New Puppy Checklist

There’s nothing quite like the excitement of bringing home a new puppy to join your family, and we want to make sure you have all you need to make your new family member feel safe and happy in there new home. 

Contents:

• Before Getting A Puppy
• Puppy Essentials
• Bringing Your Puppy Home
• New Puppy Vet Checklist

Before Getting a New Puppy

Welcoming any new animal into your home is a big responsibility. Still, puppies are significant as you’re taking on their care and the commitment to raise them properly so they can grow into happy, healthy, and well-rounded adult dogs. This requires a lot of patience, time, and money to ensure you’re meeting all the requirements. 

Before you get a new puppy, ask yourself the following: 

• Cost—Have you heard the saying, “Don’t get the pet if you can’t afford the vet”? This applies to puppies who must go to the vet frequently before they even reach a year old. Plus, you’re not only buying the puppy itself or paying an adoption fee: you’ll also need to buy all their essentials, insurance, and the ongoing costs of food and leashes as they grow. 
• Time—New puppies shouldn’t be left alone for longer than 2 hours and will need constant company, entertainment, walking and training throughout their day when they’re young. If you don’t have time to spend with them at home, you may need to consider doggy daycare or dog sitter options or opt for a more low-maintenance pet. And this doesn’t just go for when they're puppies, but their entire life. Do you have the time to commit to their daily care, exercise, and enrichment? 
• Your Home—Is your home suitable to accommodate a new puppy and then an adult dog? Do you have proper access to a garden where they can run and play, or at least a space where they can go to the bathroom without walking? Is there enough space for all their essentials, and can you make your home suitable for a dog? Is everyone in your home (current pets included) open to having a new puppy around?
• Research—Have you researched appropriately for owning a new puppy, especially if they’re purebred? Have you looked into the exercise, enrichment and nutritional needs of their breed and any potential health risks they may be prone to? Are you ready to change your life and home to accommodate these needs suitably?

If the answer to these questions is a resounding yes, then you’re on the right track! 

Once you’ve decided on your puppy and are waiting for the big day of bringing them home, you must make your home as safe as possible. Puppies are very excitable and tend to chew things, especially as they teethe or their adult teeth begin to come in. 

To make your home puppy-safe, make sure to: 

• Keep loose or hanging wires out of their way or securely wrap and fix them so your puppy can’t chew or get tangled in them. 
• Make sure there are no small spaces your puppy could squeeze into and get stuck such as fireplaces, under or behind furniture. The same is true of your garden. Make sure there are no gaps in fences where your puppy could squeeze out and escape or set up a safe penned space where they can run around freely outside. 
• Many puppies will eat and chew just about anything, even if it’s toxic to them, because they don’t know any better. Avoid any mishaps by keeping things you don’t want them eating, such as human food or medicines, houseplants (toxic or otherwise) and small objects out of their eyeline and general vicinity to stop any temptations. The same goes for bins, which are best kept in a room your puppy doesn’t have access to. 
• Make sure your stairs are boarded off for your puppy with a stair gate or barrier so they can’t go wandering up them. Puppies are very small and rather uncoordinated, and falling down the stairs poses a risk of injury. Once they’re older, you can begin to allow them to explore, just not right away.

Puppy Essentials

Once your home is puppy-safe, it’s time to get your new puppy all the things they need to help them grow up happy and healthy! 

