There is nothing as exciting as bringing home a new puppy! They bring so much joy to your family and are going to be with you for their entire life. So… it is soo important that you set them up for the bestest start into their new family life. We’ve put together a Puppy Program to do just that, you can read more about it here.
Also, here is a few items that you should consider when bringing home a new family member….
PLAN & PREPARE
You don’t want to overload the puppy with too many items, as their senses will already be in overdrive with the new environment you’re bringing them to. But, there are some essential items that you should have prepared before your puppy comes home. The best thing you can do is send a soft toy to be with your puppy when it’s still with its Mum. That way when you bring the puppy home, they will have a toy that comforts them with their Mum and litter-mates smell. Also, you will want to have a food and water bowl set up as soon as they arrive at your place, as they will get comfort knowing that essential resources are available to them. Decide what type of food you are going to feed your puppy, learn from their breeder what they are used to, because you don’t want to change their food too early. A trip to your favourite pet store is a must as you will also need things like a bed, collar and tag with their name on it.
A PUPPY SPACE
It’s really important that your new puppy feels safe at home. Setting up an area that’s just for them, a safe space where they can retreat to if it gets too much. There’s a lot of articles about the benefit of ‘crate training’, you may want to look into that. Otherwise, just their own bed in a space that is clean and tidy just for them is important to make them feel safe. Anywhere that is always assessable for them. You many even want to set up multiple puppy stations around the house, so that they can always go to their safe space.
PUPPY TRAINING
All babies need to learn, puppies are not exempt from that rule. The more things that they can learn the better, and it’s never too early to start. Check out our Puppy Program for our socialisation and desensitisation course, here. Also, there are many YouTube videos on how to train your puppy. And, there are many amazing trainers in Perth, some of them are listed here. As with the amount of trainers, there are many training methods used. So, do your research and find a training method that works with how you want to raise your puppy. With whatever you decide, it is important that consistency is the key, as the entire family needs to follow that same rules when it comes to the puppy, otherwise it just causes confusion.
FIND A GOOD VET
Choosing a vet is one of the most important things you can decide. Your vet is going to be there to help with your puppy whilst they are little all the way until they are big.
Your puppies first vet experience, should be a good one, filled with lots of cuddles. As you want them to associate going to the vet with a good experience, so that each time you need to go they take it in their stride, instead of being anyway scared.
Word of mouth is a great way to find a good vet, ask your friends who they use. There are some amazing big franchise vets who offer plans for your dog, or there are amazing local vets that give you one on one care. The FurBaby pups go to Vogue Vets we certainly recommend them.
Talk to your vet about what vaccinations your puppy needs, as you want them to be protected from the nasty viruses that are out there as soon as possible.
Most Vets offer puppy school, which is the best way to set-up your puppy to associate the vets with having fun, whilst you learn important skills about caring for your puppy and the get to socialise with other puppies in a very safe environment.
SOCIALISE!
Talking about socialisation, it is soo important for your puppy to socialise and learn how to ‘dog’ as early as possible. As soon as they have all their vaccinations take them out as much as possible. Especially to places like your local dog café, the park, beach, neighbourhood and doggy daycare. The more that they experience when they are little, the less things that they are scared of when they are old. They can’t learn enough when they are little, so the more places they are taken to the better it is for them.
We can’t recommend doggy daycare enough for puppies, even if it is just for a short time. They learn how to play with other dogs around without their pawrents around. It gives puppies the opportunity to learn the correct way to interact with other dogs appropriately. It builds their confidence and teaches them important doggy socialisation skills that nowhere else can.
ROUTINE
Just like us, when a puppy is brought up with a routine it builds stability and gets you puppy to feel safe in their new home. If you establish a strong routine it builds trust between you and your brand new puppy. When to give them their meal? When to take the puppy out for a walk? When to they go outside for toilet? All these things must be decided in an orderly manner. If your puppy knows that there is guaranteed things at the same time every day, they learn to trust that you will make sure that they are safe and give them all their needs.
REGISTRATION
Last, but certainly not least you should get your puppy microchipped and registered with your local council. The last thing you want is to lose your puppy, but this can happen when they are really little and don’t know where home is yet. So, ensuring that all your details are on your puppy means that if unfortunately they do get lost, it is easy to relocate them back to you.
That’s a lot of information about bringing a puppy home, just remember that it is soo much fun and you’re building memories that will last a lifetime, so enjoy your puppy. There is nothing in this world that is better than puppy breathe and cuddles! Congratulations on your new puppy!
Cuddles to your furbaby!
Love Shari – FurBaby Owner xx