How to Prepare for a Puppy

Thinking about getting a dog? Great!

Are you ready? Have you bought the fun things like bowls and collars? Have you thought about a potty training schedule? Or what kind of training you plan on doing in general? Have you looked into the millions of opinions on how to raise a puppy? There is a lot to think about before you even invite a puppy into your home!

Who am I to be writing this? I’m a dog mom of two years. I got a puppy during college in a house of 8 other girls and another dog, with only 5 bedrooms. I raised a puppy in one of the worst places you could! I made mistakes and I hope to let other people know what I learned. Now, my dog turned out alright, but we’re never going to be done training I think! Luckily, I had advice from my friend who trained her own service dog, but other than that I raised my Lucy on my own, which was a blessing and a curse. I’ve also been doing a lot of research and have compiled some of this knowledge here, along with resources at the end of this!

I’m sure you’ve found that there are so many opinions and they’re all based on 1-2 specific dogs that someone has had. Sometimes, you’ll find posts from veterinarians or vet techs or maybe someone in school to be a vet. Either way, there is A LOT of information and misinformation out there and I want to help guide you through these to find credible ways to prepare to bring home your new best friend!

Let’s start with the basics, make a checklist of all of the things you need to buy.

• Food and water bowls
• Collar(s); you might need a few sizes as your puppy grows!
• Leash or leashes; I like a short lead and a long one for training
• Puppy food; ask a vet to recommend some that have worked well with other dogs of this or similar breeds (more below)
• Training treats
• Toys
• Potty accident cleaning supplies (it will happen, so just be ready)
• A crate big enough for them to grow into
• Optional: potty training bells, gates to block off parts of your home, chew deterrent, blanket(s), and everything else you can think of that might not be necessary, but could help to keep around.

Now for the part you probably haven’t thought about… training.

Have you thought about the training style you want to use on your dog? The most common is obedience training. I recommend finding videos of how to do this at home first, but consider going to a trainer if you need help or if it isn’t working.

How are you going to socialize your puppy? Where can you go to get him/her around other dogs? Where can they meet people? What area are they going to be raised in? A city where they need to learn to walk on sidewalks and ignore passerby? On some land where they’ll need to know boundaries? Will they be raised with other dogs? How are you going to handle barking? Who is going to be doing the training? One person in your home? You and your significant other? What about kids and how you want them to handle the puppy?
Again, there is so much to consider and plan for!

What about puppy-proofing?
The last thing you want is to bring a new puppy home just for it to destroy your things or even worse, get hurt. I like to think of this as a trial for baby proofing–anything a baby could get should probably go. Except you don’t have to worry as much about stairs and sharp corners!
You need to make sure cords and shoes are put away, as they are often a target for teething puppies. You’ll also want to make sure any medication is out of reach, or anything else that could harm them if ingested. Puppies experience the world through their senses, much like human babies do, so you should expect your dog to try some pretty strange things. Sometimes, you need to pull rugs off the floor during potty training to avoid damaging the rug and keeping an appealing potty spot away for a while.

Resources to check out:
chewy.com
Zak George Dog Training
Upstate Canine Academy (one of my personal favorites)
Dog training book list here
Paid subscription to scientific dog journals here
Searching for “dog training near me”

This is not a total list and every dog is different! Feel free to ask me questions or recommend things for your dog! I’d also just love to hear from you!