5 Things You Need Before You Get Your Puppy
Don’t even think about picking up your new dog before you get these things.
So you’ve decided to get a dog! How exciting! Congratulations on this new phase of your life. We got our puppy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel two years ago. Her name is Willow. Here are the things we found most helpful.
A Crate
This is a controversial one, and I can see why. It does seem cruel to lock the newest member of your family in a cage. However, this was invaluable to us and continues to make the biggest difference out of all the things we did for Willow in her first weeks. The crate helped us in so many ways.
We could leave Willow unattended in a controlled environment where she couldn’t hurt herself or ruin our stuff. We attached a playpen to her crate so she could still wander around and play, but not chew our phone chargers.
- It helped us potty train. We fed her all her meals in the crate for her first few months. Dogs don’t like to make a mess where they eat and sleep, so she would not make a mess in the crate.
- It gave us an early warning system when she did want to go. Since she didn’t want to go in the crate, she would tap on the door and we would be able to take her out quickly.
- It gave her a safe space when things got too much. One of our biggest surprises was that when we first brought her home, she ran straight into the crate. She was confused and disoriented and the crate gave her a smaller space to deal with. She stayed there for most of her first day and still gets in her crate when she’s scared, tired, or just needs a break.
- When we travel or leave her with my parents or friends, we’re able to take her crate and blankets with us. She has somewhere that feels like home.
- If we have to leave her at the vet, we know she’ll be okay in a crate.
Now we very rarely use the crate at home and are able to leave her on her own in our living room for a couple of hours at a time. But we know the crate will be there if we need it.
Crate training could be a whole article on its own, but I recommend Zak George’s videos on all things puppy training.
Puppy Kong
This was one of our top sanity savers in the first six months of having Willow. Puppies have a lot of energy and need to be entertained when they are awake to stop them from getting into mischief. Putting some of her food in a Kong was a great way to keep her busy while we got on with other stuff.
To begin with, we used the Kong with some fresh chicken, loosely packed, and put peanut butter on the opening. This got her interested straight away. When chicken started falling out, she knew she was onto a good thing.
We then gradually increased the packing in of chicken or other treats. Now we pack it with wet food and freeze it. It can take her up to half an hour to finish.
The extra benefit of the Kong is not just that they take a while to eat their treat. After working out how to get the food out and running around after it when it rolls away, they’re usually pretty tired! After a tough Kong, Willow will usually nap for another hour or so. Double win!
Timer
You don’t need to get a physical timer, the one on your phone is fine. This is one of the most valuable tools of puppy training, particularly crate training.
Puppies cry. Puppies bark. There is no sadder sound than a crying puppy, and you will do anything in your power to make that sound stop. Unfortunately, this is reinforcement.
If you coddle a crying puppy, it will learn that when it cries it gets attention. It will learn to cry more. Of course, you can’t leave an animal crying, it’s cruel! Surely that puppy has been crying for hours! You must go to its aid.
The fact of the matter is that she’s probably not been crying for all that long. It just feels like an age. This is where the timer comes in. When we put Willow in her crate, if she started to get upset, we would set a timer for five minutes. We said if she was still crying or barking when the timer went off, we would let her out. We never had to let her out. When the timer went off, she was always peacefully sleeping.
Of course we kept an eye on her this whole time. We would be in the same room. We knew she wasn’t in any trouble. She just needed to get used to being on her own a bit.
Toys
Of course you will need toys for your new puppy. It’s tempting to go overboard with nice toys, but I would recommend a few cheaper toys to start with to find out what your puppy likes. Try a few different things. Balls, stuffed toys, chew rings, ropes. I loved buying stuffed toys for Willow, but she had no interest in them. She loved rope toys. Still does. And balls. She will chase a ball for hours.
Get a good range of cheaper toys to start with, then invest once you know what your dog is interested in.
Chicken
Cooked chicken was the best training treat we found. We would cook a couple of chicken breasts, chop them up into tiny pieces and keep a box in the fridge. This is slightly more hassle than dried training treats from the pet shop, but so much more motivating for your dog. When your dog does something you like, e.g. peeing on the puppy pads, it’s straight to the fridge for that piece of chicken. Willow quickly learned that after she went on the pads, she got a treat. She would usually be sat waiting by the fridge for her treat.
Chicken is also a good training treat for all your usual commands, like come here and sit. We also gave Willow a bit whenever she got in the crate on her own, so she learned it’s a good place to be.
Lastly, if your puppy has an upset stomach, the vet might recommend a chicken and rice diet, so it’s good to have some chicken around just in case.
That’s my list! Let me know your puppy essentials in the comments, and follow for more articles!
