Hello all, Nearly time for us to collect our pup (end of July), rather quite excited as this will be our very first puppy/dog in the house I was hoping for people that have had puppies in past or have them recently for a list of essential items i need ready for when our pup arrives. at present i have the below: Crate Kongs Blankets Playpen Bowls for water and food Few toys Fleeced mat Is there anything else i have missed that you would recommend Also what is the best bedding to put in a crate - i have been looking at the vet bed but am unsure if this is necessary to buy yet and maybe a future purchase for when he is older, maybe for now just buy a normal fleece bedding? Can you also give 8 - 9 week old pup chews treats like antlers, Nylabones etc? sorry for long post look forward to hearing your input
Good morning ( here in the UK) you sound very prepared and excited ..it's so lovely getting ready for your puppy. Have you got a little puppy collar and a very light puppy lead to start working with? My dog always had a piece of vet bed in his crate but he came to live with us at 5 months and he was never a bed chewer or shredder so that worked for us..... For me antlers are too hard for even an adult dog....I did go out and buy one after they were mentioned on the forum but I never used it ......we've discussed before about the 'thumbnail rule ' where anything that you can't dig your thumbnail into is too hard for your dog
(Sorry,my wifi is a bit erratic at the mo.. I didn't mean to finish abruptly) My dog does have nylabones even though they break the thumbnail rule ,but we hold them when he chews on then and if he starts crunching down too hard we take them away.... Kongs,kongs for me really are your best bet....fill,them with something tasty and mushy and easy to get at and your puppy will love them ...as he/ she grows up and understands about them you can start to freeze them to make them last longer... Cardboard can be Useful for chewing satisfaction too,I I used cardboard tubes and boxes a lot when my boy was little,a toilet roll with a few prices of kibble in and scrunch the ends up will give a puppy some fun....just supervise so they don't start munching up the cardboard too....but then even if they do eat a bit it's not a disaster...you will see it again! What are you getting a boy or a girl and have you chosen a name ? X
Small toys which fit in pockets for putting in crocapup mouths. These are ideal - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petstages-...UTF8&qid=1467703029&sr=8-2&keywords=petstages
Oh, how exciting! What a lovely time. On the vet bed question - I think it was the best thing we ever bought for our Pongo. He came to us at 10 weeks of age and we had two pieces of vet bed ready (well, actually one big bit cut in half). One went in his crate area and one was in the living room. They were his BEST toys, cuddle blankets, chews....everything, from day one. Vet bed isn't cheap (we nearly didn't buy it when we saw the price compared to other fleeces) but has been worth every penny. Both pieces of vet bed are still with us (although not very white any more!), and still his favourite things to lie on, run round the house with, play tuggy game with. Pongo is now two and half years old. So I'd say get the vet bed now! Enjoy this preparation time (and get ready for a roller-coaster ride when the pup arrives, labradors puppies can be exhausting and challenging.....we've all been there!.....but come and share any issues here on the forum and we'll all help!)
Hi Thanks for the reply – much appreciated I think perhaps a visit to the pet shop is required as I didn’t know about the thumbnail rule, I brought the puppy kong and to me it seems really small so I may end up buying a medium one too Cardboard/ toilet roll is a good idea too and cost effective – thanks Regards to collar and lead – I have not brought this yet as there is so much to choose from and different sizes so im confused which one is right for a puppy lol – maybe a trip to pet shop is required – I do prefer harnesses though We are getting a boy – name wise we are leaning towards Marley or Archie but we cant decide yet lol
excellent feedback regarding Vetbed - good to know Would Amazon be best place to buy Vetbed or do petsathome stock this?
We bought just a soft mesh harness from a pet shop for the first couple of weeks, then moved to a puppia harness, they are lovely,very soft and adjustable. A few members have used the puppia harness. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Puppia-Harness-Black-Medium/dp/B003U073XE We also use vet bed from day one, not just for the crate, but we have a few of the largest size, (non slip) for our flooring downstairs as we have wood and tile which can be a bit slippy. Bramble loves her kongs, and size wise we went straight to medium. The small ones are really teeny! Re: chewing you can get nyla bones designed for puppies which are softer. We bought a HUGE chew root which she has had in her crate from day one, and will gnaw that for ages. https://www.greenandwilds.co.uk/chewroots/
I'm 4.5 weeks into first puppy ownership, so this is very fresh for me! Just a couple of things that haven't been mentioned: newspapers. Lots of them. Use them to line the crate and to put by the back door. old towels to put by the back door to wipe mucky puppy feet. raid your child's or a friend's child's toy box for old stuffed toys. Xena loves my kid's old plushies. ask friends/family for old blankets etc. The only bedding I bought new was the kiwi equivalent of your vet bed, and atm I'm just using that for nights. During the day she snoozes on old thick duvets and fleece blankets that a friend used to use for her dogs. I don't know what I'd do without them! floor cleaner to eliminate smells after accidents! UK peeps will be able to give you a brand. stock up on paper towels to wipe up aforementioned accidents.
