D.A.D. 101: Fully equipped for the puppy's arrival

Last week Monday, bright and early, we hit the road to Greytown to go and fetch our newest family member. A golden retriever, who we have named Keto, that we plan to train to become Harrison's Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.). We did everything to make sure that we were prepared and ready. Below a checklist for any new pup owner with one or two extras for pups that are going to be trained.

These are the essentials:

​1. Newspaper and rubbish packets, and lots of it. Keep it somewhere easily accessible for those accidents that need to be absorbed or picked up quickly.

​2. Citronella, or even water, in a handy spray bottle for those naughty moments that call for a bit of discipline. Citronella has a strong smell that pups don't really enjoy so it also deters them from going back to continue their naughtiness.

3. A good quality puppy food. In our home we are firm believers in feeding our dogs the best quality food that we can possibly afford, especially during the first 18 months. We have opted for the Ultra Dog Premium Large Puppy dog food. Jagger and Daisy, our older staffies, have been on Ultra Dog for several years now and for those who know our pooches know how active and agile they are. Ultra Dog Optiwoof sustains them and keeps them looking in peak condition. We couldn't think of any other food for our pup to start off on quite honestly.

4. Sleeping arrangements: we have prepared the puppy crate with some soft bedding which, to start, will be placed in our kitchen at night. Once the pup has been properly potty trained we plan to move him next to Harrison's bed as this will be where he will sleep as he progresses through his training and grows up. We will eventually need to upgrade to a larger crate but whilst he is a puppy we are ok for a few months! We are opting for the crate method as this will become the pup's den so to speak. It will make travelling and transitioning to new environments easier as his one constant, his bedroom, will remain the same.

5. Chew toys and brain toys. As many different options as you can have available the better. Toys that can be filled with treats that can occupy the puppy for a period of time is great. The more challenging the better.

6. The previous owners were responsible enough to take their puppies in for inoculations and deworming and all that great stuff and this past Friday we took Keto in for his microchipping which is a prerequisite when you are putting your pets onto a medical aid (more on this next week).