9 Tips for a New Puppy: Supply List
We want you to be as prepared for your new puppy as possible, so we compiled this list of tips and supplies for new puppy owners. It is important to remember that your pet will not be fully vaccinated until they are 14-16 weeks old and receive their third booster. Do not take your pet into public places until they are fully vaccinated! You will be exposing them to harmful diseases that could result in severe sickness or death. Golden Crest Retrievers & Doodles will not be liable for any sickness due to improper care after receiving your puppy.
Tips Potty-Training a New Puppy
Potty training will be much easier if you follow these general rules.
We recommend getting your pup up between 6 and 8 a.m. for a potty break first thing in the morning. After a potty break, your pup will be ready for playtime and nap time. This routine will occur regularly throughout the day. Your puppy must go outside immediately after waking up from his or her nap.
Ensure your Golden takes a potty break for any daytime creating once they are let out. The same routine applies in the evening, with dinner between 4-7 pm and a potty break within 30-45 minutes. Bedtime is between 9-11 pm, and your puppy should have a potty break before bed. Depending on your puppy’s age at adoption, they may need a bathroom trip during the night, typically around 2-3 am. If you create your puppy at night, they will likely cry to be let out. The stuffie with a heartbeat simulator inside helps them relax and fall asleep and reduces their loneliness.
Supplies Recommended for Puppies
- We recommend Purina Pro Plan Performance Chicken & Rice 30/20
- Non-spill Water Bowls
- A large crate with a divider. They will feel safer in a smaller area and then remove the divider when they outgrow that space.
- A soft bed for the crate to sleep on.
- Durable teething toys such as Kong.
- Slicker Brush
- Undercoat Brush
- Shampoo for puppies (we recommend an oatmeal base).
- Puppy potty tray and pee pad holder.
- Spray for cleaning urine and accidents.
- Apply bitter spray to deter your puppy from chewing on furniture.
- Crate for travel.
- Certain areas can be gated off with a puppy gate.
- Playpen for puppies to have a safe play area inside and outside.
- Toothbrush and toothpaste for puppies.
- Tear stain angel wipes.
- Age-appropriate treats for training.
- Nail grinder for easier nail trimming.
- Summer flea and tick shampoo.
Annual Veterinarian Visits
The annual wellness exam allows your veterinarian to perform various health checks that can detect infections early and warn of serious diseases in advance.
Additionally, yearly dental appointments may be prescribed to prevent plaque and tartar buildup. Your veterinarian will help you set an ideal diet plan and screen your pet for weight and medical concerns, preventing overeating and catching illnesses before they become serious.
Medications for prevention
Safeguard prescriptions free your pet from unwanted medical problems, such as heartworm, flea-related diseases, and tick-borne diseases.
Additionally, regularly brushing your pet’s teeth and giving him dental bites prevents periodontal infection, which can lead to more serious medical problems.
Insurance for Pets
In addition to other types of insurance, pet insurance moves the risk of paying for your pet’s clinical costs to an installment payment. It is possible to avoid the gamble of unforeseen and unexpected clinical costs with pet insurance like Trupanion.
Furthermore, when you adopt one of our Golden Retrievers or perhaps you would be more interested in adopting one of our Goldendoodle puppies for sale, you will receive 30 days of coverage from Trupanion at no additional cost.
Grooming
You should groom your pet regularly, including managing his nails, brushing him 2-3 times weekly, and giving him frequent baths.
Also, grooming offers an ideal opportunity to check for irregularities and bumps that might cause concern, such as dandruff, bare spots, or dry skin.
Socialization
The American Animal Hospital Association states, “Early socialization (in dogs) and exposure to various people and situations at a young age decrease the risk of antisocial or fearfully aggressive behavior as an adult.” To set our puppies up for success, we incorporate Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) into our program.
In the pup’s early months and throughout the dog’s lifetime, it is vital that they are exposed to several different individuals, cats, and other dogs to improve their socialization skills.
Puppy-Proof Home
Take the necessary measures to puppy-proof your home by putting toxic substances out of reach of your new furry friend.
Put up poisonous chemicals that your young dog might ingest. Remove hanging cords or wires that your dog can chew on to prevent electric shock.
Everything is a toy to your furry friend, even potentially dangerous items.
Spay or Neuter
Spaying or neutering your dog has many health and behavioral benefits, including reducing cancer risk, decreasing aggressive behavior, and possibly increasing life expectancy.
You will decrease the likelihood that your male dog will stray from your home. You will decrease the likelihood that your female dog will develop urinary tract infections if she is spayed.
Extreme Weather
You must be sensitive to extreme weather your puppy may encounter. Provide your puppy with a shady place to play with plenty of water. Don’t leave your puppy in a hot car. You can prevent your puppy from getting heat stroke or overheating by taking this precautionary measure, which will make him or her happier.
Provide coats/sweaters for your Golden if needed when the weather turns cold.
How Much to Feed a Golden Retriever Puppy
Keeping your Goldendoodle or Golden Retriever puppy healthy requires feeding him healthy, nutritious dog food.
Purina Pro Plan Performance is the food we would recommend as a Golden Retriever breeder. We have seen firsthand how it has improved our dog’s health and recommend it to all our customers.
Changing homes can be a very exciting yet stressful time for your new pup. He is taking on new experiences, places, people, sounds, and smells, and all of this without his litter mates to comfort him. Stress has been known to mess with the gut and may affect the puppy’s stool and appetite.
Due to the new environment its recommended to leave your pup’s food out for him to eat whenever he feels comfortable. it may take the pup some time to get used to the new home and feel comfortable to eat and we want to make sure there is food available when that moment comes.
Puppies are growing so fast in this stage of life and they must be getting the nutrition they need.
The back of the dog food bag will have feed instructions to help decide the risk of over-feeding your puppy. Even so, they may want to keep their dog on “full feed” where they choose how much they eat and the food is always available to them.
As long as the dog is not overheating and becoming over weight this could be a good option for some new puppy owners.
The proper amount of food is also important in preventing your puppy from becoming overweight, preventing obesity-related illnesses, and extending your dog’s life expectancy.
Exercise: Physical and Mental Benefit
Hiking, running, walking, or playing games with your poochie is a wonderful way to keep him active and healthy.
Your Golden Retriever or Goldendoodle should also be mentally fit. Provide your puppy with toys that provide mental stimulation. Take your daily walk to new places with new smells, and hide treats for your puppy to sniff out, resulting in mental stimulation and playtime.
Now that you have a better understanding of the supplies needed to care for a puppy take a look at our other informative blogs to learn about the difference of a Goldendoodle vs a Golden Retriever.
Perhaps you know you want a Goldendoodle puppy and you want to learn more about the Goldendoodle breed.
You may be interested to know we as a Golden Retriever breeder do not remove the declaws from our puppies. We have a blog post about why we do not remove declaws, you may like to check it out.
