Preparing for the arrival of your new pup

Oh the joy of bringing home a furry-friend for life! The excitement, the nerves, it’s all a bit much! To think, everytime you return home from work, or in from the shop you’ll have your sweet pup excited, ready to greet you at the door.

As fun as it all is, it is important to be as prepared for their arrival as much as possible. This will help eliminate surprises for both you and your dog, as well as ensure a smooth transition for your pup to settle into his or her forever home.

These are a few ways to prepare yourself and your home for your new pet.

First, have a water bowl (and food bowl) ready for your puppy’s arrival.
Make sure the water bowl is in a clear space where you would ideally like your pets feeding/drinking station to be so that they feel comfortable independently drinking water whenever. Please also make sure that the bowl is an appropriate size for your dog.

Hide away wires - no loose wires.
Pups are too curious and they love to, and will, chew on anything they can get their paws on. This can be extremely dangerous if they find loose wires so make sure to tuck them away.

This goes for shoes and other valuables
Hide away shoes and other valuables that you know your puppy would have a field day with.

Buy puppy pads
If your dog is not yet house trained, stock up on some puppy pads - ideally eco-friendly ones, so that you can begin the training process as early as possible. Keep it within a relative distance of your dogs water/milk so that they learn once their bladder is full to go straight to the puppy pad. 

Have loads of toys ready.
Perhaps the best advice - get ready to spoil your pup but also this is important for your pet to know what is theirs and that they have a sense of belonging in their new home.

Be prepared for mess, mistakes and a bunch of emotion
There is going to be so much learning and unlearning between you and your pup, and quite possibly moments of doubt, but the love will be unconditional and worth all the mess and mistakes!

One way to help you better prepare yourself is to remind yourself that they will grow and learn and you will both eventually find your rhythm.