Things Your Puppy Will Need Before Pick-Up Day

---

We recommend the following to help you and your puppy have a successful trip home:

• Several small blankets and/or towels to help you hold the pup on the way home. Some pups get car sick so having several to choose from will be helpful in case extra clean ones are needed. Paper towels and puppy-pee pads are HIGHLY recommended for those traveling over an hour for pick-up.
• A puppy harness in a size small along with a collar that is 6 to 9 inches in length. Your pup may need to go potty several times on your way home depending on how long your car ride is expected to be. Being able to safely walk them for potty trips is essential. We do NOT recommend expandable leashes. They jam and they also give too much opportunity for your puppy/dog to get away from you while walking and possibly injure itself, or even get killed.
• If you would prefer to crate your puppy on the ride home, which is a great idea, a soft or very small pet carrier with cozy blankets inside might be helpful. Make it small enough so that the puppy can just lie down in it and it can be positioned close to you so that it can see/hear/smell you on the ride to help reduce fear.
• Do not give your puppy rawhides. We encourage you to do your own research but Bully Sticks are preferable to the raw hide that can sometimes splinter and injure the pup internally. Kongs (especially with small treats or even kibble inside) are an EXCELLENT choice, just make sure you are using the appropriate sized Kong toy so that your pup cannot swallow the toy whole. Benebones are also recommended and our dogs love them.
• Ensure your puppy has lots of sturdy soft toys to tug and chew on. We highly discourage the rope toys (unless they guarantee no stray strings) because the dogs can swallow the strings and cause internal injury. To discourage your puppy from using YOU and all of your appendages as its own personal chew toy, you must have these readily available and on hand. Each time your puppy bites you, say "NO," or "NO BITE," loudly and sternly and then quickly give them a toy or bully stick and when they take it, offer lots of praise.
• Prior to pick up, in the months between ordering your puppy and pick up, use that time to watch dog training videos on YouTube. They are free and EXCEPTIONALLY HELPFUL in learning how to do basic obedience with your dog including manners, crate training, potty training, etc. We HIGHLY recommend the following:
  • McCann Dog Training
  • "New Puppy Tips: Surviving The First Week," by How To Train A Dream Dog
  • Zac George's Dog Training Revolution
  • If you are in the NW Harris county area, we can send you a list of trainers we highly recommend
• A MUST is to have a crate, either the enclosed plastic kind or the wire kind. Crate training from DAY 1 is essential and although you might think it is cruel for your puppy, your puppy has already been working on crate training with us! It is an essential for house training and keeping your puppy (and your house) safe while you are not able to directly attend to your puppy. We recommend buying an extra large crate for our standards and a medium sized crate for our mini/mediums now and ensure you purchase one that has an insert that can be moved to restrict the area your puppy can access while in their crate. As your puppy gets bigger, you can move the wire wall out to increase the space your puppy has. All a puppy needs is enough space to stand up and turn around.
• For potty training and obedience/manners training, we recommend purchasing ZUKE'S Minis. You can pinch these off to make them even smaller. Reward IMMEDIATELY for good behavior! This is essential in potty training!
• Another treat that our dogs LOVE is pawTree freeze dried treats. See the next section for information on how to order. There are many formulas to choose from so your pup will never get bored!
• SO IMPORTANT for potty training, not to mention bonding with your pup, is keeping your puppy on a house line. This is just an extra long leash, such as 6 to 10 feet, that you keep your puppy connected to at all times, and the other end is connected to YOU at all times. When you are unable to house-line your puppy, it is important that it is resting in its crate, safely and securely. Keeping your puppy close-by will enable you to more easily anticipate potty needs and hopefully stop accidents before they happen.
• LOTS of patience and CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY. Puppy yowling can grate on your last nerve, but you MUST NOT cave in. You must stick to your guns and teach the puppy that the crate is a great place to be. McCann Dog Training has some very helpful YouTube Videos on this very subject. Don't cave in. Your puppy is counting on YOU to be the kind, caring, but consistent and stern Alpha that sets the rules for the pack!
• FOOD -- Please see the last section below on how to order your puppy's food. We have switched to Open Farm and we ask that you keep your puppy on this feed until they are at least 6 months to reap the benefits of stabilizing the gut after go-home. They also have Raw options as well. This is not a multi-level marketing company like pawTree (although we do love pawTree treats and SPAw products galore!). But You Do have to order online as they are not featured in pet supply stores. They have a convenient autoship service that also offers a discount. Please see the section below with the link to ordering.