When you’re getting ready to bring a new puppy home, you’re going to have to get a lot of supplies. Your new puppy is going to need to be comfortable, well-fed, and entertained. Here are a few things that you should be on your shopping list when you’re ready to get a puppy.
Furniture Protection
Some people don’t want their puppies on the furniture. While it’s understandable that they want to keep their furniture in good condition, that isn’t a really practical or considerate policy. Your puppy wants to be where you are most if not all of the time. Forcing physical distance between you is going to cause your puppy unnecessary anxiety and could lead to separation anxiety symptoms that persist for years. Let your pup up on your couch and other seating areas. Use blankets made of comfortable fleece fabric so you won’t have to worry about cleaning fur off of everything all of the time and you can just toss a blanket in the wash whenever you see fur accumulating.
Floor Protection
It may be smart to get an additional layer of protection to sit between pee pads and the floor. Most pee pads including “heavy duty” pads aren’t one hundred percent waterproof, and a slight miss could make for a little bit of mess. Urine can easily soak into flooring, particularly hardwood floors and also between the cracks of laminate flooring materials. When this happens, it can create lasting damage that permeates all the way down to the baseboards. The odor can be difficult to address. It’s generally a good idea to put a layer of plastic between your pee pads and the floor unless it’s a really impenetrable material like marble slab. You can use a baby splash mat that new parents put under high chairs or a vinyl mat that’s specifically sized to fit puppy pads.
You should also consider protecting your flooring where your puppy eats and drinks. A lot of puppies are messy when they’re drinking water, so a lot of it can end up on the floor instead of down the hatch. Get a pet feeding mat that’s easy to clean. You may be inclined to get a mat that has grippers with ridges or grooves that grab onto little bits of food, but bear in mind that these are a lot tougher to clean off and may not have much practical utility.
Harness
It’s going to take your new puppy a while to learn the ropes of leash manners. It’s important that you start your lessons with a comfortable harness. Puppies’ little necks are fragile, especially with small breed dogs. Walking your puppy with a leash attached to a harness instead of a collar will help to keep your little one safe from injury. Also, your fur baby will be as comfortable as possible while you orient him or her the world.
A harness should fit snugly, but you may want to get a slightly big fit. Your puppy is going to grow fast, so you should look for a harness that’s adjustable so you can loosen it up as he or she gets bigger.
Your new furry family member is going to be biting stuff almost nonstop. This is a natural instinct for puppies. They don’t have hands, so most of their tactile exploration and interaction with the world is through their mouths.
Furthermore, your puppy is going to be teething for a while. Dogs start losing their first set of teeth when they are a few months old, and the process of getting permanent teeth generally lasts until they are about eight or nine months old. During this time, the puppies' mouths are going to hurt considerably. Biting hard on stuff with a variety of densities and textures helps puppies alleviate their pain and the anxiety that they feel due to the physical stress of teething. In this phase of puppies’ development, they may be inclined to chew on your furniture, clothing, and even your person.
Giving your puppy an assortment of better stuff to bite is a good way to deter damage to your personal items and play nips that can leave you with cuts. Puppies’ first set of teeth is razor sharp to quicken weaning, so you’ll want to have plenty of stuff around to bite on besides you.
Having a puppy is an adventure, and it’s probably going to involve more time and more supplies than you anticipated. Give your puppy a great start in life by making sure to get everything that you’ll need.
