Puppy Checklist

[ladyface69]

Hi all

Will be bringing home a Springer Spaniel pup (8 weeks old) on 31st Jan, and I'm bricking it! I don't have kids but honestly feel as if I'm going to be bringing my first child home and don't want to f*ck the poor thing up.
Can anyone tell me if I've missed anything with my prep:

puppy-proof area that is fenced off from the rest of the house by a dog gate
lino floor in case of accidents
crate with blanket
same food as breeder has been feeding
treats for training
kong
chew toy for teething
lead
collar
harness for travelling in the car
clicker for training
whistle
puppy handbook by that woman who wrote total recall
nervous heart palpitations
obsessive youtube tutorial watching
looked into puppy training classes in my area
booked in for health check and 2nd vaccs at local vets
breathe

Anything else?? Any tips?

Insurance? I expect you have. Congratulations. I cried when we picked up my house chewing one dog demolition derby. Best thing we ever did.

Sorry didn't think you'd missed Insurance as you have everything covered just thought you'd missed it off your list x

Ah yes! haha. I have got insurance, d'oh. I missed it off, got distracted by trying to come across as self-depreciating...oops

Sounds like brilliant preparation. Enjoy!

Think you more or less have it covered apart from puppy pads? Need them for toilet training.

Food bowl ( puppies tend to bolt their food so you can get special bowls that slow them down).

Only tips I would say is from the off show him who's boss, I make my pup wait a few mins once food has been put down and then he eats when I say. No feeding from the table (this encourages begging).

As a rule they say 5 mins for every month walk I.e. 4 months = 20 mins.

Wait at least an hour after eating before walk/exercise or walk first then wait an hour before feeding as this can cause bloat which can kill.

Don't forget one important thing will you - photos !! Enjoy :-)

Congratulations - I remember well that nervous anticipation waiting to bring our girl home!

Couple of things that have worked well for us:

Kong wobbler - we put some kibble/treats in it and put it down when we leave her on her own but always remove it when we come back;

Kong wubba - a great interactive toy that we use to play fetch/tug and teach the drop command;

And (just so I don't seem totally obsessed with the kong product range although clearly I am ), ice cubes - these were great for our teething pup, especially if made with chicken stock (homemade not shop bought to avoid any nasties like onions) ... but do be careful not to accidentally use these in your g&t!!!

I wouldn't use puppy pads - too confusing

Only tips I would say is from the off show him who's boss, I make my pup wait a few mins once food has been put down and then he eats when I say.

This has nothing to do with showing him who is boss (dominance theory in dogs having been thoroughly debunked) and everything to do with teaching impulse control, which often has a positive effect on behaviour in general.

OP make sure the car harness you've got is a properly tested one. Most that are for sale are simply for preventing a dog moving around in the car, not for offering any kind of protection in the event of an accident. This series of tests on various car harnesses is rather enlightening. A separate set of tests done in Australia had similar findings.

booked in for health check and 2nd vaccs at local vets

Is this the same vet the breeder uses? If not it's a good idea to check that the brand of vaccines they use are either the same as or compatible with the one already used on the pup. If they're not it means starting the whole course over again.

Being nice and chilled out at home doesn't always come naturally to breeds like springers so teaching an "off switch" right from the start is a good idea. Have a look at the 'Capturing Calmness' videos by Kikopup on YouTube.

Joining this FB group is really worthwhile, or at least having a really good read through their files section. There's loads of great information there about toilet training, crate training, socialisation and general puppy raising.

Thanks cocker I'd not thought of ice cubes, will have to make some stock up. Not sure they'd add anything good to a gin and tonic though haha!

Trionic Yes the FB group has been very informative, and also intimidating! Can't believe dogs cause all these problems - or is it the owners? I will check with breeder which vets she's been going to.

Thank you all for your advice so far. I'm soaking it in like a big sponge. Only 14 sleeps to go, I'll put a picture up when she's home.

Twooter FYI my puppy was completely toilet trained within a week or so using the toilet pads, worked for us. I can honestly say I've only had a couple of wees and not one poo and that was within the first week, nothing since.

OK triton maybe I worded it wrongly but what I meant was you are the alpha male in the house not the dog. Therefore you control when he eats etc. Everyone comments on how well behaved my pup is especially for a breed that can be dominant such as mine.

Exciting times. We chose our little boy lab last night and will be bringing him home mid Feb so I'm keen to see everyone's ideas too.

We use a harness for walking - these ones are good. You still have to teach loose lead walking but wearing a harness is more comfortable if they do suddenly lunge after a squirrel and also makes it easier to grab them in an emergency (our dog doesn't swim in his though, we take it off when he goes into the water).

Just a note of caution about car harnesses - our pup was a complete Houdini and could wriggle his way out of every car harness we tried. He's now in a crate in the back ...

Lots of really good kitchen roll. In my experience so far (2 dogs of my own, 2 foster pups, 2 new pups coming on Friday), Regina Blitz is very good.
Simple Solution pet accident spray.

High value training treats for recall. My dogs (and every other dog we meet) go barmy for atomic drops from Treats2sit4 but cooked cocktail sausages, tinned hot dog, or primula are all things that press dogs buttons.

crocs and a warm dressing gown for you to wear while you stand in the garden waiting for pup to toilet.

Time, patience, and consistency!

I agree - I think puppies having nap time is really important. The other thing, is remembering to leave them alone for periods right from the start, so they get used to you coming and going

How much sleep do puppies need?

How much sleep do puppies need?

They should actually spend most of the day (about 18 hours or so) asleep, especially when they're very small.

This website is an excellent resource for info about socialisation. This is well worth reading as well.

OK triton maybe I worded it wrongly but what I meant was you are the alpha male in the house not the dog. Therefore you control when he eats etc. Everyone comments on how well behaved my pup is especially for a breed that can be dominant such as mine.

Dogs aren't pack animals (social animals, yes, but they don't form proper packs with rigid hierarchies) so it's not possible to be "the alpha". Even wolves (and dogs are not wolves) don't behave in the way posited by the very flawed study of them upon which the whole theory of dominance in dogs is based. This article explains it all better than I can.

poo bags
old towels
old t-shirts - cut them into strips and plait them, when puppy is mouthing you can distract them with these.

Trionic gives amazing advice!
Yy to that group.
We didn't use puppy pads.
Disc with name etc on
Microchipping
Poo bags!
YY to loads of kitchen roll!
Find a decent trainer ASAP. My pup is 17 weeks today and we are halfway through our puppy course.

I've heard of people putting a hot water bottle and a clock in their puppy's bed at first, because their not used to sleeping on their own it reminds the pup of their mother's warmth & heartbeat.

Our breeder also gave us a blanket with us which had been with the pup & had mother's scent on it.

Thank you! How about an adult dog sleep wise?

That simple solution stuff for cleaning weed on carpet was a godsend that I had never heard of before puppy days.
Kitchen paper, lots of it.
I have now read three books and am loving the doggy education
Perfect puppy
brain games
talking terms with dogs

Nail clippers and/or a Dremel (or similar rotary tool) are a must, as is getting pup used to having their nails trimmed very regularly. I don't use clippers much any more but I much prefer the scissor type rather than the guillotine type.

Nail trimming is very important, this is a really good blog post on the subject. It's worth watching the accompanying video as well.

I actually much prefer using a Dremel to clippers (as do the dogs!!) and mine get done once a week. I didn't start off doing this kind of routine (and subsequently their nails got far too long) so it's taken a while to both get them used to having their nails done regularly and to get their nails appropriately short. Much better to start off when they're puppies instead of having to sort it out later when they're adults.