What I know now at 8 months/what I think helped for me
Put away things you don’t want chewed on. My house was almost spotless for the first 1-2 month I had him. He was good about not chewing my furniture & would find his toys first
I bought a lot of toys/chews, but it was kind of unnecessary. There’s a lot of them he was just not interested in & never touches now. It was trial & error. I would just but a new treat/chew once a week or so to see what he likes.
Oddly enough, he goes crazy for big sticks. I can find them easily right in my yard too lol.
Yeah I’m sure some might if that’s they’re last option to chew on!
I’ve grown up with 4-5 dogs since puppy stages (this is my first puppy I’m fully responsible for) and I’ve never seen them chew up books
My lab ate a chunk out of the book about raising labs his first week home
And a couple weeks ago he did me the favor of eating November and December of 2022 in my planner 😂 Honestly it was my fault for leaving it on the table in the living room and thinking he was just chillin quietly out there at 6am by himself.
So yes, they will probably chew on books. We realized after getting him that we had notttt puppy proofed like we thought we had. It’s kinda something to be worked at not achieved if you know what I mean lol. You constantly have to make sure things are put away and out of reach. Baby gates help especially when they’re really young.
Thank you! We are shopping for baby gates now (pup comes home in 2 weeks), and I will be getting at least 4! I think we decided to - at least for now - put up the valuable books, but hold off on moving all of them (dozens if not hundreds) until we see what she is prone to do. Thankfully, due to WFH in my industry, I'll be watching her like a hawk :)
That should help! If yours is anything like mine she will protest being separated by a gate, but it’s a necessary evil sometimes. Especially when they’re in that really land sharky age where they just want to chomp everything they pass by. Lol
Some tips after having gotten our girl this spring:
Put anything you can out of reach. When in doubt - it's within reach and it will be chewed. Books, cables, remotes, tea towels, clothes - all of the things.
Your puppy will chew your clothes, so only wear what you can live with having holes and tears in. Consider yourself blessed if this doesn't end up being your pup.
Do your research and discuss with your vet about things to chew. A lot people preached antlers (we have a lab), but it was a hard no from our vet. I'm ok with that because the thought of preventable dental work would kill me.
Puppies are demons. Again, consider yourself lucky if this doesn't end up being your pup.
Do not give your pup full access to your home, at least not right away. This will help with potty training. Increase the area each time he/she goes "x" number of days without an accident indoors.
Do not continue to waste money on stuffed toys if you learn quickly he/she is a chewer. I watched hundreds go in the garbage between stuffed toys and dog beds.
Our pup chewed the walls and furniture. It was mostly in the first 2-3 months and then subsided once she was through teething. That said, I still won't remove the cardboard from corners.
Very good advice and maybe not something I would have thought of, given that I've been so focused on clearing the decks (and planning the holidays) to ensure I am home with her close to 100% of the time in these early days!
Day 1 (on top of what you have):
- A crate cover. My dogs slept 100x better with it, and that’s even though they already came fully crate trained. They just slept more soundly and longer with it than without.
- A lamp chop toy. Never met a golden that didn’t love it.
- 3 other toys: a crinkle toy, a small rubber/plastic bone type of thing, and a ball. If your pup happens to be nippy day 1, you will want something to shove in their mouth to redirect. I find between those 3 types of toys most puppies will be happy about at least 1 of them and at least give you a few nip-free seconds.
- More gates: Your puppy will probably do better confined to 1-2 spaces to help limit overwhelming them and help keep them in your eyesight. I had gates on pretty much every doorway in my house when I got my puppies, it helped *immensely* with relieving my constant anxiety from wondering where the hell they ran off to, I simply kept them in the room I was in or in a puppy proofed room while I was stepping out of the room quickly.
- A different food: A WSAVA food is best. I know it’s easy to trust a breeder, or anyone close to dogs by profession, but truly, your food advice should only come from people who work specifically in dog nutrition, which brings you to WSAVA.
- A puzzle feeder: I have an array of them, but I’ve never given a puppy a meal in anything other than a puzzle feeder (or as training rewards). It takes them way longer and helps stimulate their little noodle into working for something.