• A puppy carrier - you’ll need this for bringing your puppy home for the first time and vet visits throughout their life. Make sure this carrier is small enough to keep your puppy secure and provides enough space for them to stand and turn around. You may need to upsize your carrier as your puppy grows, depending on their size and breed. 
• A crate and/or dog bed - A bed is essential for any puppy so they can have their own safe space, and a crate is a great choice if you’re looking to crate train your dog or want a place they can go when you leave the house to avoid any mishaps or damage while your gone. 
• Dog bowls for food and water - There’s a wide range of dog bowls available, but puppies should start with a smaller bowl for food and a separate one for water, and you may need to buy larger ones as your puppy grows and their food portions increase. 
• Complete puppy food - Puppies need a suitable diet rich in fats, proteins and calcium, as well as a number of other nutrients to help them grow and develop properly. These can vary depending on your puppy’s breed, which is why research is essential. If you need help finding the right food for your new puppy, check out our blog below or view our full range of puppy food to find the right fit. 
• Collar with tags and a Lead - Even puppies need to be walked once they’re old enough, and introducing them to a collar and lead early on can make things like leash training much easier, even if they won’t be going for walks until they’re vaccinated. You can also choose to use a puppy harness if you prefer. 
• Puppy toys—Puppies need toys in the same way human children do. Not only are puppy toys good for keeping them entertained, but they also provide exercise and enrichment and deter them from chewing things they shouldn’t. 
• Puppy Pads and Poo bags - When it comes to house training a puppy, puppy pads are a must to protect your home and keep things hygienic while they get to grips with the basics. You should also make sure you have the necessary cleaning supplies for when (not if) accidents happen. 
• Puppy Grooming Essentials - We have the phrase “Mucky Pup” for a reason, and the odds are you’ll need to bathe your puppy more than once within the first year, as they love playing and rolling in things they shouldn’t. A brush and other puppy grooming essentials, such as a toothbrush, are also important to make sure your puppy's coat and dental health are well cared for.  

Once you’ve got all of these essentials, set them up in a quiet and not busy room in your home, such as a spare bedroom, to give your new puppy a safe space to acclimate themselves to your home before they start exploring. 

Bringing Your New Puppy Home

While bringing a puppy home is a time of great excitement for you, it can be very overwhelming for your puppy as they try to adjust to all the new smells of their new home, as well as being away from their mother and littermates. It’s natural for them to take a little bit of time to settle in properly, but here are some things you can do to ease the transition: 

1. Give them time and space to get used to their new environment in their own time without too much coddling. While you may want to be present for every moment of your puppy’s day, its important to set boundaries to avoid any separation anxiety issues once they’re grown. Try to limit them to one or two rooms to start, and once they show signs of being curious, let them venture a little further. 
2. Build a routine with them to help them settle by feeding, playing and walking (once they’re old enough) to the same time each day. In time, this can also grow to include their bathroom breaks which can help a lot when house training. 
3. Keep things consistent, such as training, their daily routine, and the house itself, so they don’t have to get used to too many new things at once. If you’re expecting a big life change, such as a new baby or moving house, try to put off getting a puppy until this time has passed, so everything can be calm for your puppy’s arrival. 
4. Start socialising with your puppy as soon as possible so they can begin to learn what to expect, including the sights and sounds of daily life as well as introducing them slowly to any other pets you have in the home. However, try to keep them from meeting any unvacciated pets until they’ve had their shots. 
5. Start training your puppy once they’re settled with things like basic commands and setting boundaries for things they can and cannot do. If you don’t want your dog jumping on the sofa as an adult, discourage them from doing so when they’re a puppy because they’ll pick it up much faster and will avoid any confusion as they get older. 
6. Introducing calming products suitable for puppies, such as the Adaptil Junior Collar, can also help your puppy settle in and feel more at ease in its new home. 

New Puppy Vet Checklist

Once you have your new puppy home, you must have them registered with your local vet so they can get all the necessary vaccinations, their microchip, and any flea treatments for dogs or dog wormers suitable for puppies. Suppose you have adopted a puppy from a rescue, or one older than 8 weeks. In that case, they may already have had their initial microchip or vaccination appointment, and the centre should give you all this information. However, it’s still important to register your puppy with a vet as soon as possible anyway. 

You should also consider registering for a pet insurance policy for your pup as soon as possible to help cover any unexpected vet costs. 

With this puppy checklist, you should have all the information you need to welcome your new bundle of fur into your home. With our great range of puppy products, you can save money on your essentials from the beginning! If you have any questions about finding the necessary healthcare for your new puppy or what you need to get started, please contact us, and a member of our friendly team will be happy to help!

This post is an opinion and should only be used as a guide. You should discuss any change to your pet’s care or lifestyle thoroughly with your vet before starting any program or treatment.