11 Things To Do Before You Get a New Puppy
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Deciding to get a new puppy is a HUGE decision. I would like to preface this guide by saying to make sure you are REALLY ready to take care of a living creature that most resembles a human (i.e. this is not like taking care of a house plant or a goldfish). Craig and I contemplated getting a puppy for years (before Craig finally caved!!). We were traveling a lot, had full time jobs, and had no idea how to raise an 8-week old animal. We got lots of advice from friends that had recently gone through this and did our fair share of googling and watching youtube videos. I am going to do my best to share what WE did, but there are many ways to handle bringing a new furry family member home! Keep in mind that Craig and I are extremely Type A and get anxiety/stressed pretty easily (just you wait for my baby sleep training post haha). I’m sure people are way more laid back about this but this is my blog and this is what we did, so here we go! Here is the link to my Amazon shop where you can find most of the things mentioned below: Amazon Shop.
Find a vet
Get pet insurance
Buy all the things
Puppy proof your house
Prepare for crate training
Figure out your time management
Support system
Potty training
Pick a dog food
Figure out dog training
Prepare for pickup
Dr. McClellan at Torrey Pines Animal Hospital giving Ravioli his first checkup.
1- Find a Vet. This is SO important as you will want to take your new puppy to get a check up and figure out immunizations right away when you get home. Our vet recommended to come in within a few days of getting him. So we picked Ravioli up on a Saturday and had our appointment on a Wednesday (just like having a newborn baby!). You don’t need to make the appointment too far in advanced since vets usually have appointments available all day and on weekends. We found our vet by looking on yelp. I would say to ask friends but make sure you find a vet near your house in case of middle of the night emergencies (this happened to us haha) and general convenience.
2- Next, I would recommend getting pet insurance. This step right here has saved us hundreds/thousands of dollars. They have covered ear infections, blood tests, various stomach and allergy issues, an echocardiogram, and a lot more. I will admit I am a hypochondriac for my dog and this gives us peace of mind for what could happen in the future as Ravioli gets older. For reference we have Healthy Paws and pay $60/month. In our minds it is totally worth it, especially for our golden retriever breed. I did a ton of research and deemed Healthy Paws as the best.
This is not sponsored in any way but I wanted to share my referral link in case you want to sign up for Healthy Paws because they donate $25 to help homeless pets. Here it is: http://refer.healthypawspetinsurance.com/Gina15
3- Buy alllllll the things. Getting a puppy is such a big life change and you need quite a few items!! Here is my list taken from a photo of a sticky note I had written before we got Rav plus some extras that I learned about after we picked him up. I linked everything below and also saved all these items in my Amazon shop.
Nature’s Miracle Pet Spray- very important! This kills the scent of the puppy’s pee. I will get into this more below on potty training.
Dog crate- you can go about this two ways- either get one that is just for a puppy and then buy a bigger one later, or get one that has a divider and changes sizes. You don’t want to give the puppy too much space as it will confuse them.
Dog bed- here is a similar puppy one that we had and here is his current one that we love!
Dog food- this is the one Rav is on now but see more details below on this. I would also recommend getting some pumpkin in case of soft poops.
Chew Toys (lotsssss of chew toys/kongs)
Other things to chew on: Bully sticks, cow ears, antlers
Grooming supplies- this $6 Furminator dog brush works wonders for dogs who shed!!
Plush toys- here is Rav’s moose
Buckle collar 14”-16” (size will depend on breed!)
Stainless steel food and water dishes
Tennis balls and a ball thrower
Treats- these are good little ones for training so that the puppy doesn’t get an upset stomach
Nuvet (this vitamin was recommended by our breeder for the first few weeks of the puppy’s life- ask your breeder or vet for more info)
Flea/Tick medicine
Heartworm medicine
4- Puppy proof your house. After talking to friends and doing some research, we were told that it is best to have your puppy contained in one area of your house. It makes sense since a huge house would be super overwhelming compared to where they just came from (most likely a small room). We put baby gates up to block off certain areas of the house and contain Ravioli just in the downstairs. This is also good if you don’t plan on using a crate. Other things to do- protect anything that you would be sad about getting chewed up by a puppy. Couches, coffee tables, shoes, remote controls, etc. It’s going to happen. Those pups are very sneaky!
