New Puppy Checklist 2020

Bringing a puppy into your home is exciting, full of love and smiles, but also stressful. You want to keep your pooch safe and provide them with everything you can to help them grow up to be happy and healthy. So, before that little furball joins your home, be sure to check these items off your list.

Food & Treats Made For Puppies

Puppies need to start off on a special diet and should not be given adult dog food until they’re between 18 and 24 months old. This is because puppy food is specially formulated to meet the nutritional needs of a developing and growing pooch. Therefore, giving a dog puppy food would be depriving them of some of the important nutrients they need to grow into healthy, strong adult dogs.

Puppy treats follow a similar thought process, in that they’re usually made for more sensitive stomachs and are packed with the essential nutrients to aid in their development process.

Puppy Toys, Of Course!

You can’t forget about your puppy’s toys. Not only will toys help you bond with your new pooch and help them release some energy, but they can also help prevent your pup from being destructive with your furniture and personal items. This is especially because your lil’ furball is going to teeth A LOT, and it’s better they have a toy made specifically for teething than the alternative of chewing up your couch.

Personalized Puppy Items

With a new pup comes a handful of items that you’ll need to get that will be personal to them.

• Food & Water Bowls: if you have another dog or another puppy in the house, it’s important that they have separate bowls so that neither gets territorial over food.
• Collar & Tags: Your puppy is going to need a collar with a tag displaying their name and your contact info, as well as tags that show they’re up to date on their shots.
• Bed: Just like food and water bowls, your pooch should get their own bed as well. This can help them feel more at home and give them a place to flop onto when they’re all tuckered out after playtime.

Starting Your Pup Off With a Good Grooming Routine

You want to start grooming early so that later on when they’re adult dogs, grooming will be a walk in the park and not an impossible mission; here are the items you’ll need:

• Toothbrush & Toothpaste: You’ll want to brush your pup’s teeth a couple of times a week, and at the very least once a week. Be sure only to use toothpaste and toothbrushes made for dogs, though.
• Nail Trimmers: If you don’t clip your pup’s nails, they can end up curling up and poking them in the paw, which can cause them a lot of discomfort.
• Puppy Brush: Regular brushing will help your pooch’s hair grow our nicely, improve their blood circulation, and can help scrub your pup down during bathtime.
• Puppy-Safe Shampoo: Just like toothpaste, you should never use any of your personal products on your pooch. Items that are safe for us can be extremely toxic and deadly for our canines, so be sure to get a shampoo and/or conditioner made for canines.

Puppy Training Necessities

If you want your puppy to start life off on the right paw, you need to start it with training. Here’s a list of things that can help with obedience training.

• Sit Means Sit Professional Trainers: It’s not easy training a puppy. They’re a lot of work, and if you want to set a proper foundation for their adult dog life, you have to be sure you’re properly training them. At Sit Means Sit, we offer various training programs, including our Puppy Management Program that will help take the stress out of training your new furball. Contact us today for a free evaluation!
• Crate: Your pup’s crate will not only assist in their training, but it also serves as their safe space, where they can retreat to if they feel overwhelmed, scared, or want time alone.
• Training Leash: These are a great way to introduce your pooch to harnesses and leashes.
• Harness: For when they’re ready, harnesses are recommended over leashes, especially if your pooch is a puller. A leash can end up pulling on their collar and causing them long term damage to their neck and throat, while a harness spread out the tension evenly.
• Training Pads: To help avoid accidents, training pads help teach your pup where the appropriate places to relieve themselves are and aren’t.
• Gates: If you want to keep your puppy restricted to a safe area, gates are an excellent way to accomplish this.

There’s a lot that goes into caring for a puppy, but it will all be worth it when they’re cuddled up next to you at the end up the day.