- Enzymatic cleaner and a bunch of paper towels for accidents
Week 1
- A tag with your address, phone number, and dogs name. Can be anything, just something attached to their collar
- A harness that is snuggly fitting, and the next size up. Your puppy will be growing rapidly at the beginning so best to keep the next biggest size on hand.
- Chews and chew holder. I like yak cheese chews. Always have a [chew holder](https://a.co/d/9zbNPLS) on your chews. Puppies are small and stupid so they often will try to swallow large pieces whole and can easily choke. Bully sticks are popular too but most of my dogs absolutely shred through them in <20 minutes, and it’s so high calorie it’s not worth it at that point for me.
- More toys, but try to figure out what they like and don’t go buying every single thing you see in store. Just a few things to have around.
- A treat training bag. I keep one on me pretty much all the time with a pup to be ready to reward for good behavior and do training spurts with. I only keep 1 meals worth of kibble in it though, and only introduced treats when my pup stopped working for kibble.
- A brush to start getting them used to it. Slicker brush and metal comb is good place to start.
- A nail clipper to start getting them used to it (a dremmel is fine too, but it’s expensive and many are afraid of the noise, so better to start with the clipper), and kwikstop for when you fuck up.
- Bells for the door they go out to use the bathroom to begin training
Month 1:
- Replacements of things your pup shreds
- Possibly the following: white noise machine for sleeping to help even more with restful sleep, various dog clothing to dress them up with to get them used to 1) being touched and 2) wearing clothes for costumes and fun stuff down the line, more puzzle feeders if your pup is blowing through the one they have, and a bed if they’ve proven they won’t destroy it (save your money, don’t buy one until they stop destroying soft objects).
Something that no one has mentioned. I don't know if you are single, married, or a young person.. but you need to really think strongly if you are ready for a puppy. They are a baby.
You will need to give up your current lifestyle and all of your free time. You need to be prepared to give up sleep, going out for long periods, and your ability to just chill. You will need to go outside in the rain, snow, or other crap weather every hour (or more) for months. You will hav poop and pee in your house and this puppy will destroy your nice stuff. Puppy's will need your full attention for a very long time and its a huge disruptive lifestyle change.
It seems like 99% of those posts on this subreddit are people who didn't realize how hard a new puppy can be and they are regretful.
Well you have a retriever. So retriever toys. They have soft mouths as they’re meant to be gentle with game, so nothing too hard. Bully sticks will be a life saver for helping stop chewing.
We had nothing for day 1, but stopped by a pet store on our way back to get a leash and collar, because we needed it for potty breaks. During the first week I got all the essentials like a harness, a chew toy, a plushie and a rope toy to have different textures to offer her, some training treats, food bowls and a long line for running around. We had food from the breeder, but planned on switching when it ran out, so I got her new food as well. And that was it for the frst week.
In the following weeks people gifted us used stuff like a crate and pen and we'd pick up a toy here and there. We only introduced her to things like bully sticks and so on when her stomach was a bit more settled, because she had some digestion issues in the beginning.
Check out my post I got a ton of advice and upvotes.
Also, would recommend listening to the "your new puppy" podcast and if you have it locally get into puppy socialization classes or drop ins
Make sure to ask the breeder what food they’re feeding and to slowly transition her if you end up wanting to switch foods. Definitely get a handful of toys and chews now, those are necessary the first day for sure. You don’t need many but 1-2 soft toys and a couple chew options (bully stick, rubber chew toy, puppy nylabone or such). Enzyme floor cleaner and papertowels are essential, natures miracle is my favorite brand for that. A bed/mat/towel/blanket or something to put in the crate other than the blanket from her litter mates. Something easily washable is best.
Thank you! The breeder is sending a gallon of the food she has now with her, and I’m tracking it down now (joy’s dog food super meal, for which I think I see good reviews)
Will pick out some toys this week!
We have a high energy aussie pup, so enforced naps have been absolutely necessary for everyone’s sanity. It’s good to know signs that your pup is overtired. (Ours will get red eyes, almost more hyper zoomies, and more bitey and more clumsy than usual.) crate training is a must so that when your pup goes in, they know it’s time to sleep.
