[Thalie]

Think about pet insurance. Embrace, Healthy Paws and Trupanion seem to be in the most used companies. I personally have Embrace.

 

[pawsnpaca]

Also - now is the time to start looking around for training classes. Puppy classes seem to fill up fast and I personally like to get my pups into a class by 8-10 weeks of age, and classes usually run for 4-6 weeks at a time, so if you wait till the pup comes home, it may be a month or more before you can start a class. Once you narrow down your choices, see if you can observe a class to make sure you “mesh” with the trainer and the trainer‘s training techniques.

 

[KellyH]

Depending on the set up of your home: Baby/pet gate (s)!!!!

 

[lilypad96]

Depending on the set up of your home: Baby/pet gate (s)!!!!

I live in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. The living room and dining room are pretty open so I was thinking about putting a baby gate to keep her in the living room and make sure my cat has its own space.

 

[magiclover]

It sounds like you have received some great advice and recommendations. I'm glad you will be crate training which is essential to safety for your pup and sanity for you. Please make sure you NEVER put your pup in the crate with their collar on. Puppies can strangle by getting the tags caught. Research good training and obedience schools near you. Also research this site for topics on biting and "aggression" in puppies. Many times people who are new to the Golden breed misunderstand a Goldens need to mouth and chew as biting or aggression. They are highly trainable and easy to re-direct if you understand why they are doing it. Congratulations and enjoy your new puppy! They are so much fun!!

 

[npregozen]

Go Go Bells

Are Go Go Bells a specific dog training tool or are you referring to the African musical instrument, Agogo bells? Thanks.

 

[pawsnpaca]

I believe he was referring to something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Doorbell-Deluxe-Solid-Brass/dp/B01F80TA7A/ref=asc_df_B01F80TA7A/?

Basically, any kind of bell that hangs off or near the door that the pup can learn to ring when they want to go out will work. We've used ones like this: Labrador Dog Leather Bell Door Hanger With Brass Plated Bell - Etsy

... but there are many other styles and options out there.

We've always trained our dogs to use the bell and we love the clear signal. Just be aware that eventually your dog may ring them just because they're bored and want to go hang outside, which can get annoying...

 

[CLBladorn]

If possible I would recommend getting a piece of blanket or a towel that has spent some time with the litter or smells like Mom. It seems to help the transition from being in a pack to being alone.

 

[Mizwedo]

You’ll need to take your puppy (and mature dog as time goes on) in the car with you. We take our golden boy just about everywhere with us! So give some thought as to to how to bring her safely with you in the car. We have a “hammock” type of seat protector in our car (iBuddy brand from Amazon) that protects the back seat. It attaches to the front and back seat headrests forming a “[email protected] that prevents the dog from falling into the gap between back and front seats. If you get one of these, make sure the fabric is slick, so that the dog hair doesn’t stick to it. The one we have is a smooth quilted (slightly shiny) fabric and you can just brush the hair off. He wears a harness that is tethered to one of the seat belt buckles for safety. He can still move around to get comfortable but cannot jump into the front seats or jump out when the doors open until we unbuckle the tether. Some prefer to have their dogs in crates for car travel. You can Google for ideas on transportation options. Enjoy your little one! Puppyhood goes by so fast!

 

[lilypad96]

You’ll need to take your puppy (and mature dog as time goes on) in the car with you. We take our golden boy just about everywhere with us! So give some thought as to to how to bring her safely with you in the car. We have a “hammock” type of seat protector in our car (iBuddy brand from Amazon) that protects the back seat. It attaches to the front and back seat headrests forming a “[email protected] that prevents the dog from falling into the gap between back and front seats. If you get one of these, make sure the fabric is slick, so that the dog hair doesn’t stick to it. The one we have is a smooth quilted (slightly shiny) fabric and you can just brush the hair off. He wears a harness that is tethered to one of the seat belt buckles for safety. He can still move around to get comfortable but cannot jump into the front seats or jump out when the doors open until we unbuckle the tether. Some prefer to have their dogs in crates for car travel. You can Google for ideas on transportation options. Enjoy your little one! Puppyhood goes by so fast!

Thank you, I definitely plan to go everywhere I can with her.

 

[goldiegal44]

My pup is almost 5 months old now, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of what is/was most helpful. I second the recommendation for a Toppl (or several) - they’re easier to stuff than a Kong and there’s less risk of getting a tongue or jaw stuck. If you do use the Kong (and freeze it) it’s recommended that you freeze it with a plastic straw through the middle (remove it before you give it to your pup) to provide an air pocket that reduces the chance that suction might cause his tongue to get stuck (fwiw, never happened with my prior dogs, but I’ve heard stories, and better safe than sorry). I’d start with at least a few puppy sized Toppls and/or Kongs.

For this puppy I opted to put the crate in my kitchen surrounded by an Ex-pen. That gave him a safe area to be contained any time he wasn’t actually in the crate. I bought some whelping pads to put down as a base over the floor, and then some individual incontinance pads on top of that (easy for us, as I had a supply from a dog that had spay incontinance). It worked out well as cleaning up from accidents was as easy as pulling out the soiled pad and replacing it with a clean one.

I know there is a difference of opinion in terms of collars vs harnesses. I like harnesses for my puppies to avoid damaging their tracheas. I also never want my puppy to think they can pull on a collar, so I only put a collar on them when I’m actively training them to give to leash pressure. For day-to-day management, the harness worked better for us, and if they DID pull (which they almost certainly do as puppies) at least there’s less chance of injury. We really liked this one because of the grab handle and the easy on, easy off. The size small worked for us until just the last week.

View attachment 898860

Hi! I have a quick question about your puppy set up if you don't mind? Did you keep the crate open over night and let your puppy go in and out? Wondering if it's better to do this type of set up the first few days when we bring our puppy home instead of starting with the crate right away.

 

[pawsnpaca]

At night, we actually put the crate (we had a little puppy one) right on my housemate’s nightstand where the puppy could see, hear and smell her and where she could reach out to put her fingers through the crate door and reassure the puppy. The first night was rocky, but then we figured out he was hot, so the next night we took out the bed and put a fan on him and her settled and went to sleep pretty quickly. He stayed on her nightstand until he outgrew the little puppy crate, and then moved to a slightly larger crate on her bedroom floor.

During the day he was mostly in his pen as long as he had pottied within the last half hour or so. If he didn’t potty when we took him out, he’d go into his crate, and of course he was crated any time we left the house. And yes… he often made his displeasure known! It helped to put him in when we knew he was tired and give him a stuffed Kong to soothe him during the first few minutes. When we reallywanted him to sleep, we’d put him in the crate up in my housemate’s bedroom where it was quieter and he was less likely to be woken up when we were moving around and talking.

Episode 70: Critical Info for Your Puppy’s First Day and Night at Home

Your guide to the first 24 hours with a new puppy, what you need, and what to do and what to avoid.

dogsthat.com

Episode 30: Why Dog Crates Are Not Dog Cages

Everything you need to know about dog crates and using a crate for your dog’s comfort and safety.

dogsthat.com

 

[lilypad96]

Here's my girl Nova, She'll be coming home next week! AAAHHHH!!!!