Tips For New Puppy Owners
If you've decided to take the plunge and adopt a puppy, there are a number of things you should know. First and foremost, your new puppy is a live animal that requires a lot of love and attention. If you aren't ready to take on the responsibility of taking care of your new puppy, don't bother bringing him home with you. He deserves to be loved and cared for, so if you aren't ready, leave him for someone else that can handle the responsibility. If you feel that you are ready, see below for other helpful tips for new puppy owners.
Make A Veterinary Appointment
After bringing your new puppy home, you should make a veterinary appointment right away to have your puppy looked at, to have vaccinations that he may not have had already, and just for a general checkup. The veterinarian will listen to his heart and lungs, and check his stomach to be sure he doesn't have any medical problems that you should be aware of.
Invest In A Crate
Crate training is a must with a new puppy. It helps prevent your puppy from getting into anything during the daytime when you aren't home and during the night while you're sleeping. It's to protect your puppy, while also helping to potty train him. Get a crate that will grow with him, but use the divider it came with to help make it small enough so there's only enough room for your puppy, not room for him to walk around. If you leave him too much room, he'll use the area to go to the bathroom, which is what you don't want.
Get The Right Food
Talk to your veterinarian about what type of food you should be giving your new puppy. You should continue using whatever he was used to eating, but if you want to change his food, you'll need to mix the two foods for awhile in order to get your puppy used to the new food. Also get some training treats to help train your puppy. Training treats are usually really small in size. Be sure to give your puppy fresh water every time he eats, and leave a small bowl of water so he can drink when needed, although this may result in your puppy needing to go out more often, so you may want limit water at first.
Let Your Puppy Out Often
Your puppy will need to potty often, so be sure to take him out every hour or so for the first week to two weeks. Take your puppy out onto a leash and walk him around the boundaries of your yard to help show your puppy where he is allowed to go.
Give Your Puppy Exercise
When you take your puppy outside, get him running, playing and exercising, not just lounging. Give him a toy inside and outside to play with to exercise his body and his mind.
A new puppy requires a lot of love and attention. Be sure if you are taking on the responsibility that you are prepared - your new furry buddy deserves the best you can give him.