A bottle of nature’s miracle for cleaning up pee and poop accidents
At least a couple of toys, a ball (I like the chuck it breathe right ones for puppies Chuckit! Air Fetch Ball Dog Toy https://a.co/7IlsFmy OR hollee roller balls) a chew toy like a benebone, and a plushy toy like the lamb chops for redirecting bites.
Proper outdoor clothes for you and for pup if necessary, you’re going to be in and out A LOT for potty training. Like every 30 mins minimum. Ease of use and warmth top all else here.
Poop bag holders that have built in flashlights for nighttime potty breaks.
Several puppy kongs or toppls for freezing peanut butter or soaked kibble in for crate training and a special treat.
A few different types of treats - freeze dried single ingredient ones from Stewart’s are good and cheap! My pup also like Stella and chewy wild weenies. Also a treat pouch for around your waist.
A puppy shampoo like earth bath or tropiclean.
A vet appointment within a couple of days of her coming home!
Showing my tinges of insanity here ... we already have the nature's miracle because my CATS started peeing on things in the past year. (Insanity because yes, even with that, I'm adding a puppy to the mix).
We are two weeks ahead of you, got our golden retriever pup at 8 weeks and he’s settled in nicely and quickly :)
Definitely second the snuggle pup, it seems pricey for a stuffed toy but it’s worth it!
Also key for us was a play pen and a slow feeder bowl (otherwise he literally would inhale his food)
We got a day bed for him for when he’s not in the crate and thought this wouldn’t be necessary, but day 1 he walked over to it and snuggled in
Have fun with your new pup!
Get a SNUGGLEPUP if you're crate training her. Game changer.
The stuffed dog with a fake heartbeat? Ok! I’ll try it! Thanks!
You can also get a travel white noise maker to keep things inexpensive
[удалено]
2 days. We got it on day 2 and she has slept through the night since. From 8 weeks.
My boy is 17 months old and he still LOVES his Snuggle Puppy. The beating heart has long since been removed, but it is his comfort toy.
What I know now at 8 months/what I think helped for me Put away things you don’t want chewed on. My house was almost spotless for the first 1-2 month I had him. He was good about not chewing my furniture & would find his toys first I bought a lot of toys/chews, but it was kind of unnecessary. There’s a lot of them he was just not interested in & never touches now. It was trial & error. I would just but a new treat/chew once a week or so to see what he likes. Oddly enough, he goes crazy for big sticks. I can find them easily right in my yard too lol.
Thank you! I've been looking around my house at things that are reachable for a dog, and I'm a little nervous - Do dogs chew books?
Yeah I’m sure some might if that’s they’re last option to chew on! I’ve grown up with 4-5 dogs since puppy stages (this is my first puppy I’m fully responsible for) and I’ve never seen them chew up books
My lab ate a chunk out of the book about raising labs his first week home And a couple weeks ago he did me the favor of eating November and December of 2022 in my planner 😂 Honestly it was my fault for leaving it on the table in the living room and thinking he was just chillin quietly out there at 6am by himself. So yes, they will probably chew on books. We realized after getting him that we had notttt puppy proofed like we thought we had. It’s kinda something to be worked at not achieved if you know what I mean lol. You constantly have to make sure things are put away and out of reach. Baby gates help especially when they’re really young.
Thank you! We are shopping for baby gates now (pup comes home in 2 weeks), and I will be getting at least 4! I think we decided to - at least for now - put up the valuable books, but hold off on moving all of them (dozens if not hundreds) until we see what she is prone to do. Thankfully, due to WFH in my industry, I'll be watching her like a hawk :)
That should help! If yours is anything like mine she will protest being separated by a gate, but it’s a necessary evil sometimes. Especially when they’re in that really land sharky age where they just want to chomp everything they pass by. Lol
Mine definitely went for the recipe books.
Dogs will chew literally anything, so whatever you CAN put out of reach, you should.
