New Puppy Checklist - Bringing Home A New Puppy

First thing you should do when you know you will be getting your new canine companion is do a little puppy proofing of your home. This is quite similar to baby proofing your home for a newly crawling baby. You will need to get down to a puppy's level. Yes, I mean get down on all fours and take a look around. There are very interesting things to see and entice a puppy on this level. What do you see? Do you see something that would be really fun to chew on? Do you see something that a small puppy could get tangled up in? These are the things to look for from your puppy's vantage point. Anything you can see that would be interesting to your puppy you will need to remove.

Another thing to remove from your puppy's level is certain house plants. A lot of house plants are poisonous to animals. With your puppy's natural inclination to chew, this can be a very dangerous situation. Some of the more common poisonous plants include: amaryllis, azalea, caladium, daffodils, holly, iris, ivy, mistletoe, marcissus, poinsettia, rhododendron, tulips, and yews. A good rule of thumb is to just have all house plants, and if your puppy will be outside those plants as well, kept out of your puppy's reach.

Now from dangerous to necessary, we move to having all the supplies for your puppy before you bring him home. It is a good idea to do a little brainstorming before bringing puppy home to determine what supplies he will need and have this on hand before you need them. A short list of items you will need would include: a crate, collar and leash, identification tags, food and water bowls, grooming tools, and good puppy chew toys.

The Dog Guide has a great article about caring for puppies.

It talks about the importance of training your puppy to go to the bathroom. Also, the article reminds us that puppies in a specific dog breed have higher energy levels than the adult dogs in the same breed.

Read the whole article.