Nothing completes a family like a new puppy. Just ask anyone and they’ll quickly agree puppies are a great way to bring joy to any household. However, a new puppy also brings great responsibility and they demand a lot of time. Often, in the excitement of getting a new puppy we tend to forgot how much work is ahead. If you are ready to add a new puppy to your family, here are some new puppy tips and a new puppy shopping checklist pdf to help you be ready!
You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by the added responsibility of your new furry family member. Instead you can use a few simple strategies to enlist your children’s help in caring for the new puppy. Take advantage of your children’s natural talents and interests, leaving them enthusiastically eager to help while learning responsibility.
Tips For New Puppy Owners
Getting children excited about work is much easier than a lot of parents think it is. It begins with including them in the early planning phase, genuinely addressing their concerns and giving them responsibilities in a way that lets them shine with minimal effort on their part. To show you how you can do this, let’s break these new puppy tips down in to 4 easy to implement steps. Here are helpful tips for adding a puppy to your family.
#1. Puppy planning is a family project.
Planning and preparation for a new puppy can be extensive, especially if this is your first puppy. There are things you need to know before you adopt a puppy. You need to consider size, temperament, training, supplies and ongoing care. Rules will need to be established and follow through agreed on. Research will need to done on proper potty training procedures. This is the first area you can get your kids involved.
For me, I have a 10 year old that loves to look up different dogs and read about them. So I enlisted her help in learning about different types of dogs that we might consider adding to our family. I told her we needed a dog that would be tolerant around her baby niece when she comes to visit, enjoy her rambunctious brother and want to snuggle a little with her from time to time. She eagerly set out on the hunt for dogs that were easy going family dogs who had a history of patience and good temperaments.
Then we talked as a family about what we would like to be able to do with our dog, what interactions would be acceptable and how we planned to enforce rules either through at home dog training or enrolling in a public class. It’s a good idea let the kids pick some rules too and suggest ways to enforce them, after all it’s a family effort. Talk with family members about using positive reinforcement to reward good behavior.
#2: Shopping for Puppy Supplies.
Every child loves shopping for new things so what better way to get them excited than letting them come along on the shopping spree. If your children are allowed input with the supplies they feel more involved overall in the selection and then later the care of your puppy. I have included a new puppy checklist at the bottom of this post to make shopping easier.
Get the basics like bowls and dog food. You know you need a leash and a collar but let your children help decide on the design. When picking a dog toy let your children share their input on which ones and where to keep the puppy toys at home. Puppies are known for chewing so make sure to get chew toys! Choosing dog beds is another fun area of choosing between cool designs and nifty styles. We chose a calming dog bed with shag fabric from Bobby Bed that mimics the soothing comfort of mother’s fur.
#3. Setting Up for Bringing Puppy Home.
If you have one child that truly enjoys designing and decorating perhaps this task will be perfect for them. Offer a little guidance the objective of the puppy space; helping with house training, preventing bad behavior and keeping your puppy safe. Crate training may be the perfect way to help the puppy get used to his new home. Or you may find baby gates helpful in establishing a safe place for the puppy.
Let your child design the puppy area and remember to keep if fun for them. It’s all about keeping your kids excitement with helping manage a big responsibility. Have them go through and make sure the whole family knows where everything the puppy will need is located.
Also, schedule a vet appointment for a check-up and vaccinations. Discuss flea, tick, and heartworm prevention.
#4. New Puppy Care.
Now comes the fun part, bringing your puppy home. This is the time that your kids to enjoy their hard work but don’t let them forget all the preparation, rules and plans for enforcement.
To help spark enthusiasm for taking turns with feeding and potty breaks, keep them scheduled around the puppy’s play time and your child’s natural routines. For example, my daughter gets mornings because she is always up before anyone else. Her job is to take the puppy outside to potty first thing in the morning. Then she gives her breakfast followed by another potty break and then some good old play time.
The next shift is handled by my son who tends to sleep a little later and isn’t so good with the feeding aspect. So he gets to job of taking the puppy out to go potty on a regular potty schedule. He also does the walks, and the good old fashioned play time.
Each child is given a task that builds around their talents. Doing this allows them to shine with little effort on their part and keeps their enthusiasm for caring for their new puppy for years to come. Everyone their thing like getting up early to let the puppy out, enjoying long walks, or grooming your dog. Speaking of grooming, one new essential dog product I have found is from Zoop. Puppies and dog can get smelly between baths and Zoop has the best natural Between Baths Freshening Spray.
I hope you find these new puppy tips helpful for adding your furry family member. I have included a new puppy checklist below as well to make preparation easier.
Printable New Puppy Checklist
What do you need to bring a puppy home? Everything on the new puppy list is pretty self-explanatory. You can look it over and go ahead and check off anything that you may not need (such as a baby gate). When it comes to your new puppy checklist, don’t skip the flea treatment. It can be used to treat any current fleas you may not see and as a preventative treatment against fleas and ticks. It is a must have to make sure you don’t get a flea infestation which could spread to your whole home if you have carpets. If you get a puppy, you will NEED chew toys so don’t skip those either!
There are a few things I will expand on in the necessities column of this new puppy checklist. Find a vet- it is always good to have an initial exam to make sure your new puppy is in good health and your puppy will most likely need to finish off some vaccinations. The vet will also let you know when you should start heart worm pills. Something with mom’s scent is optional but the puppy will often find that soothing if it happens to be available.
Here is the new puppy shopping checklist pdf.
Conclusion
Bringing a new puppy into your life can be a wonderful experience, offering numerous benefits. Their companionship can be a great source of comfort and joy. Puppies’ playful and energetic nature brings joy and laughter into your home. Puppies teach children important values like empathy, compassion, and responsibility. Furthermore, puppies need regular exercise, encouraging you to stay active with walks and playtime.
Are you thinking of adding a new puppy to your family? What kind of puppy are you going to adopt? Will you use the new puppy checklist to help with your shopping? If possible, bring the puppy home on a Friday evening so that way they have two whole days with you being home with them. This will help them to get adjusted to you and their new environment before you have to leave them alone to go to work.
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Layla says
This doggie checklist is perfect and has me excited (but prepared this time) to adopt my next puppy!
Kibria says
Thank you providing vital information. It is wonderful