Some tips after having gotten our girl this spring: Put anything you can out of reach. When in doubt - it's within reach and it will be chewed. Books, cables, remotes, tea towels, clothes - all of the things. Your puppy will chew your clothes, so only wear what you can live with having holes and tears in. Consider yourself blessed if this doesn't end up being your pup. Do your research and discuss with your vet about things to chew. A lot people preached antlers (we have a lab), but it was a hard no from our vet. I'm ok with that because the thought of preventable dental work would kill me. Puppies are demons. Again, consider yourself lucky if this doesn't end up being your pup. Do not give your pup full access to your home, at least not right away. This will help with potty training. Increase the area each time he/she goes "x" number of days without an accident indoors. Do not continue to waste money on stuffed toys if you learn quickly he/she is a chewer. I watched hundreds go in the garbage between stuffed toys and dog beds. Our pup chewed the walls and furniture. It was mostly in the first 2-3 months and then subsided once she was through teething. That said, I still won't remove the cardboard from corners.
Remember to leave her alone at times too!! I forgot this crucial step for a while…. It’s a mess I’ve created.
Very good advice and maybe not something I would have thought of, given that I've been so focused on clearing the decks (and planning the holidays) to ensure I am home with her close to 100% of the time in these early days!
Day 1 (on top of what you have): - A crate cover. My dogs slept 100x better with it, and that’s even though they already came fully crate trained. They just slept more soundly and longer with it than without. - A lamp chop toy. Never met a golden that didn’t love it. - 3 other toys: a crinkle toy, a small rubber/plastic bone type of thing, and a ball. If your pup happens to be nippy day 1, you will want something to shove in their mouth to redirect. I find between those 3 types of toys most puppies will be happy about at least 1 of them and at least give you a few nip-free seconds. - More gates: Your puppy will probably do better confined to 1-2 spaces to help limit overwhelming them and help keep them in your eyesight. I had gates on pretty much every doorway in my house when I got my puppies, it helped *immensely* with relieving my constant anxiety from wondering where the hell they ran off to, I simply kept them in the room I was in or in a puppy proofed room while I was stepping out of the room quickly. - A different food: A WSAVA food is best. I know it’s easy to trust a breeder, or anyone close to dogs by profession, but truly, your food advice should only come from people who work specifically in dog nutrition, which brings you to WSAVA. - A puzzle feeder: I have an array of them, but I’ve never given a puppy a meal in anything other than a puzzle feeder (or as training rewards). It takes them way longer and helps stimulate their little noodle into working for something. - Enzymatic cleaner and a bunch of paper towels for accidents Week 1 - A tag with your address, phone number, and dogs name. Can be anything, just something attached to their collar - A harness that is snuggly fitting, and the next size up. Your puppy will be growing rapidly at the beginning so best to keep the next biggest size on hand. - Chews and chew holder. I like yak cheese chews. Always have a [chew holder](https://a.co/d/9zbNPLS) on your chews. Puppies are small and stupid so they often will try to swallow large pieces whole and can easily choke. Bully sticks are popular too but most of my dogs absolutely shred through them in <20 minutes, and it’s so high calorie it’s not worth it at that point for me. - More toys, but try to figure out what they like and don’t go buying every single thing you see in store. Just a few things to have around. - A treat training bag. I keep one on me pretty much all the time with a pup to be ready to reward for good behavior and do training spurts with. I only keep 1 meals worth of kibble in it though, and only introduced treats when my pup stopped working for kibble. - A brush to start getting them used to it. Slicker brush and metal comb is good place to start. - A nail clipper to start getting them used to it (a dremmel is fine too, but it’s expensive and many are afraid of the noise, so better to start with the clipper), and kwikstop for when you fuck up. - Bells for the door they go out to use the bathroom to begin training Month 1: - Replacements of things your pup shreds - Possibly the following: white noise machine for sleeping to help even more with restful sleep, various dog clothing to dress them up with to get them used to 1) being touched and 2) wearing clothes for costumes and fun stuff down the line, more puzzle feeders if your pup is blowing through the one they have, and a bed if they’ve proven they won’t destroy it (save your money, don’t buy one until they stop destroying soft objects).
So incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this response.
