Puppy checklist: Preparing your home for your puppy

You wouldn’t bring home a new baby without purchasing a crib, diapers, and other essentials right? Of course not! This week we are going to talk about how to properly ready your home for the arrival of a new fur baby before they arrive.

The day you bring home your puppy will be one of the most stressful days of their lives – they will be leaving the only home and family they have ever known to be brought into a new world with complete strangers. As such, it is incredibly important to have an area for your puppy already established before their arrival in order to make this transition easier on them. If you allow your puppy to have access to the entire house as soon as they come home, your puppy will actually become overwhelmed by all the space they now have access to. Giving them a space in the home that is all their own will provide them with a sense of security and stability, and will also prevent them from getting into things they shouldn’t. The area you choose to be your puppy’s resident living space for their first few weeks at home should ideally be somewhere you and your family spend lots of time so he or she can be included in daily activities and you can have a constant visual on them. I myself blocked off and puppy proofed the entire living room days before Sprout and Sullivan came home; tucking away wires and setting up some ‘puppy essentials’ such as their crate and bed.

Here are a few tips for setting up a safe and fun puppy area;

• Use baby gates or a doggy playpen to block off the area; these are easy to move as you expand your puppy’s space but still provide a clear and consistent barrier

• Remove any exposed wires from the floor that your puppy could chew on

• Remove any plants that may be toxic to your puppy (full lists of these plants can be found online)

• Remove any small objects that your puppy may be able to ingest as these can be choking hazards and may lead to intestinal blockages if consumed (ie. children’s toys, yarn/string)

• Set up your puppy’s crate in the corner of the room/area – preferably in a quiet, secluded spot where your puppy will be able to rest undisturbed

• Provide your puppy with a water bowl

• Have one or two durable chew toys out so your puppy has something to help with their teething (all the rest of their toys should be out of reach and only played with when you say so)

• You may choose to provide your puppy with a bed in addition to their crate – if so place this bed in the puppy’s area as well

• If you’re using pee pads with your puppy place one in the puppy’s area, but be sure to keep a close eye on them so they don’t chew and ingest it

There are a few other essential puppy items that you won’t be leaving in the puppy’s space but you should still have in your home before they arrive.

Here’s a checklist of everything you’ll want to have before your puppy comes home;

• A crate

• A bed for the crate

• A travel crate (this one item paid for itself ten times over with Sprout! It made car rides a breeze and she had a crate to sleep in wherever we went. I highly recommend getting one even if you don’t plan on taking your puppy on long trips)

• A car seatbelt if your puppy will be too big to be crated in the car (this is what I did for Sullivan in order to keep him safe and secure in the car as well as to prevent any anxious pacing while he got used to the vehicle)

• A bed

• Strong, durable teething toys

• A food bowl and a water bowl

• Food (do your research! Find out what your breeder is feeding and research other options to decide what is best for your puppy)

• A collar and ID tag

• A leash

• Poop bags

• A brush (even if your puppy will not require regular grooming throughout their life, brushing them regularily is a great way to bond and get them comfortable being touched and handled)

• Puppy shampoo

• Baby gate(s) and/or a puppy playpen

• A doggy towel to wipe off muddy paws and dry your puppy after bath time

Preparing for the arrival of your new furry family member is easy to do and will make a world of difference for both your puppy and yourself. No one wants a stressed out puppy who destroys shoes and makes messes all over the house – set yourself and your puppy up for success by giving them a safe space of their own that is ready for them as soon as they arrive! Your future self and your puppy will thank you.