We haven’t had a dog in YEARS. As in: the last time there was a dog, there were no children in my house and he was old and low maintenance and hands down the best dog EVER. But about a year ago I started to get the itch for a new puppy. People told me I was crazy, what was I thinking, it’s like having a baby, and trust me, it wasn’t a decision that we entered into lightly. This new puppy wasn’t just going to be an adorable plaything, but a new member of our family. We talked and talked, weighed pros and cons, went back and forth over whether a puppy was really going to fit into our lifestyle… And then this happened.
I MEAN RIGHT? Could you DIE from the cute?
So we got a puppy. God help me.
But in the preparation leading up to getting our new puppy, there were several things to consider…
Tips for Bringing Home Your New Puppy
1) Pick a vet ahead of time –
It was actually required by our breeder that we take Bogey aka Piranha dog to the vet within 72 hours for a check up. This determines that they are healthy and happy and don’t have any issues. It’s also good because then if you have any questions about behavior or health, you have someone to call for advice. Trust me, I called them a lot.
2) Crate or no Crate? –
We decided this right off the bat. We thought it would be a good idea to crate-train our puppy, especially we didn’t want him to have free reign of the house while we were away. Also, now that he’s older, he’s exactly like a baby at night and makes a CRAP TON OF NOISE. He was sleeping in the crate in our room, but that has since moved downstairs. Because OMG, I haven’t gotten this little sleep since my kids were babies.
3) Schedule a Trainer – ASAP
Just like you don’t want unsocialized and misbehaving kids? A dog is even worse. Get that adorable little furball to puppy school PRONTO. Usually your local SPCA will offer puppy classes to get your furkid on the road to success. Even if he doesn’t become super dog in the training, laying down the groundwork will help you all establish your roles.
He’s so cute until he eats your shoes..
4) Be Prepared – It’s a Baby
Yes, all those people that told me having a puppy is like having a baby? THEY WERE NOT KIDDING. Bogey is adorable, but stubborn, sweet, chews things, wasn’t housetrained (he is now) and once we brought that little fuzzface home, he became one of my kids. And like the rest of the family members in my house, I take the time to train him, think about his needs and of COURSE, make sure that I’m feeding him the safest food.
Can I eat it yet? Please?
I wouldn’t feed my kids food that had been recalled, so after all the brouhaha with dog food safety in the past few years, I did my research on what I was going to feed my new puppy. My past dogs have always eaten Natural Balance®, so it was an easy decision to make when it came to the new puppy. Little did I know however that in the past few years, Natural Balance has gotten even MORE safe, with premium ingredients and constant safety testing to make sure that your precious Fido is getting the best and safest food he can. Each and every single batch of food gets 9 safety tests and you can even go to the website to check YOUR specific bag of food so that you can Buy with Confidence® They have several lines of dog food now, all with the same high quality meats and ingredients and all that adhere to the same strict standards. And if you’re not sure what you need, their site will even walk you through the best food for YOUR pet! I would never want to be faced with another safety recall, wondering if I wasn’t giving my new member of the family the best that I could. I believe in Natural Balance… because this squishy fuzz-face deserves the best. Natural Balance stands out in an industry full of issues. Normally, paying more for a product means that it is higher quality but that isn’t a guarantee anymore. That is why Natural Balance goes the extra mile to test all of our products for safety. They care about your pet’s health and happiness above anything else!
What’s the ONE thing you learned when you brought home your first puppy?
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