Preparing for a New Puppy

[MoshiMoshi]

We are due to collect our new Viszla at the end of March and I have been reading up on various aspects of puppy care and thinking about how to prepare for her arrival. I wondered if anybody could share some good tips to help with the new arrival? She will be our first family dog and we have 4 kids who will be age 23 months, 4, 6 and 8 when she arrives.

We are going to have a crate for her in the kitchen and will also get a play pen so she can have a safe area which is free of hazards when I can't keep a close eye on her. I am going to look into the best sort of lead for an 8 week old (how old she will be when she comes home with us) and I will ask the breeder about her food and what she has been using for house training etc. I saw her using those disposal baby change mats when we visited! Any other ideas and suggestions would be gratefully received! Many thanks.

a big cuddly teddy bear to put in the crate with her so she is reminded of her litter mates. Also ask breeder if you can leave something that smells of you with her for about a week before you collect her.

MMC - what a great idea! I will sleep with a cuddly toy for a bit and send it to the breeder if she agrees. Thanks for the tip!

I went a bit mad. We had a crate, tons of toys and I mean tons, 3 different beds for him to choose from, lots of puppy toys like soft rabbits, every puppy treat we could find (in case he didn't like some of them), two giant bags of dog food, an ID tag, bowls, a training lead and a short lead, I don't know how many blankets and a lot of second hand towels (raided my Mums airing cupboard)

I cleaned the living room (his room) from top to bottom and tried to make it as puppy friendly as possible. I checked the garden for hazards and escape opportunities which lead to the purchase of bamboo screening

Our breeder gave us bowls, a book, treats, food, a lead, collar, all our paper work, new toys and an an old toy, his favourite.

Obviously we also had the camera charged up and ready to go!

I think getting the old toy was really excellent because it smelled like his old home, he still has it, I think it gave him comfort in the first few days.

Be prepared to keep DC's away at first to let him settle in a bit and find his way around so he feels confident before getting smothered with hugs and kisses.

I don't think you need to go as mad as we did. Although we didn't actually have to go shopping again for a months lol and don't bother with bamboo screening, dog pulled it all down!

Is my dog spoiled? Absolutely

I forgot about puppy pads, and poop bags. Our breeder had the pups pad trained which is fantastic. Fantastic if you don't have large expensive cream rugs! Pads were great though, depends on your set up but if you have a kitchen door keep the pad there (as long as it's away from the crate) and you can eventually move the pad out so he gets the idea to go out if that helps.

Everything mmsmum says! We got given a bit of the blanket he was born on and slept with from the breeder which really helped, he snuggled up to that a lot.

We also got a DAP coller which we used for first 4 weeks, seemed to work but one of those things you can't be sure of because you don't want to take it off to see! The one night he did have it off he cryed in his crate but who knows!

Lots of blankets and toys and yes, kept our youngest, DD2 away from him for first few days. Enjoy!

Personally I wish we'd never used pads, as I'm pretty sure it made toilet training a longer process. If your kitchen opens directly onto the garden you may be better just aiming for 100 per cent outside toileting, but if she's already semi pad-trained it might be easier to keep using.

Other things we ended up buying were: travel crate for car/weekends away, brush and toothbrush so they get used to being handled and groomed from day 1, The Perfect Puppy book, lots of anti-bac hand wash, anti-odour floor cleaner for accidents, anti-chew spray for your furniture (both from Pet shops). Torch and wellies for midnight garden trips.

Defo training treats (read the packet carefully as lots of the ones that are marketed for puppies actually say 4 months over only). Maybe buy some cheap chicken and boil it up, then freeze - helpful for training and upset tummies.

And book your vet & training/socialisation classes as soon as you know which date he's coming home.

And take photos, lots of photos - we didn't do anywhere near enough!

Thank you for the replies. Lots of very useful information there.

ATYDs - where should I look for socialisation classes/training classes? Will my vet be able to point me in the right direction or should I have a search on Google?

Personally I wouldnt use puppy pads as it trains them to go on them and not outside.

Make sure you can keep the food bowls away from the little ones.

Good luck.