What do you Need to Bring Home Your New Puppy? - McCann Professional Dog Trainers

What do you Need to Bring Home Your New Puppy?

A new puppy will breathe lots of new life and a bit of chaos into any household! Are you ready for it? Here's a simple list of the basic tools you'll need to get the right start with your new pup.

Crate

This will be your saving grace! A crate will keep the puppy safe when you can't supervise. Get a crate that will fit the adult dog, but use a divider to section off space so that the pup only has a small area. They should have enough room to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. If they have more space than this, they are likely to pee in one area and live in the other, so too much space can be detrimental to house training.

Bedding

You may need more than one! Having beds in different areas of the house will give your pup a place to go to relax. When you leave your pup unsupervised in the crate with bedding, be sure they aren't yet in their chewing stages. If you notice them chewing their bedding, you may have to reassess their safety with it until you can be assured that they won't chew and swallow pieces.

Leash & Collar

You'll need a leash and collar to walk your pup safely outdoors, but you should also have a house leash or line. This is something that your dog should have on all of the time while they are loose from their crate. 99% of the time, you won't need it, but when the time comes that you need to catch a naughty puppy, it will teach them right away that playing catch-me-if-you-can is not a fun game with you.

Food

Most breeders will send you home with a portion of food to get you started, but it's good to know ahead of time what your pup has been eating and have a bag ready for their arrival.

Toys

You'll want some soft toys to play with with your dog, but keep in mind they'll need chew toys as well. You can get chew toys geared specifically for puppies, but watch them closely as they grow and develop. You'll need to make sure the toys they are chewing are safe for them to do so. If there are concerns at all, like fraying or coming apart, they'll need to be removed.

Treats

You'll want to take every opportunity you can to train your new puppy, so small training treats are a must. In addition, all good puppies deserve a cookie! Get your cookie jar filled up and ready for your new addition.

Patience

You'll need a lot of it! Puppies are busy, loud, naughty and loads of fun! Check out our previous post on The Top 10 Reasons NOT to get a Puppy to be sure you're ready for the challenges you'll be presented with. Keep your patience level high and your sense of humour sharp and you'll enjoy every moment of puppyhood - it will be over in a blink!

Hi! I'm Shannon Viljasoo and I joined the McCann team in 1999 while training Quincey, my wonderful and spirited Rottweiler, to have good listening skills. I'm the Director of Online Training and Content for McCann Professional Dog Trainers and I enjoy writing about dogs and dog training for the McCann blog. I currently share my life with 2 Tollers (Reggie & Ned) and I love helping people develop the best possible relationship with their 4-legged family members.

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