Preparation Tips Before You Bring Your New Puppy Home

The best puppy training program begins before you get your new buddy home. Bringing a new puppy home is a significant occasion.  Everyone looks forward to the new arrival to the family.  But, before your new puppy comes home, there are a few things you need to make sure that you have on hand.
Most of the items that you buy for you new puppy will be one-time purchases.  Acquiring these items on sale at pet department stores can save a ton of money.  Looking for sales in the Sunday papers helps too.

One of the decisions you will have to make is what kind of food your new puppy will eat. Puppies just like people need a balanced diet.  Don’t buy puppy food because the advertisements say that pets deserve gourmet food.  Your new puppy won’t be sitting at the table with a bib around his neck, at least I hope not A simple bag of puppy formula food will do.

Dry food is recommended for puppies and when we get to house breaking your puppy you will understand why. The brand that you choose is based on nutritious ingredients.  Buying the generic doggie kibble is not always the best choice.  If you need help, ask your vet for suggestions. Most vets will suggest something they sell in their offices, buyer beware rules apply here.

Bowls for water and food are needed for feedings.  One set will do and they don’t have to be fancy, just durable.  Place them in the area where puppy will regularly chow down on his meals. This is good basic puppy training technique.
You little guy will also need somewhere to sleep.  It may be cute the first few weeks to have puppy in the bed with you, but that will get real old real quick.  Puppy can toss and turn as he likes in his own bed.  Puppy may go through several beds before it’s all said and done so spending a lot on the first one is not advised.

A crate is where puppy will stay when traveling and when he needs to stay in one area of the house.  The crate should allow for growth but not be so large that puppy is scared of it.  Later, we will show puppy how to make nice with his second home. Crate training your puppy will be worth the effort

When you puppy needs to go outdoors, he will need to wear a leash.  Leashes come in all colors, shapes, and sizes.  Puppy’s leash should allow room for growth.  It just needs to keep him from getting away, not necessarily make a fashion statement.  Besides most puppies will probably chew on his leash the first few times you put it on him anyway, so spending a fortune on one, is not always a good choice.
To satisfy his chewing habits, give your puppy some chew toys.  Ones made for dogs are safer than giving him a real bone to gnaw on.  Pieces of the bone could chip off and cause a choking hazard for puppy.  Chew toys like bouncing balls could pose a choking hazard as well if they are smaller than puppy’s jaws.  So, be conscious about puppies play toys to make them fun, but more importantly, safe for puppy. Remember this, all puppies chew on anything they can get their teeth on, so provide him with lots of options and make sure he understands early on the house rules of chewing. For instance giving him a rawhide shoe to chew on, just told him its ok to chew shoes, even your expensive Gucci High Heels , Use discretion on items he is allowed to chew on

Puppies need a lot of attention, love and care.  He incurs expenses even before his arrival.  To make sure that your puppy’s first day with you is an enjoyable one for everyone involved, stock up on everything that he needs before bringing him home.