New puppy checklist I want to do things right (pics added!!!!!!!)

mumhug

The puppy crate arrived today it is quite large i will put a cardboard box in as someone suggested.

sarabe

Congratulations on your new puppy. Exciting times ahead.

I would be looking at weaning her away from Beta and on to a better quality food as soon as possible. Because diet can have the same effect on dogs as junk food has on children Beta wouldn't be on my top ten list of decent dog foods, I don't think it would make the top 100 actually.

Burns, Naturediet and Orijen are good quality dog foods in my opinion.

One thing to remember about pups is that they don't have hands so they use their teeth instead. They like to play and have fun and are attracted to things that move. Make sure that you always have access to a toy, preferably a long rope tug toy or knotted towel, and encourage your pup to play gentle games of tug with you as much as you can. Having a long toy means that it stays lower to the ground and doesn't encourage jumping up.

If your pup has lots of toys lying about the floor then they will soon become boring and when you or the children walk into the room you will be the new and exciting thing to bite. Leave pup with just a toy or two that is suitable for chewing such as a Kong or a nylabone or yesterday's plastic milk bottle and keep all of the toys that you can play with together for playing with together.

Puppies play with their teeth so beware of telling them that you don't want to play by reprimanding them for play biting or by ignoring them for trying to get you to play - just teach them how to play and have fun whilst creating a fabulous positive bond with your pup.

mumhug

Hi, Thank you for the advice.I have just brought a huge bag of the beta food so I will use this to start (I brought it as i thought it best to use the same).
But on your advice I will certainly aim to change it , how would I go about weaning her from one to the other ? Although i have had dogs growing up I have had not had a pup so young before I am anxious to do the best by her.

Rosie75

I agree it would be a good idea to get her off Beta onto something like Burns. Keep her on the Beta for a couple of weeks and then very gradually start substituting the Burns - just a tablespoon initially, then gradually building up to 50/50, then 100% Pups often have funny tummies, take it slowly. Bio Yoghurt is good for any tummy upsets. Don't give the pup any milk - they can't tolerate cow's milk.

Crates are great for all kinds of reasons - toilet training (as someone has said, don't bother with the pads), a quiet place for the dog, and also for keeping them safe when you can't be in the room to supervise. You'd be amazed how quickly a pup can chew through an electrical cable or rip up your lino when your back is turned. Toys can also be destroyed very easily and often contain dangerous things (I'm thinking of the squeaky toys). Go for the indestructible toys such as a nylabone (though my cocker spaniel managed to destroy the extra heavy-duty version of the Kong within a few hours).

My last pup went though a terrible play-biting stage. I followed all the advice, but nothing would stop him until weeks later he finally grew out of it. I was black and blue all over, so you might have some issues there with your three-year old, particularly as any squealing or shouting will wind a puppy up even more. The crate, or a puppy pen, is a godsend in this kind of situation since everyone gets some time out.

Other items to get: nappy sacks are cheaper than the special dog poo bags the pet shops sell. You'll also need an odour-neutralising, disinfecting cleaning fluid. Make sure it's odour-eliminating as things like bleach don't actually remove the smell of any doings, so the dog can still smell it and will go in that spot again. An additional crate for the car will also protect your upholstery and keep the dog safe in the event of an accident. Get a plastic basket rather than the wicker or fabric type until the pup is past the chewing stage.

Good luck with the pup - let us know how you get on.

remembered_nights

I was going to say what everyone else said about the food And keep pup on a dry complete food, so much cheaper and easier than wet!

Get pup used to having all parts of her body checked by you, preferably every day e.g. paws, ears, eyes, teeth and so on. You need a dog you can trust to let you access any part of it's body if you need to Anything you want it to get used to is best to start as early as possible, like we groomed our puppy every day to get her used to that, and she's worn a car-harness from a young age so has no problem with that.

Humphrey10

remembered_nights wrote: »

Get pup used to having all parts of her body checked by you,

Really good advice, our dog is a rescue dog and wasn't handled much as a puppy I think, it's now very hard to groom her, brush her teeth, cut her nails, etc. She gets very scared and shakes, poor thing. So get your puppy used to being handled so it's not a terrifing experience!

mumhug

Great thank you once again for the advice there are some things there i wouldnt have thought of.

mumhug

I realised today that my garden is by no means puppy proof so it looks as though we will be busy this weekend.

Mrs_B

Sounds as if you are doing a great job thinking carefully about what to do to get things right.

You might also like to consider starting to look into finding a decent Puppy Training Class - time will pass surprisingly quickly and you need to choose your Class carefully. They are usually about six weeks long, but will give you all sorts of basic training skills and advice, and will make sure your puppy has plenty of opportunities to meet other puppies in a good environment.

Cheapest is not necessarily best please note.

A couple of things I personally would look out for would be if someone was a member of the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) who have to meet certain standards, use kind training methods and so on. The other one I know of is "Puppy School" which was actually set up by Gwen Bailey, who has already been mentioned.

If you want me to find links to either of these for you, just say and I'll find them - both will have lists which you can search to find your nearest trainer.

mumhug

Thank you I have started to look into puppy training classes. There is a local one that everyone raves about so I am going to find out a bit more about it.
I will also read up on the APDT and Puppy school.


I told my children that i would be taking the pup to puppy classes and my daughter asked if there would be a big dog with glasses teaaching all the puppies:rotfl: