Hi, I am new here and new to the world of puppies. We are hoping to collect ours just under 3 weeks time and so trying to get ready. I've been reading articles and posts for quite a while and some days it fills me with excitement but sometimes I am wondering what we are getting ourselves into! Mostly I can't just wait. As I am trying to get ready, I've been thinking about toys, which ones, would you say , would be good to have right from the beginning, should I take toys with me when we go to collect him? Which toys did your puppies like best in the early days?
Hi and welcome to the forum! I too am on my first puppy (had dogs growing up but not able to have my own until now), so am very much learning on the hoof or paw! Kongs are very popular (although my boy just does not like them) with my boy I got chew toys such as some squeaky rugby balls, some puppy "starter pack" bones (great for the chewing), a rope ball on a rope, and a couple of soft stuffed toys - one of which is a long legged squeaky monkey, which he loved since day one is is still, 4 months later his favourite comfort toy. As time has gone on I have found he loves to rip and destroy (luckily he's not shown any inclination to eat any of these) tissues, cardboard boxes, paper bags and magazines! I can honestly say getting Bailey was the best decision we've ever made (despite the occasional day wondering what the heck we've got ourselves into during the worst of the crocopup days, including sitting on a bench in the pouring rain, crying my eyes out after being bitten for the fifty millionth time that day and to top it all off Bailey rolling in fresh fox poop and then when he jumped up to comfort me because I was crying getting said fox poop in my hair ) and I would not be without him. When we went to collect Bailey we had about an hours journey, I took a blanket, a puppy pee pad and his collar and lead set...wish I had taken a toy with me as although I had him in my arms/on my lap he was investigating the back of the car, chewing on me and the seat belt clip and howling for a large part of the journey! But we all survived it and Bailey settled in really quickly. Are you getting a boy or girl and have you chosen a name yet? We all love puppy photos on here too Good luck
Thank you for your reply, you absolutely illustrate my point about the occasional worries. I have an exciting 6 year old who can't wait for the puppy and I am going through a phase of preparing her that puppies would want to play and chew and bite, she just said so we will get him lots of toys to chew and bite instead. She hasn't even read any puppy book yet! She has an answer and solution for everything. We are getting a boy, yellow one. The breeder has a theme for the name which she register them with but we yet need to choose our name for him. Her theme for the litter is precious and semi precious stones so he'd be registered as Topaz, that's the stone we chose, and we thought we decide on the actual name once we've got him, but as we keep talking about him, we started to use Topaz and started to like it more and more. We are going to visit next weekend for the first time, so we'll see if we can work out what name would suit him. I find choosing names the hardest thing.
My puppy didn't take to his dog toys at first, we then went to my in laws who had a cat and he was mesmerised by all the cat toys, so I bought him some of those & he loved them! He does enjoy a kong, although I don't think I have an addict like some of the puppies on here. But I'd definitely give them a try! He also has some soft toys and squeaky toys. "Lovey" has been his favourite from Day 1 and he won't go to bed without him. We got ones with no stuffing in the body incase he chewed them. He absolutely stinks and I daren't wash him incase he no longer finds him comforting! Stanley was a nightmare pup, he cried constantly and we still have the occasional crocopup moment. He's currently stolen my tea towel off the work top and is running around the garden with his prize. But I couldn't be without him now, and all the good things eventually start outweighing the bad. I already miss my teeny tiny puppy that wouldn't go to sleep unless he was being cuddled so enjoy him!
Gotta love your daughters confidence I am sure she will be brilliant with your boy when he arrives and they will be lifetime best buddies. Know what you mean about choosing names, although when I saw Bailey the name popped into my head because he's the colour of a glass of Baileys Irish Cream with a piece of ice . One of my favourite drinks Excited times and please do enjoy the tiny puppy phase - it really does not last long at all it only seems like yesterday that Bailey arrived at 8 weeks and now he seems huge and is six months old, I was looking at the first photos we took of him the other day and it made me really broody
I sat in the back with Winnie when we brought her home, we had a soft crate on the seat and she sat in there with me next to her. I had the crate open so I could stroke her and she behaved beautifully. Winnie loves a soft toy, she doesn't (yet) destroy them just the odd shake and throw around the living room. She loves to carry them around and always greets us with one, she does love a Kong and they have been a real winner. I absolutely believe this has helped her not be a big chewer. Top tip though is to take loads of photos they grow so quickly, each stage will make you smile ( and sometimes cry) but you cannot underestimate the amount of love and joy your new pup is about to bring. So in those 'will this ever end' moments just hang in there they pass and enjoy years of friendship and love.
