The puppy checklist

Are you planning getting a puppy? Are you in panic over what you have to buy before the puppy is home? Here's a couple of things that will be good to have!

• Dogbed, atleast one per level of the home.
• bowls
• leash and harness or collar. Harness is kinder to the dogs neck. Get an adjustable one since the puppy grows fast. Buy an extra leash if you can, the puppy might chew apart the one you have and its nice to have a backup leash for that.
• puppy dogfood with real meat as first ingredient. The less ingredients the better.
• nailclipper
• toys (these can be home made by braided old jeans)
• tickplucker tool
• dog schampoo, you never know what the puppy might roll in.
• a good brush. Remember to buy a slickerbrush that isnt very sharp! We want to teach the puppy that being brushed feels nice, not that it hurts and give brushburn! If you can find one with buds on the end of each pin that is great! 
• a comb
• a furminator if you have a shedding dog, groomingsuppies if you have a grooming dog and will groom yourself. It is actually easy to learn yourself and you save money in the longrun doing it yourself. If you have a wirecoat, have the breeder teach you how to handstrip correctly. 
• Doggy toothbrush and doggy toothpaste. It sounds stupid but brushing your dogs teeth will keep the teeth and gums healthy and will save you on vetbills when the dog gets older. 

I dont believe in crating the dog but it is all up to you.

Now, what you want to be able to do with the puppy when it is grown up, you will make into everyday life, casual and normal when it's a puppy. This will make handling so much easier. You will have to handle the dog for fifteen years so believe me when I say handling is important! The more you get the dog used to you looking at the feet, nose, eyes, ears, etc the easier it will be when the vet has to check the dog and you will notice changes faster.

When the puppy chews on you, hand over a toy and tease the dog with the toy and praise for chewing on the toy instead and play with the puppy to show that playing with toys is FUN! Do not play with the puppy with your hands and feet! This will reward chewing on you as a chewtoy. You can do this when the dog is older and the teeth isnt itching anymore.

Even if the dog is not wet, I recommend that you wipe the dogs feet and belly with a towel after being outside. This will teach the dog to wait in the hallway until you say it can go. This will avoid the bed or cough being soaked in mud or other fun things it might drag in later.

The puppy cant control the bladder for the first six months or so, so do not expect housebreaking until then. Same reason that we keep diapers on babies, they cant tell when they need to go potty. Go outside with the puppy every two hours or so. After eating, sleeping, playing etc. It is pretty much all the time and every hour in the beginning. Take the puppy to the same spot every single time so it learns that its a toilet. Try to find a spot that isnt peed alot by adult dogs if possible. Dogs in the household is an exception. If an accident is happening, lift the puppy up and run out to the spot and wait and be boring. Praise when the puppy finishes up. Go inside and clean up the mess. Do not yell at the puppy! It wasnt the puppy's fault. If an accident already happened, just wipe it up. Use something scented with lemon (And no ammonia scent! ammonia smells like pee to the dog) to hide the scent so the puppy dont make it to a habitual toilet.

You CAN use newspapers and puppymats by the door, but not so you can be lazy! It is so when the puppy goes to the door you can quickly pick it up (picking it up makes the puppy hold it for a little longer) and run out asap. You can also create a doggy doorbell and ring it each time you go outside. The dog will make the connection and, when older, ring the doorbell when it has to go.

Sleep with the puppy at night! They are used to sleeping with siblings and mother, so leaving it to sleep alone in a bed just makes the puppy feel abandoned and alone and scared and it will cause a nervous bladder and more accidents. You can have a matress on the floor if you dont want the dog in the bed.

Things I find important to teach a puppy

Handling:  Teach the dog to be handled. If it's a grooming breed, teach it to stand on tables for handling. It will make it easier for you and/or your groomer and the vet. Fiddle with feet alot, fiddle with lifting the legs, looking between the toes, looking into the mouth, touch the tongue, touch the nose, check the eyes, sniff the ears (scent is the first hint that something is off in the ears, so learn your dogs earsmell) and so on. Fiddling with the feet is the most important, it will help the nailclipping later. Make the handling a cuddletime and not a playtime so handle the puppy when it's tired. Use combs and brushes too in a cozy way just as practice.

Housebreaking: If you slack on the running out and praising outdoors, you will have a dog that pees indoors for 15 years instead of 6-9 months.

Coming when called: The puppy will naturally follow you in the beginning. Use this to your advantage during play. Call, bounce around and wave your arms and run the other way then the puppy looks at you. I promise the dog will run after you! When the dog keeps up, play with a toy like tugowar! This will be a great foundation for later.

Teethbrushing: You and your wallet will thank yourself if you do this as a habit. It's not fun to pay for pulled teeth or knowing that the dog couldve had its teeth if you just prevented the tartar buildup.

Patience: Teach the puppy the difference between activity and relaxation. You can work on patience by sitting before you give the food.

Trading: This is a VERY important one. Teach the dog that if you just get to look at the toy, the dog gets a treat. This will be very important if the dog ever steals the remote control or phone or something toxic. When you work with the toy, give the toy back afterwards with praise so the puppy dont see it as stealing, only looking at/borrow.

Humans and leashes are not chewtoys: Show whats right by distracting from what's wrong. "Oh you wanna play, stop chewing the leash and I'll play with you with this toy!" You might have to take it out of the puppy's mouth before you can praise for letting it go (even if it wasnt voluntarily) and reward with a toy.


I will fill up this list as I remember more things. It's been a while since I had a puppy. :)