When you are about to get a puppy, you must be prepared. Before you decide on a puppy, you need to do your homework. Decide on a breed that best aligns with your preferences and needs, such as one of the available Goldendoodle puppies from Fox Creek Farm Goldendoodles & Bernedoodles, for example, if you live an active lifestyle. Once you’ve decided on who your new fur baby will be, it’s time to prepare to bring them home. Keep in mind that they need special care, and you must know things that will help you and make your life as least difficult and stressful as possible. Hopefully, you’ve already started preparing and planning before you bring your new loved one home. Here are some things that you need to know when getting a puppy.

Establish Boundaries

A puppy needs special attention for the first six weeks of its life. It is also very sensitive, especially in the first few days when it is very small. It should be kept warm during these times. You can buy baby blankets that are waterproof and you can use them all the time when you have a puppy at home. Make sure that you also provide your puppy with his or her own playpen. This will be a designated zone for it until it is trained to be allowed in other parts of the house. The main designated place you need to have for your puppy in a crate. It’s important that he or she understands the crate is used for quiet time–when you are out of the house or it’s bedtime. It might be a good idea to provide a doggy bed for their playpen so that you don’t have to keep switching from the crate.

Establish Healthy Habits

You need to prepare your pet’s food before getting a puppy. The type of food that you give is very important as establishing nutrition is important in the early years. They need protein, fatty acids, carbohydrates, calcium, minerals, vitamins, etc.

Puppies also need exercise. You need to make sure that it has enough space and it will not grow bored. Since puppies usually have very short attention spans and they like to run around a lot, it is important to provide your puppy with a lot of toys so that he or she can spend hours playing. Make sure that your puppy is socialized by being around other pets and by playing with your neighbors. They like to be around people so make sure that your puppy has some human contact every day. 

A very important thing that you need to be ready for is the mess that your puppy may produce in the house. You need to be prepared to clean up the mess if there is one because your puppy cannot control his or her waste. Placing potty pads in several areas is crucial in this stage since it will take some time to potty train them.

Establish Security

One of the most important things that you need to do when having a puppy is to buy a collar. There are many types of collars that you can get for your puppy. You should make sure that the collar you get is made of leather or otherwise sturdy so that your dog will not be able to chew through it. The collar should have a tag with your current and relevant contact information. A leash is needed too so that you’re able to teach it how to stay close to you while on walks and to protect it from other dogs and hazards like traffic. You should also have the puppy microchipped immediately. You can’t be too careful or have too many fail-safes when it comes to your new friend running away or getting lost.

But perhaps most importantly of all puppy essentials, you want to make sure that your new puppy is covered in case any emergencies or unexpected health issues arise. It’s often the case that 1 in 3 pets will experience some kind of emergency situation in their lives. Are you going to leave that to chance? There’s no need to stress too much because there are companies out there that offer optimum care at very affordable prices. 

Owning a dog is a life-changing and fulfilling experience. Be sure to explore more resources and set you and your new loved one up for success.