Preparing to bring home our Bichon pup!

[Mrsallovertheplace]

So we finally get to bring home our Bichon pup in a little over a week and I'm having a little panic that we haven't actually bought anything yet! I've got a routine in line with what he's used to just now and have been reading everything I can find about how to settle in, puppyproofing, develop good habits from the start our first puppy I'm sure I didn't give that away. Does anyone have any advice to share? I'm a little worried about toilet training and nighttime, plan to have a teddy with a clock inside to manic mum's heartbeat. What do I actually need to go panic buy? Any advice/experiences welcome! We really want him to love his new home and family!

[CornflakeHomunculus]

All the links on this list are really worth reading. They're all written by highly respected professionals who advocate using up to date, science based methods.

You'll need bowls (food and water, I like stainless steel for the former and ceramic for the latter), bed/bedding (vet bedding is great stuff for puppies), collar, harness, lead, legally compliant collar tag, food (breeders normally send a puppy home with a supply of what they've been weaned on, it's a good idea to stick with this whilst the pup settles), toys/chews, puppy appropriate treats, enzymatic cleaner (or biological washing powder/liquid) for cleaning up the inevitable accidents, a crate/pen/baby gates if you're intending to use them, erm...... I've probably missed some things but that's good to be going on with!

It's a very good idea to have appropriate grooming tools (your breeder should be able to advise you) so you can continue what the breeder will have started in getting them used to regular grooming right from day one. The same goes for nail trimming and tooth brushing.

I presume you'll have a period of free insurance from the breeder but it's worth having something ready to kick in once that runs out. Much easier to sort that now when you're not sleep deprived distracted by the puppy

It's also a good time to start scoping out puppy classes. It's better to go along and see what they're like before signing up as (speaking from bitter experience) it's a pain if you're fully paid up for a whole course and the classes turn out to be dreadful once you start going. The FB group I linked to above should be able to give you recommendations of good puppy classes for your area if you post asking for them.

[Wolfiefan]

Ha. Was just going to post about that group. Great advice. Got me through toilet training in December!
Poo bags!
Lots of poo bags.
Vet fleece makes a good and washable bed.
Ours loves her Kong and nylabone chews.

[CornflakeHomunculus]

Poo bags!

I knew I'd forget something really obvious

[Wolfiefan]

Haha @CornflakeHomunculus
I have a huge array ready to pick up the wolfhound sized dog gifts!