5- Figure out the crate situation. We decided that crate training was best for us for a few reasons- we worked full time and didn’t want Rav chewing our house up or having accidents, we didn’t want him roaming around at night while we slept, and it would be a safe place for him if he was feeling overwhelmed or stressed. The biggest tip about crate training is to put a blanket over the crate when the dog is in there!!! This was a game changer for us. Our first night we did not do this and it was horrible!!! We were all up all night. The next night we did the blanket tip and he slept for most of the night. We still woke him up to make him go pee outside but that’s it. Put a soft towel or blanket in there and a plush toy for comfort. We also would feed him his dinner in the crate so that he would associate it as a good place. Eventually he found comfort in his crate and preferred it as one of his cozy nap places!
6- Figure out your time management. I mean this for a few different purposes. First of all make sure you are equipped to wake up during the night for the first few weeks of having your new puppy at home. They will need to go potty outside to encourage their potty training. Next, make sure you can come home during your work day or have a friend/dog walker come by to let the puppy out to go potty and play. We left Ravioli 3-4 hours at a time (probably only 2 hours during the first couple weeks- Craig and I would stagger our lunch breaks and come home early). Also, try to go to dog friendly places on the weekends so that you can bring your puppy and don’t have to worry about leaving him for too long. Sometimes we would bring a bully stick or antlers out to a restaurant to keep him busy.
7- Support system- find a boarder/have friends lined up for future reference. I think it’s better to figure this out in advanced in case you have a last minute trip or a planned vacation coming up. Finding a trusted place gives you the peace of mind that you can still travel when owning a dog. Our favorite San Diego boarder is Paw Paradise.
8- Potty training could be a post in itself but here are my quick tips. If the puppy pees on the floor, immediately pick it up and run outside!! Put the puppy on the grass or designated pee area and say “Go potty.” I learned this from a youtube video about getting your dog to pee on command and it still works to this day (for pee and poop for Ravioli- such a good boy!). Say “Good potty” while they are going (at least that is what I do) so that they know they are doing the right thing. The other tip is to completely sanitize the area they had the accident in with a scent killing spray. If the dog smells their pee they will think that is an OK place to go to the bathroom and they will keep doing it over and over again!
9- Pick a dog food. Most likely the place you are getting your dog will give you some of their current dog food to transition with at home. You must slowly transition a dog to a new food or else it can upset their stomach. Research the kind of food that your puppy is already eating and make sure it is a good one. If not then slowly transition them to your new choice. Make sure the food is NOT grain free!!! This can cause heart issues in dogs (I’ll go into this more on a future post!). In case you are wondering, after all the tummy problems Rav has had, here is his food that has been great for us: Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Sensitive Skin & Stomach
This is Ravioli’s puppy graduation from the Unleashed program
10- Decide if you are going to get your new puppy some training. There are a few ways to go about this. For us we initially had an in home dog trainer do a consultation and a few lessons, we did a training at Unleashed, and then ultimately made the decision to send Ravioli to a training camp. In retrospect we would have only done the training camp and not wasted our money on anything else. Specialty Dog Training is who we used- in particular, Graham, who is INCREDIBLE and our friend now, and it was the best decision EVER!!! Even though Ravioli had puppy tendencies and kept his playful puppy personality, he knew more than basic commands and, among other things, to this day still hasn’t barked in 3 years. Usually puppies bark like crazy at anything and everything (which is what Rav did!!). We did the first training at 6 months (2 weeks) and other one a year later (6 weeks). These trainings came at perfect times since we had a vacation and then moved into a new house. I can’t recommend training enough!! It’s so important (but not crucial) to do it while the dogs are young too. At the time Specialty was held at Paw Paradise which is why I name them as my favorite boarder above :) I hope to do an interview with Graham for the blog one day!
11- Prepare for pick-up. Before driving to pick up your puppy make sure you bring a towel for them to sit on in case they have an accident. Keep in mind that the puppy can get car sick and you may have to clean up vomit too. Be prepared to stop on the way home for a potty break if you have a long car ride. I would also suggest picking out their name before you meet them so you can start using it right away! Get excited to cuddle a precious puppy and enjoy every second of it as it goes by so quickly!
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