Getting Ready For Your Puppy

In this article we discuss some of our top tips for new puppy owners. At the end of this short article we have some links to puppy supplies we recommend.

Consider the costs. It is important before you commit to adopting a puppy that you have carefully considered the costs associated with being a puppy parent. You will want to prepare mentally, at times your new puppy will likely wake you up in the middle of the night needing attention. There is the cost to your time, when you need to exercise your Aussie, but you would prefer to use that time in other ways. There are financial costs, food, vet bills, boarding services, and dog toys, to name a few. We believe that the benefits far outweigh the costs, but you still need to consider them.

Preparing your home. New puppies require time and training to learn what is ok for them to chew on and play with, and what is not ok for them to chew. Make sure that you have considered puppy proofing your house or apartment before picking up your Aussie puppy, if possible. If it can be chewed, your teething puppy will try to chew it. We recommend having lots of dog toys and chewys that can occupy your pet. Also consider buying an anti-chew spray that you can use to encourage your pup to chew on authorized substances. We always recommend closely monitoring your puppy when they are free in your home until they are older and trained.

Develop a training plan. It is a good idea to begin researching and planning how you will go about training your puppy before you pick them up. We recommend the professional dog trainer, Zak George, who has a wealth of knowledge, tips, and tricks for training your new puppy free on Youtube. He even has videos detailing the first few days with a new puppy. You can access his whole mini series on the first few days with a new puppy here. Also, Zak George has an entire free course on the first 30 days training a new puppy here. We highly recommend it!

Research a local veterinarian. You will want to find a vet, and research their clinic to see if they are a good fit before you pick up your new Offgrid Aussie pup. All of our puppies are vet checked, started on dewormers and have received their six week puppy shots. To receive our puppy health guarantee, you will need to have your puppy checked by your vet within the first 48 hours after you leave our kennel, and continue with the vet recommended puppy vaccine and checkup schedule.

Gather your essential supplies. To be a responsible puppy parent, you will need to gather certain essential supplies before you get your puppy. Although you can always run out to the store to buy things you have forgotten, it is best to gather as many of these supplies beforehand to insure you provide the best home environment.

We recommend this snuggle puppy because the first few nights away from their mom can be hard on the puppy, and in turn, hard on you. This stuffed animal helps make the puppy feel like they are not alone. It has a battery powered heartbeat to simulate the puppy sleeping by their litter. We brought a stuffed animal like this with us to the breeder when we got our first puppy and asked the breeder to rub it on the mom and siblings so it had their smell. We put this in our puppy's crate at night and it became something she snuggled with throughout her time as a puppy.

This is also great for chewing! It is very useful for when you need to give your puppy a distraction so you can focus on other things. We like that all you have to do is put something tasty inside and it can keep them busy for quite a while! We often use a jerky treat or some peanut butter.

Although we start on potty training, you will certainly want some absorbent puppy pads at first.

We highly suggest you have a dedicated puppy crate, or designated puppy-proof area for your home. This is almost essential when your puppy is house training and learning. This crate listed above should be the correct size for our Minis.

Lots of toys in the early days help your puppy to have something positive to interact with and chew on instead of your most prized possessions. When your puppy is teething, expect to go through several toys.

We use this brand with all of our dogs for training. These are high quality freeze dried treats that are healthy for your puppy. (They are more like taking a supplement than a treat, but we don't tell our dogs). Plus they are reasonably priced, and one bag goes a long way.

These are great adventure bowls for traveling or exploring. We love our bowls like these. We keep them in the car and on our hiking bags so that we always have a water bowl on our adventures.

These are best not left with your puppy unattended while they are teething!

This is, hands down, the best dog toy we have ever owned.

This is practically indestructible, with a crinkle sound that it makes when the dogs chew on it. It's a ball to play fetch, it's a chew toy to chew for hours. Before Ruff Dawg toys, when we got new toys for our Aussies they were pretty much destroyed within 1-2 days. We bought a Ruff Dawg toy on a whim because they claimed it was unbreakable. We gave it to our parent dogs, and were surprised it was still around several days later - when we inspected it, it didn't even have a visible scratch. Fast forward a couple of months - still no visible scratches. Ruff Dawg has earned a special place of admiration in our hearts.

We recommend these cleanup bags. While it is possible to find slightly cheaper bags, these are a high quality and are biodegradable.

Amazon can be a great place to get supplies for your new puppy as it is generally cheaper than a pet store. Here are some puppy supplies that we recommend you consider. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

We have used this product often. Especially when our parent dogs were puppies, but even sometimes now we still use it. It is a product that is safe for your puppy, but strongly discourages them from chewing on anything that has been sprayed with it. This is extremely helpful when your puppy is teething and wants to chew on everything. Along with proper training, and toys that they can play with, this will make a huge difference, and make your life easier.

This is a great toy for your teething puppy!

We cannot recommend this highly enough. This is by far the most effective way to teach your puppy how to tell you that they need to go potty. Simply attach this to your door, and whenever you take your puppy outside to go potty, ring the bell with one of their paws. Within a couple of days they will ring the bell to let you know when they need to go potty.

This is the brand of cleaner we used for our puppies before they were house trained. Even with your best efforts, your puppy will have a few accidents. This cleaner, like some others, uses enzymes to eliminate any urine smells, and really do an excellent job cleaning.

Finally, we also recommend puppy wipes. It is important when your puppy is young and not fully vaccinated that you wipe off their paws when they have been in areas that other dogs have been in - i.e. when they go potty in a public area. It is possible for them to get serious illnesses, so wipe off their paws to help prevent this.