Start as you mean to go on! An unruly puppy maybe funny an unruly fully grown adult most definitely is not!
Sit down and decide where the pup will eat, sleep, where he is to be allowed to go and where he may not go and everyone stick to it.
Puppy proof your home, do not leave small objects lying around, shoes slippers, remote controls....MOVE THEM!
Check your garden for holes in fences, under hedges for little houdinis. Look at the plants in your garden could they be poisonous? Have you used slug pellets or similar? Any poisonous weedkillers? Do you have a pond that needs covering? Lock your shed it takes just one spoon of anti-freeze to kill a dog and they find the taste irrisistable.
You will need:- Crate/Dog bed or both
- Bowls
- Grooming gear a good quality bristle brush or a nobbly rubber grooming mitt. grooming daily will ensure they are used to it and will always accept it.
- Cheap nylon collar and lead - don't spend money now its not worth it.
- ID tag, stating your surname, your contact numbers and postcode.
- Toys such as nylabones, kongs and boomer balls/noseballs.
- Supply of food that the breeder is feeding.
When you collect your pup remember its a traumatic experience for him, introduce everything calmly, and gradually this includes children!
Your breeder should supply you with a mealtime sheet outlining what your pup has been fed, how much of it and how often. The rule of thumb for a small puppy is 4 times a day. Do not attempt to change what the pup is fed straight away give him a week to settle in and then integrate the new food slowly 90% old to 10% new increasing to 80/20 70/30 and so on over a period of a week.
Every time your pup sleeps he will need to pee when he wakes so make sure he is in the right place to do this and give lots of praise when he does it right!
Mouthing is a thing common to all puppies REGARDLESS of breed, discourage this from the outset with a firm NO.
