowls for your puppy is so important. It’s better you select stainless steel or ceramic water bowls. I suggest using a bowl made up of stainless steel as it lasts longer and can be cleaned and sanitized easily. Never ever use a plastic bowl as there is a chance in the future it may become his chew toy. The style is of less important and you can select as you like.

Dog Bed

Your puppy should need a safe, comfortable and cozy place to sleep. Even if you are keeping your puppy in a crate, he needs a comfortable bedding within the crate to sleep. Make sure the bed is nonallergic and hygienic. If your puppy shows a tendency to chew on his bedding, you should remove it immediately as there is a chance he might ingest some of the stuffing or foam. You can give her blanket or towel until his chewing phase is over.

Grooming Supplies

Regardless of the type of breed, you have grooming supplies is a must. Grooming is so important and it should start from his early days. He should know how to behave during grooming. Grooming involves regular combing and brushing off his coat, trimming the toenails, cleaning the ears and brushing his teeth.

Brushes

You should brush your dog regularly to remove dead hairs, to keep the hairs knot free, to remove fleas, etc. Some areas need special attention which includes behind the ears, under the feet, in the armpits, between the toes, the back of legs and around the tail. Make sure your puppy enjoys brushing and you should do it slowly and gently.

Different types of brushes available are Bristle, Wire-pin, Slicker, De-matting rake, Shedding blade, Rubber brush. If your puppy’s skin is curly or thick it’s better to use wires pin brush. If puppy’s have thick undercoat with short hairs, it’s better to use a slicker brush. If your dog is sensitive you should use rubber brush.

Shampoo

You shouldn’t bathe your dog regularly as it will dry the skin, will deplete healthy oils from the coat and skin and will lead to scratching and irritation. Never use human shampoo and it will make your puppy’s skin dry and will be irritating. Always use a shampoo formulated for dogs and it should be gentle. Shampoos with insecticides should be avoided. Shampoo helps to remove fleas and will give the skin a shiny look.

Clippers

The dog’s nails should be trimmed regularly as sometimes nails can grow in circle cutting into flesh. You should use scissors type clippers as it is easy to use. The clippers should be sharp and should ideally be small for better control.

Dental cleaning products

Oral care is so important for your puppy and you should brush his teeth daily. Never use human toothpaste and there are doggy toothpaste available and also we can use homemade toothpaste. Toothbrush especially made for dogs is available in the market which is soft and can fit into dog’s cavity.

Chew toys is another way to clean the puppy’s teeth. But it’s not that effective as brushing the teeth. At a younger age puppies have a tendency to chew on anything and everything and giving him chewing toys will redirect his attention from chewing valuable things.

Toys

Puppies need to be entertained and giving him toys to play is helpful in a great way. Toys for puppies are not luxury but a necessity. You should make sure that the toys are safe for your dog. You should make sure the toys don’t have a squeaker, buttons or anything the puppy can swallow. Toys help puppies to fight boredom when they are alone.

Towel

Useful for those lovely baths we all look forward to our puppy.

Health Care Supplies

Fleas and tick problems are most common among puppies. You should use flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives. Spot-on drops are available which can be applied monthly to remove fleas.

Bringing puppy to your home

Everybody in the family will be excited meeting the puppy for the first time. But the puppy will be anxious since it’s separated from his mother for the first time. You should allow the dog to explore his new surroundings without much interference and noise. You should first take him to the room where he will find his food and water. Puppy will be tired and he will be more relaxed after having his food. You should make the puppy feel safe and make him feel at home.

Meeting family members

Puppy should meet each of the family members one at a time. Although you are excited, let the make the puppy come to you. Let him smell you first and then show him affection. In the case of kids, they will be really excited and wants to play with the puppy. You should make some home rules before letting your kids play with the dog. Teach them not to pinch, squeeze, pull or hurt the puppy. Never leave the kids and puppy alone and don’t allow the kids to play with dog’s toys.

Finding a Veterinarian

The health of your puppy is so important and you should go to a vet for check up within a week. There are a lot of diseases which we are not aware of and routine health check up helps to find it. You should take necessary vaccinations for your puppy as it prevents serious canine diseases. When your puppy is 8 weeks old, he should receive his first vaccination. Then after 12 weeks this vaccination is followed by another. Consider recommendations of veterinarian regarding the vaccination. You should never  miss or delay to give vaccination as it protects your dog from a variety of fatal diseases.

Feeding

The number of times and the amount of food varies depending upon the age. Also, the size of the breeds should be taken note before feeding. For the fist 12 weeks, you should feed your puppy 4 times per day. Then you should reduce that to 3 meals per day until your puppy is 6 months old. After that, you should stick with 2 meals per day.

Look out for symptoms of illness

Immunity of the newborn puppies will be low and they will fragile so watch out for any symptoms of illness. Common symptoms include poor appetite, diarrhea, weight loss, vomiting, breathing difficulties swollen red eyes and lethargy.

Proper Exercise

Like humans dogs need exercise to burn their calories and to stay healthy. Walking your dog is one of the common exercises and also, it increases the bond between the owner and the puppy. You should be consistent with the exercise. It also helps him to fight boredom.

Training

You should start training your puppy from the first day you have him. Toilet training is the basic training you needs to provide for your puppy. Puppies should know that the home is not his toilet and training should start immediately.

Training to stop puppy biting

It’s quite natural for a puppy to bite but we need to stop him from biting us. At first, it will be cute but as he grows older his teeth will be lot sharper and will hurt. Whenever your puppy tries to bite your hand create a distraction. You can pull your hand away and can provide a treat or a chew toy. Never allow him to bite your hand. Your puppy should understand which one to bite and which are not. Whenever your puppy is chewing things like furniture in your home, you should firmly tell him to stay away and encourage him to play with his chew toys.

Obedience Training