Hi @Amar how very exciting, everyone has everything covered I think. I'd get some Simple Solution to use for floor cleaner, it eliminates smells. I found it a really good product. I also use Sanidog now she's older for general cleaning of my kitchen floor which I get from Ocado. It smells gorgeous but can be extremely expensive if you don't shop around. Looking forwArd to some photos.
Thanks so far for all your assistance, there are some great ideas so far This is Marley/Archie at 5 weeks old – I think he is going to be a chunky thing
Aw, sweetie-pie! Pongo looked just like that. Now he is 42kg of muscular labrador! For vet-bed supplies - we got ours from Pets At Home, but it is sold on amazon too I think. And yes, I'd second the suggestion of cleaner spray. It needs to be the sort specifically for cleaning up animal urine - so it doesn't contain the chemicals that actually smell like urine to a dog, and therefore encourage more wee-ing! Pongo was a bit of a furniture-chewer. If that is a problem for your pup, we found that the Pets At Home Chew Deterrent spray worked really well.
We got a child gate so we could keep Holly in the kitchen. We've hung on to it into her adult life as its useful when anyone comes to the front door. We also spent some time crawling around the house with our heads at puppy height. We looked quite daft, but it had the serious purpose of seeing the world from a puppy's perspective. It allowed us to notice (and move) several things that a puppy might be able to reach, for example the cable for the fridge.
Hi all, Thanks again for wonderful comments and assistance – the more the better, One question I have is – what time does a puppy usually wake up? I have booked the first 2 weeks off work to settle him but im a little worried as I start work at 6am and my wife starts works around the same time, My parents are home but they work a late shift from 2-3pm so I don’t really want them to wake up too early like around 7am and for them to walk him early morning and then get my daughter ready for school and take her, Is there possibilities that a young pup could be trained to wake up later – I know this is a silly question kind of asking the same with a baby lol – I mean like if I feed him later around 8-9pm or wake up earlier like 4am to take him toilet and put back to sleep until he is able to make it through the night?
He will wake up very early to begin with, it is exhausting, but within about three weeks mine was sleeping until 8am. However, I think it is going to be more difficult for you as you both get up early and go to work and this is bound to disturb him. Don't feed him until 8am at the very beginning and then it will become a habit he will accept.
I think there are two different issues - how to manage the time while your pup is being house-trained and developing bladder control, and then what the best routine is after that. For the first..... well, as people have said, there isn't really an easy answer until he is old enough to hold his wee all night. For the second, though, I'd share what our breeder told us - your dog should be fine adapting to whatever daily routine you have, as long as he gets enough exercise, attention, stimulation, company and sleep overall. She advised us that dogs are very adaptable, and will quickly fit in with your day. As long as he is getting his daily walks, lots of games to play, good food, kindness and company he won't mind if you are early risers, late risers, shift workers, or whatever.... he will get used to it. Others might disagree, but that's what we were told and it seems to be true of Pongo!
He's lovely! When it comes to waking they are all different when tiny. I woke Kara at 7am today, she had slept from 10pm with one wee in the night which she didn't disturb me for. (She's eight weeks old) But Twiglet woke much earlier until she was about 5 months old. I don't think sleep times can be trained, just encouraged! But once they can hold their bladders then they will fit in with your routines, no problem. Be warned 'tho - baby pups are a FULL ON commitment for the first 20 weeks at least. Nothing else gets done. But they are enormous fun! ...
Coming a little late to this discussion but the most useful puppy item I've bought so far is a spray cleaning mop for my floors! This mop is amazing, truly, and has made my life much easier than the mop+bucket that I was using at first: http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/bona-spray-mop-kit-021363 (there are two varieties - wood floor or tile floor. The wood floor cleaner can be used on tile surfaces, but the tile floor version is not suitable for wood). I also had a lot of difficulty finding a collar and lead that worked for my dog. The very light puppy collar and lead that I started with was quite harsh on the puppy's neck when she pulled (though your pup might be better at this than mine...) After trying several collars I finally found one that both I and the puppy like: https://www.activehound.co.uk/products/ruffwear-hoopie-collar The collar is very light webbing but nice and wide (better to distribute the pressure on the dog's neck) and the click buckle is easy to put on and take off with one hand. My puppy is very sensitive to any restraints and she accepted this without much protest at all. I would recommend it. The small size should be fine for a lab puppy and will hopefully give you a bit of growth (for comparison: my 15 week old spaniel is on the very smallest setting on the small size and it's quite roomy).
What a sweetie...you will have many years of love and fun with him I am sure! When we brought Bailey home we were so lucky with nightimes - we were prepared to be woken during the night to take him out and had even worked out who would do what trips. We had him in his bed, in a crate beside our bed. First night came and he slept right through until we woke him at 8am...and he has never woken us up since. In fact most mornings I get up and leave the two boys (my OH and my fur-baby) sound asleep and snoring for another hour or more! If we have had a particularly busy weekend then Bailey can sleep until 9am
I bought two of these for my dogs, after reading your post. They're really nice, well-made collars. Thanks for the recommendation. Our old ones had faded badly (having been left out in the sun to dry for ages, because they were padded) and these make them look very well-dressed again. With shiny new Indigo collar tags, which I also love.