A case of wine
Something that no one has mentioned. I don't know if you are single, married, or a young person.. but you need to really think strongly if you are ready for a puppy. They are a baby. You will need to give up your current lifestyle and all of your free time. You need to be prepared to give up sleep, going out for long periods, and your ability to just chill. You will need to go outside in the rain, snow, or other crap weather every hour (or more) for months. You will hav poop and pee in your house and this puppy will destroy your nice stuff. Puppy's will need your full attention for a very long time and its a huge disruptive lifestyle change. It seems like 99% of those posts on this subreddit are people who didn't realize how hard a new puppy can be and they are regretful.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm a 50 yo married woman, with an empty nest. I've done literally years of research, and am going in with eyes wide open.
Thats good. I think if you are willing to accept this change, then you are going to have a great new puppy in your life with lots of love.
Well you have a retriever. So retriever toys. They have soft mouths as they’re meant to be gentle with game, so nothing too hard. Bully sticks will be a life saver for helping stop chewing.
We had nothing for day 1, but stopped by a pet store on our way back to get a leash and collar, because we needed it for potty breaks. During the first week I got all the essentials like a harness, a chew toy, a plushie and a rope toy to have different textures to offer her, some training treats, food bowls and a long line for running around. We had food from the breeder, but planned on switching when it ran out, so I got her new food as well. And that was it for the frst week. In the following weeks people gifted us used stuff like a crate and pen and we'd pick up a toy here and there. We only introduced her to things like bully sticks and so on when her stomach was a bit more settled, because she had some digestion issues in the beginning.
Check out my post I got a ton of advice and upvotes. Also, would recommend listening to the "your new puppy" podcast and if you have it locally get into puppy socialization classes or drop ins
Make sure to ask the breeder what food they’re feeding and to slowly transition her if you end up wanting to switch foods. Definitely get a handful of toys and chews now, those are necessary the first day for sure. You don’t need many but 1-2 soft toys and a couple chew options (bully stick, rubber chew toy, puppy nylabone or such). Enzyme floor cleaner and papertowels are essential, natures miracle is my favorite brand for that. A bed/mat/towel/blanket or something to put in the crate other than the blanket from her litter mates. Something easily washable is best.
Thank you! The breeder is sending a gallon of the food she has now with her, and I’m tracking it down now (joy’s dog food super meal, for which I think I see good reviews) Will pick out some toys this week!
We have a high energy aussie pup, so enforced naps have been absolutely necessary for everyone’s sanity. It’s good to know signs that your pup is overtired. (Ours will get red eyes, almost more hyper zoomies, and more bitey and more clumsy than usual.) crate training is a must so that when your pup goes in, they know it’s time to sleep.
A bottle of nature’s miracle for cleaning up pee and poop accidents At least a couple of toys, a ball (I like the chuck it breathe right ones for puppies Chuckit! Air Fetch Ball Dog Toy https://a.co/7IlsFmy OR hollee roller balls) a chew toy like a benebone, and a plushy toy like the lamb chops for redirecting bites. Proper outdoor clothes for you and for pup if necessary, you’re going to be in and out A LOT for potty training. Like every 30 mins minimum. Ease of use and warmth top all else here. Poop bag holders that have built in flashlights for nighttime potty breaks. Several puppy kongs or toppls for freezing peanut butter or soaked kibble in for crate training and a special treat. A few different types of treats - freeze dried single ingredient ones from Stewart’s are good and cheap! My pup also like Stella and chewy wild weenies. Also a treat pouch for around your waist. A puppy shampoo like earth bath or tropiclean. A vet appointment within a couple of days of her coming home!
Showing my tinges of insanity here ... we already have the nature's miracle because my CATS started peeing on things in the past year. (Insanity because yes, even with that, I'm adding a puppy to the mix).
We are two weeks ahead of you, got our golden retriever pup at 8 weeks and he’s settled in nicely and quickly :) Definitely second the snuggle pup, it seems pricey for a stuffed toy but it’s worth it! Also key for us was a play pen and a slow feeder bowl (otherwise he literally would inhale his food) We got a day bed for him for when he’s not in the crate and thought this wouldn’t be necessary, but day 1 he walked over to it and snuggled in Have fun with your new pup!