Puppy is coming home...help!

[Sandra]

OK, so if you could do it all over again....when your new puppy arrived home for the first time...what would you do differently?  Our "Daisy" is coming home in 2 weeks and while we have all of her supplies already, we've puppy-proofed the house, we have interviewed her vet, we have read all the books and even watched most of the Dog Whisperer videos with the kids, what do we have yet to do...?  thoughts/suggestions/comments?

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Do you have a large stock of paper towels and Nature's Miracle or some other scent remover/cleaner? ;)  We went through a lot of that the first few weeks.

 

Also - I don't think any amount of good preparation truly fully prepares you, every puppy is different and will have different needs you'll have to adapt to :)

 

I'm sure you'll be fine!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Lots of band aids for all the little bites and scratches you are going to get!!!!  Those puppy teeth and nails are something else!  Enjoy your new baby.  You are as ready as you can be and we are here for you if something comes up!

[Sandi]

Take more photos,

[Holly (Jax & Bandit)]

Sleep late a whole lot before she comes home as puppies are kinda like babies - they tend to wake up EARLY :)

[Steve]

Congratulations on you new puppy.  You are gonna love him!

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

We wish we knew about Doodle Kisses when we got our first Doodle Sydney.  You are way ahead of the game and you seem very well prepared.  Enjoy your new puppy, even with all of the work, there is nothing like a puppy and especially a Doodle.  They are so quirky and lovable!

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

If I had it to do again, I would be more dedicated to crate training.  I was so in love with baby Dexter and I couldn't bear to put him in a crate.  I wish we had stuck with it.

The other thing is that we had no idea about feeding/treats.  We gave Dex every piece of crap treat that existed.  He wound up with a lot of ear infections and is now on grain free food.  I would be more careful about what we fed a puppy.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I would watch him more closely this time around. I knew that I should be watching him nonstop of course, but I did get a little bit lax at times. This resulted in a few unnecessary accidents, as well as the loss of my favorite shoes. Some members have tethered there dog to them with a leash so they were constantly near them. I think I would have done that!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Have you asked around and found a good groomer?  I had the groomer come and do Rooney right away.  Just a bath and nail trim, then the next month a little bit more, till now, at 7 months he actually loves his groomer and will fall asleep during the full grooming (except for the bath - doesn't like getting wet).  Start early and your puppy will not fear being groomed.

 

We have one now but get a Little Green Machine for the potty training boo boos.  Rooney of course doesn't have those any more but it does great on cat cackup too.

 

Then just relax and enjoy yourselves!!!!!

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

I totally agree - we have a spot bot and have used it a million times!!  I would definitely get a small deep cleaner.

[Joyce & Wilson]

LOL  Cat cackup!!  Love it Jane!  I have two cats who cackup every once in awhile... im still laughing!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

You say you have puppy proofed, but have you really puppy proofed.  Get down on the floor on your tummy and look at everything from that angle -- if there is anything that you are going to be devastated that it gets chewed up (including rugs, furniture legs, end tables, antique anything, remove it!  Start practicing putting your shoes up, no clothing left anywhere that the puppy can get to it.  Socks to the hamper,   Puppies are just like kids, in that they can find things to get into that we never dreamed possible.  The very first day our girls were home Sophie jumped up and started to chew on the knob on the kitchen cabinets.  I thought we were in big trouble.  Fortunately, as it turns out ours didn't end up being big chewers for which I am very grateful.

 

Oh, and start looking into Pet Insurance and get a policy in place soon.

 

Good Luck, we look forward to lots of pictures.