Taking Puppy Home
Congratulations on your new family member!
First let me say that I am a Grandmother and I fuss over my babies, so keep that in mind if you think that some of my suggestions are a little over the top. People have been raising puppies for hundreds – maybe thousands of years. But some of what I say may be very helpful because I've been doing this for a number of years myself – so here goes!
Please wait to take puppy to public places until your vet tells you it's safe. When you first bring your puppy home, the puppy has only had the first vaccination and is still vulnerable to getting life-threatening diseases. Don't take puppy to places where there have been a lot of dogs – no rest stops, dog parks, etc. Be prepared to take puppy for his/her first vet visit within the first week and follow your vet's advice. Don't let puppy interact with other pets or let it down on the floor in the waiting room at the vet's office until your puppy has finished the puppy shots. I'm not saying that your vet's office is dirty, but sick pets are going in and out and people have all kinds of germs on their shoes.
Preparation for your new puppy:
In closing, I hope that some of what I've said will be helpful to you in your new adventure with your puppy. I love these little guys and always want what is best for them and for you. Please don't hesitate to call or email me if I can answer any questions or help you through a rough spot.
Congratulations on your new family member!
First let me say that I am a Grandmother and I fuss over my babies, so keep that in mind if you think that some of my suggestions are a little over the top. People have been raising puppies for hundreds – maybe thousands of years. But some of what I say may be very helpful because I've been doing this for a number of years myself – so here goes!
Please wait to take puppy to public places until your vet tells you it's safe. When you first bring your puppy home, the puppy has only had the first vaccination and is still vulnerable to getting life-threatening diseases. Don't take puppy to places where there have been a lot of dogs – no rest stops, dog parks, etc. Be prepared to take puppy for his/her first vet visit within the first week and follow your vet's advice. Don't let puppy interact with other pets or let it down on the floor in the waiting room at the vet's office until your puppy has finished the puppy shots. I'm not saying that your vet's office is dirty, but sick pets are going in and out and people have all kinds of germs on their shoes.
Preparation for your new puppy:
- Decide what your rules are before you bring your puppy home. If you haven't done that ahead of time – right now is the time to sit down with the family and go over basic rules like: Jumping up on you. A puppy is cute when it jumps on your leg – a 55 pound dog is not. Is the puppy allowed on the furniture or beds? Does your puppy need to sit and wait while you are setting his/her dog food bowl down? What about when you sit down to have a meal? What do you do when the puppy nips? – (because that is how they are used to playing with their litter mates). What do you do when your puppy is chewing on something that is not allowed to be chewed on – perhaps having toys that are good to chew on and substituting for things the puppy is not supposed to chew on would be a good idea. Consistency is the key to a well-behaved dog. Whatever your long term goals are, the rules you try to follow should be the same on day one. It is so much easier to create good habits than to break bad ones.
- I crate my puppies at night and put their crates right next to our bed. Get a large crate, they'll grow into it. It's kind of like having their own bedroom. My experience is that a puppy gets used to it very quickly and likes being crated at night. For a fussy puppy, we have tried hot water bottles wrapped in a receiving blanket (not electric heating pads though). And there's that old alarm clock trick – you put the alarm clock in the crate with your puppy and it makes a ticking noise that fools your pup into thinking he/she is not alone - do alarm clocks even tick anymore? I have also held a fussy puppy for a while and then put it back in the crate. It did my heart good and made the puppy feel loved - so that's a good thing, but it may have made the howling go on longer, because now they know mom may come and pick me up if I howl hard enough and long enough. :-) Sometimes you just have to let the puppy cry for awhile that first few nights. (ear plugs anyone?) A sense of humor helps! Crating them with another puppy helps a lot – they are used to sleeping together - you could get two puppies! :-)
- Read everything you can get your hands on about potty training your new puppy if it has been awhile since you've done that. It will be a good refresher and if you've never done it, the information can be invaluable. My advice on potty training is that some intense work in the first few weeks can save you months and months of struggle. Puppies don't have complete bladder control until they are approximately 6 months old – so try not to get frustrated. Having said that, you must be the one who is on a tight schedule and the one who is disciplined. A puppy is kind of like a two-year old who is busy playing and forgets to take care of nature until it's too late – so the puppy “wets its pants” before getting to the bathroom. “Mom” or “dad” has to remind the puppy constantly, and it's “hit or miss”. Puppies will almost never soil their bed – so crate training can become instrumental in the potty training process. First thing in the morning I take the puppies from the crate, right to their spot outdoors and stay with them. After they've done their business I praise them and we go right back indoors. Then they play for about 15 minutes – I feed them breakfast and it's back outside. Some books suggest taking the puppies outside every half hour for the first few weeks. You can't just let your puppy out on his/her own if you want to reinforce what your puppy is out there for. :-) You have to be with your puppy and let him/her know how pleased you are that they “took care of business”. Yes, it is labor intensive – yes, it is frustrating and boring at times – but the payoff can be big once you have a puppy that knows what you want and wants to please you. A puppy almost always needs to potty after meals and right after first waking up from a nap...both are good times to go outside.
