Helpful Tips for Bringing Your New Puppy Home

Safety First 

Think of your puppy as a four-legged toddler. The environment you want to house your puppy should be safe and secure. 

  • Choose an area where you will allow your puppy into your home and block access to other areas. (Using puppy gates or pens is great for this.)
  • De-clutter and remove any dangerous objects your puppy may want to play or chew on (such as shoes, poisons, kids' toys, garden hoses, power cords, etc.)
  • If possible choose a space with an easy care floor surface; there WILL be accidents (tiles, lino, etc.) 
  • Shut away other pets.
  • Think about a toilet area for your puppy (indoor or outdoor) and make sure other family members know where this is (to avoid confusion for your Puppy.

Set up the House 

Set up their new bed with their food and water bowls nearby (fill each of these with food in one, water in the other). If you wish to use a crate, set this up with the bed and line the bottom of the crate with ‘Puppy Pads‘. Keep the crate door open so Puppy doesn’t feel trapped. 

Arriving home 

When you first get your Puppy home take them to the designated toilet area.  Make sure to use a simple command (such as wee-wee, or toilet) that everyone knows, to use when Puppy does a wee. Next, let Puppy explore for 10 to 20 minutes, but don’t leave her alone. Gently pick your Puppy up and carry her to the room with all her items; bed, crate, bowls, etc. Allow Puppy to venture into her new home on her own. Provide Puppy with plenty of chew toys to keep her out of mischief. Don’t overcrowd her at this stage, keep visitors at bay, and allow Puppy to gently get to know you and your family at her own pace. Give your new puppy a few days to get used to her new home before introducing other pets. Introductions should take place in neutral territory to avoid fights. (Such as a park or a friend’s place) Teach your children to pick up, hold, and pat your new puppy without hurting or scaring her. Help your children play gently with Puppy and discourage Puppy from jumping up onto them. Also, try to involve children in training Puppy correctly, and explain that they must respect times when Puppy is eating or sleeping. Discourage children from teasing your new Puppy with toys or treats as this can lead to negative behaviour later on, (such as excessive barking or jumping). Remember always praise your Puppy if she is showing good behaviour. And discourage bad behaviour with a low-toned, short firm command such as ‘No!’ or ‘Arrh!’. 

Toilet training

Remember there will be accidents in this training step, so be prepared. Persistence is key here. These are the times you need to take Puppy to her toilet area… 

  • Upon waking • After playing 
  • After eating • After crating 
  • When very young, in the middle of the night. 

Keep an eye out for a certain sign that your Puppy will display when needing the toilet. Every time you see this – go straight to the toilet area. A false alarm is better than an accident. Never punish Puppy for her accidents, rather praise her for doing the right thing.

Food 

If your puppy is already on a super premium puppy food (such as Puppy Advance) then you are best to keep her on this, as these foods provide the best nutrition for your puppy at her most critical growth stage. If you wish to change her diet to a lesser premium food or an alternate premium kibble do so over 6 days. The first 2 days – ¼ new food to ¾ old, next 2 days – ½ each, last 2 days ¾ new to ¼ old. This will avoid stomach upsets. 

Insurance

 It is a good idea to purchase Pet Insurance for your Puppy to ensure she is covered for all those expected and unexpected medical costs she may give you. All our Puppies get their first month free with Fetch Insurance, via Dogzonline. Use this link to sign up for this insurance plan. https://www.fetchpet.com.au/partners/dogzonline-puppies?partner=dogzonline&referral_code=1st_month_free&utm_source=dogzonline&utm_medium=banner300600&utm_campaign=breedindex&utm_term=review

Registration

It is a requirement of the NSW Companion Animals Act, 1998, that all dogs and puppies be microchipped and registered with your local council at 3 months of age. Take the Permanent Identification (P1A form) provided to your local council chambers, and you will be given a Lifetime Registration application (R2 form) and charged a small fee.

Grooming

It is good to begin professional grooming at a young age so she can become familiar with this and get used to it. Each grooming session you give Puppy needs to be positive and remember to treat her at the conclusion (if she has behaved well). All dogs need regular grooming, whether short or long-haired. The Labrador Retriever has a short dense double coat that should be clean and fresh smelling, with the coat laying flat against the body.

Trim or grind nails at least every four to six weeks to maintain a healthy foot structure. Swab the ears with a mild ear cleaning solution. Prior to bathing, quickly go over the the entire body with a high-velocity dryer to help lift dirt and dander away from the skin and loosen any shedding coat.

It is suggested to bathe your dog once a week to once every 12 weeks. Use a regular, all-purpose shampoo followed by a skin conditioner. Sink your fingers deeply into the coat while scrubbing to be thorough.  A rubber curry with cone-type teeth also does an excellent job of working the shampoo to the skin and lifting dirt and debris to the surface where it can easily be rinsed away.  A natural bristle scrub brush works very well on the coat, especially around the feet and legs. With either a rubber curry or a scrub brush, scrub in the direction of the coat growth.

 To dry the coat start with a vigorous hand towel drying. Follow with a high velocity drying to remove excess moisture and to blow out the bulk of the loose fur, using the most powerful setting the dog will tolerate.  Hold the end of the nozzle right against the skin and blowing in the direction of the natural lay of the coat. If you do not own a dryer, then allow the coat to dry naturally, however, drying is not complete until the coat dry to the touch. Brush the coat with a pliable brush to completely remove loose hair.

Teeth

Dental care is often overlooked in dogs. Super premium food, dental treats and teeth cleaning/ brushing go a long way in the care and maintenance of your puppy's teeth from a young age. There are a variety of available dental care products such as toothbrushes, toothpastes and dental cleaning treats/toys all to assist in fighting plague.


Health care

Your Puppy will need to be vaccinated 3 times as a puppy then annually thereafter, de-flea and wormed throughout their lives. We strongly recommend de-sexing your Labrador puppy. We advise you be guided by your Veterinarian regarding the most appropriate age for this surgery.


Stages of Development

8 weeks to 3 months • Chasing – her tail, other pets, objects • The bowel and bladder control begins to improve • Learn their name • Puppies are very fearful at this stage. Harsh discipline should be avoided.

3 to 6 months • Ranking months – this is when Puppy will decide who the pack leader is, it must be YOU. • Great training and consistency are essential • Teething – this is the chewing phase

6 to 18 months • This is a very influential time for Puppy so keep up the consistent training. • Dominance challenges will arise to re-determine Pack Leader. This must always be YOU. • If not de-sexed then sexually mature behaviour will begin