How to prepare for the arrival of your puppy:
Pour cold apple juice onto the carpet at different spots then walk around in the dark, barefoot.
Wear a sock that has been through a meat grinder.
Right after you wake up step outside into the rainy dark morning and repeat:
"good dog, go potty, come on, hurry up"
Put hair onto your best clothes. Use light hair on dark clothes and dark hair on light clothes.
Put some dog hair into your morning coffee.
Play "catch" with a wet and slimy tennis ball.
Run barefoot through the snow to close th front gate.
Pour your freshly washed clothes onto the floor and scatter them around the house.
Leave your underwear on the floor of your living room, your puppy will drag it there anyway.
(Especially when visitors are around).
Jump out of your comfy chair right before your favourite Tv program ends, run to the door crying:
"No!No! Do that outside!" Miss the end of your program.
Pour chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning and leave it there until you get back from work.
Take a screwdriver and carve some holes into one leg of your dining table.
Take a warm soft blanket, right out of the drier and wrap it around you.
That is the feeling you'll have when the puppy falls asleep in your lap.
Thank you Allana
Things to Do Before You Take Your Puppy Home
1. Think about where you want him to sleep. You need to create a safe area if you have other dogs in the house so that the puppy can get some peace and not run the risk of injury from tumbling around with other dogs/children.
2. Make sure you will be around all of the time for at least a week after having your puppy home. Avoid having the puppy if you have a family 'do' on e.g. a Wedding or such like, you need to devote all your time to integrating the puppy.
3. Obtain some bedding that can be folded in layers to give a 2" to 3" thickness and importantly it won't matter if the puppy shreds them. Be careful if puppy proves to be a bed shredder as material can get caught in the gut and cause serious problems. Don't spend a lot on expensive dog beds until you know whether he will be a chewer or not
4. Have you got an area off the sleeping quarters, which you can fence off i.e. part of a patio? You need to think about times when you need to go shopping for a couple of hours and it is better from a house training point of view if the pup can get outside to relieve himself. As they grow up the length of time that they can control their bladder etc. lengthens but initially you need to think about outside access.
5. Imagine you have a two-year-old child coming to stay with you and make your home safe accordingly. Watch out for cables which can be chewed, ornaments and things you value which are within reach etc.
6. Buy a baby gate or two. These are invaluable for keeping a puppy where you want him to be without having to close a door and shut him out, it's ideal when he can still see and hear you.
7. Where the puppy will sleep, try to get a night-light and a radio installed nearby. It will aid a restful night sleep for you and is very comforting for a puppy that may be stressed in his new surroundings.
8. Sort out your insurance. Make your enquiries before-hand because you need to get your insurance in place within two weeks of having the puppy to ensure continuous cover BEFORE the 4 weeks insurance you get from a breeder expires.
9. Purchase two large stainless steel feeding bowls, one for food the other for water.
10. Decide how you are going to feed at a height, either making something that you can increase the height of as he grows, steel feeding stands are ideal.
11. Purchase a sack of the food he will be fed on. A breeder will usually give you at least two or three days supply when you take your puppy but don't leave it until then to get your own supply in.
12. Make an appointment with your vet for two to three days after you have your puppy home for a health check and to talk about vaccinations and worming if this hasn't been done by the breeder. (Don't vaccinate your pup immediately on getting him, give it a few days for him to adjust to his new surroundings).
And on a More Serious Note...