- I highly recommend puppy classes. I've been involved with training classes at our closest Petco and these classes are so valuable. Petco also has puppy socialization times where you can bring your puppy in for play dates. I repeat, please wait to take puppy to public places until your vet tells you it's safe. When you first bring your puppy home, it has only had the first vaccination and is still vulnerable to getting life-threatening diseases. My husband and I are both experienced dog trainers and we've still learned a bunch from going to class. (I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!) One of the most important things for us about puppy classes is that it has helped us stay disciplined about training. We are busy, time can slip by pretty fast and next thing you know, we realize we haven't put as much time as we should into training. Going to class is time spent training, but getting ready for next week's class is even better discipline – we have to get our practice time in before going to the next training class.
- Golden puppies are smart and easily bored. If you don't give them something to think about – they'll find something on their own and it may not be what you have in mind. :-) Do some research and find some toys that make your puppy use his/her brains. There are many websites that give you ideas about DIY toys that are simple like this site: https://www.care.com/c/stories/6147/17-diy-dog-toys-how-to-make-fun-safe-toys-f/ Many of the toys are food-related because most puppies are food-motivated. Kong toys are wonderful – your puppy can chew and chew and it doesn't seem to destroy the toy. You fill the toy with a treat (we use peanut butter or canned dog food). You can put the toy in the freezer – it takes your puppy longer to get the food out and is helpful when the puppy is teething. The frozen toy with the treat works great if you are going out and need to leave the puppy alone for awhile. I keep the treat-filled toys in the freezer all of the time and hand them out as needed. We also get beef shank bones from the grocery store. The bones last for a long time, have wonderful holes in the middle that can be filled, are safe for dogs and good for the puppy's teeth. No chicken or pork bones – they can shatter and be dangerous.
- If you have to leave your puppy alone, please be prepared. You are the whole universe to your puppy. The puppy left his/her mommy and daddy and all of those fun litter mates just to be with you. Your puppy's world is turned upside down and now you're thinking about leaving the puppy all by themselves, for maybe hours at a time!?! Maybe you can find someone to puppy sit? Or exchange puppy sitting time with a friend? Or find a dog sitting service in your area when you have to go to work? Or at the very least, come home at lunch time? If your puppy needs to stay home alone, the kitchen might be a good place to leave them. You can get a child gate for not too much money and close them in. Don't just crate your puppy without giving him/her a place to play with stimulating toys and a place to go to the bathroom. And please don't just leave your puppy in the backyard alone for hours on end thinking the puppy can entertain himself/herself. Goldens were bred to be good companions for you – they need “jobs” and they need attention. Many of them have become service dogs, and they are good at that. Often when people have a “problem” dog – it's really because the dog was left alone without attention and training – not the dogs fault!
- Leash training can be started right away. I like to use a halter at first and then graduate to a collar. I just love the Martingale collar – it is a gentle way to have a restraint type collar that is safe and good for training. Leash training can quickly become just like two friends taking a nice stroll together and not a constant battle if done with love, positive reinforcement and patience.
In closing, I hope that some of what I've said will be helpful to you in your new adventure with your puppy. I love these little guys and always want what is best for them and for you. Please don't hesitate to call or email me if I can answer any questions or help you through a rough spot.