Thanks for lovely replies and tips. Will get some toys to come with us. Can't wait to meet him on Monday and we shall then take him home in 2 wks time. Will definitely take lots of photos. @Branston1080: I was thinking about taking a soft crate as well. Have been reading lots of reviews on crates these past days? Which one did you get? I saw pet planet has good reviews on soft crates. I am thinking about getting a smaller size first.
Take something he can chew when you go to collect him. They can be crocapups from the start, Tatze was. I took a puppy Nylabone and was glad of it! ...
A soft crate could be a waste of money if your pup hates the car and wants out! Twiglet was like this and ripped holes in her soft crate in one car journey. ...
They all are different aren't they? And it's hard to know in the early days what works. Trial and error and I am sure lots of surprises and fun along the way!
Are you going with someone? Stanley was really frightened when we picked him up so I just cuddled him on my knee. Gave him loads of fuss and talked to him gently. I think putting him in a crate would have scared him even more and it was a nice time to start bonding with him.
Edsel making the long trip home that first day. Slept 3 hours by my feet. So tiny! Image by lorilou61 posted Aug 25, 2016 at 12:21 PM
We took a small throw blanket with us when we picked up Hershey, and gave his mom and brother a good rub down with it to get their smell all over it. He loves his blanket he will bury himself in it at, not sure how long the scent lasts but it does seem to comfort him. It took us 7 hours to get home, and he was so good riding in the backseat with my 13 year old son, the first 15 -20 minutes were rough but after that he settled down nicely. For toys he has a little soft butterfly and a green frog with that crinkly stuff inside he really likes, anything with a tag on it will do for him though. I got a puppy pack of Nylabones, the only one he cared about was the edible flavored one, the other 2 he just doesn't care for. Above all his favorite thing to play with and nibble on is my big toes. But this is just day 5 for us here I'm sure things will change rapidly.
I'm sort of a whacko about dogs and car safety, so I'd say a small sturdy plastic crate (not soft - he'll just eat it eventually) which you can safely secure in the car in the back seat (not in front in the path of the air bag). Some nice blankets/towels will help keep him cozy and (as others have said) a filled Kong could him him occupied. I know, I'm a worry wart, but it freaks me out to see people with puppies or small dogs on their lap in the front seat! Have a wonderful time with your new baby - count me as jealous!
Hello from me and my boy Pongo - puppy days are so exciting! If I could recommend just one thing to get it would be some vetbed. We got a piece about 90cm by 120cm and cut it in two - one piece for the car and one for the house. It instantly became Pongo's FAVOURITE toy, comforter, enemy (for wrestling), friend (for cuddling), trophy (for prancing round the house with), bed, floor protector. Two and a half years later and both pieces are still perfectly intact although nowhere near white any more. (Right now he is sleeping on it by my feet.) His other favourite toys were old cardboard boxes and empty lemonade bottles. All the expensive toys we'd bought were more or less ignored..... Get the genuine vetbed, not the imitations - it's not cheap but worth every penny. We took one piece in the car to collect him with and he snuggled up on it nicely on my knee. We also had loads of newspapers and old blankets for him to be on when awake. That was just as well because he really didn't enjoy the journey, he was sick, pooed, wee-ed, everything - poor love. I was worried that it would have a lasting effect, but no - as soon as he got out of the car he was happy and bouncing around exploring the world.
Get him a cuddly stuffed toy the approximate size he is to cuddle with in his crate at night. I didn't have one since I figured he'd just destroy it soon enough, but in the end I decided to sew him one. He both destroys it during the day, and cuddles it at night lol He rests his little head on its body and falls asleep, so cute But don't spend a lot because I'm sure it'll end up with the ears ripped off and the stuffing all out soon enough xD He enjoys the Kong puppy teething stick, the brown Nylabone puppy chew, and goes nuts for tennis balls (we have a squishy pink one and a regular tennis one, he loves both). He also loves an old bath robe that's in several pieces. I bought him some teething keys but he doesn't seem that wild about those. Oh, he also loves this a lot: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B1ONZSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Dual purpose because I squeeze it to get his attention to work on recall.
