Congratulations on bringing home your new Labrador puppy!

Before you walk through the door with that cute bundle of fur, we’ve gathered some information to help you get ready for your new fur baby and make this new addition to your life as smooth as possible.

Puppy Proofing Your Home

The number one priority of puppy proofing is keeping your puppy safe while protecting your personal and home items. Consider everything from your puppy’s perspective. In the puppy’s eyes, everything is a prospective toy for his chewing pleasure: house plants, shoes, purses, breakables, TV remote. In addition to the damage that your puppy causes by chewing on these types of items, some things like house plants are often toxic to your puppy, and even non-toxic household items can result in upset stomachs or intestinal blockages that will require a trip to the vet.

Buy the Puppy Supplies

There are a lot of items that you are going to need for your puppy. The following are some suggestions for a shopping list.

A good crate
baby gate
a dog bed
potty pads
non-slip, non-breakable bowls, one for food and one for water
puppy food
collar and leash in your puppy’s size
identification tags, a must for indoor dogs and outdoor dogs
cleaning supplies for potty training accidents
Play toys for mental stimulation and chew toys, especially after weaning and during the teething phase.

Preparing Children for a New Puppy

If you have children, it is important to prepare them for having a new puppy in the home. Before your puppy comes home, you can teach your children about where puppies enjoy being petted, like gentle pets on the head and around the ears, long strokes across the back, and for lab puppies, rubbing the loose skin under their neck can all be shown on a stuffed animal to help them prepare for a new puppy.

You can also include children by explaining what the new puppy will need to learn. A great way to do this is to have a training plan in place so that your child can get involved in learning to care for this new furry family member.

Reducing Puppy Stress

Your new puppy is coming into a home with strange smells and sounds. This is also going to be the first time that your puppy has been away from his or her mom and siblings. To help your puppy with this transition and to alleviate some of the stress, Smoky Mtn sends a special blanket with the smell of your puppy’s mother to the new home with the puppy. Even if you use a different breeder, this is something that you can request from that breeder to help with the transition.

Helping your puppy settle down and sleep without its mom and siblings can also be a stressor. Some puppy owners purchase a Snuggle Puppy from Revival Animal Health before bringing their new puppy home. The toy imitates the presence of a real puppy, and it helps to reduce your new puppy’s anxiety, while adapting to its new family and home. The Snuggle Puppy includes the sensation of a real, pulsing heartbeat and a puppy-safe heating pad.

Keep the puppy’s world small in the beginning by fencing off a room or area as the puppy’s space. This can build confidence by providing a safe place for the puppy to sleep, eat, and play. Exercise pens for puppies are the approximate sizes of playpens for children, small enough to be moved nearby while you are busy doing other things. Keep in mind what flooring your puppy is on, as potty accidents are a part of potty training. Putting down potty pads can help to make cleaning easier, as can keeping your puppy in a room with a hard surface floor that is easy to clean.

Make plans to keep your puppy close for the first 5-7 days so he learns to love his new family and also to help your puppy start the process of potty training since he or she will need frequent outdoor breaks.

Potty and Crate Training your Puppy

Potty training and crate training are two important skills to start early with your puppy. As you start house training your puppy, remember that small bladders mean that a puppy will need to go outside every 30 minutes to an hour. Picking a spot in the yard that is the potty spot can help you to teach your puppy that going to that spot is the signal to go. Puppies are easily distracted by the world around them, so some owners also like to use a verbal cue or a clicker signal when it is potty time.

Introducing your puppy to a crate is also a good idea. This can be a safe space for your puppy to rest and a safe place to confine your puppy if you need to leave them alone for a short period. Introducing the crate to the puppy as a relaxing place to take a nap after playtime is a good way to create positive associations with being in crates. The AKC has a great page with more tips to help your puppy learn to crate train.

Smoky Mtn Labradors also offers help with potty training and crate training which is outlined on our training page.

Feeding your puppy

Today there are more options than ever for types of food for our furry friends. It is important to pick high-quality puppy food, follow the directions and feed more as the puppy grows. As you look for puppy food, learn to read the labels. One of the first items on the label of high-quality dog food will be protein (meat), for example, chicken or beef. Avoid dog food, whether dry or canned that has excessive grains, sodium, fat, and sugars. As experienced Labrador puppy breeders, we recommend Royal Canin.

Consider reaching out to the breeder to see what food they use. Staying with a food that is familiar can be comforting to a puppy as it adjusts to a new home, and using the same food, or at least starting with the same food and transitioning to a new food slowly, is a good way to avoid digestive upsets.

Puppies usually need three meals a day since puppies need small meal portions to avoid upsetting their growing stomachs. Make sure you have plenty of water that the puppy can access that is in a clean bowl.

While feeding your Labrador puppy treats is fun, treats should never exceed 10% of a puppy’s daily intake. Again, learn to read the labels on treats to help you spot good quality treats.

We will be covering the importance of good dog nutrition in greater depth in a later blog.

First Vet Visit

Scheduling your puppy’s first vet visit the week that they come home is a good idea. This gives you a chance to start vaccinations and get your vet’s recommendations on when to spay or neuter, flea and tick control, and what heartworm medication to start. Consider microchipping your puppy while at the vet. Having a registered microchip gives your puppy a greater chance of being returned home than identification tags alone if they ever get lost.

Socialization at Home

Socializing your puppy starts at home with family members. Gentle petting and playtime, and short walks in the yard are all good opportunities to help them learn to be a good furry family member. Remember that your puppy may be easily overwhelmed in the first few days of this transition, and take things slow. Just like small children, your puppy is going to need chances to take naps and relax. If you have children in the home, make sure that they understand that the puppy is going to need to take some breaks.

These first few days are also when you can introduce any older pets to your new puppy. Take things slowly. Using a crate so that your pets can sniff each other without touching can be a good place to start. Not all older pets are interested in playing with an enthusiastic puppy due to lack of energy or conditions like arthritis, so make sure that your puppy isn’t harassing them for playtime, and separate your puppy if your older pet needs a break.

Socialization Out and About

Check with your vet on when your puppy will be adequately vaccinated to start socialization outside the home, for example, at parks. For most puppies, this will be after their full series of puppy vaccinations which often wrap up around 16 weeks of age. Parvo and other dog diseases can make your puppy extremely ill if they are not fully vaccinated, so please make sure that you check with your vet regarding your puppy’s specific vaccination schedule before going out.

Puppy Training and Obedience Classes

Once your puppy has their vaccinations and is cleared to meet new dogs, a great way to socialize them is by starting Puppy Training and Obedience classes. Meeting new dogs and their people in a safe environment is a great way to teach your puppy that the world is a friendly place. You can check out our blog post on “How Important is finding a Good Trainer?” for more information on finding a dog trainer.

Handling Puppy Biting

Puppies are full of energy, and biting at hands or feet is a part of their attempt to play. However, puppies need to learn that playing by biting adults and children is not an acceptable way to play. Puppies typically outgrow much of this behavior; if they are taught quickly, this is not a good way to play.

We have found that the following method works well for both adults and children in the family to respond to play biting and train your puppy to stop.

Start by making a deep growling sound in the back of your throat. If you have children practice making a “deep, bear growl”. Practice with them until they perfect it. Depending upon the child’s age, most children love practicing the growl.
Place your forefinger and middle finger together, and opening the puppy’s mouth, thrust them back into the puppy’s mouth. (You will need to demonstrate this for your child the first few times the puppy play-bites them. Let them practice their deep growling with you as you pry open the puppy’s mouth and immediately thrust your fingers into the puppy’s mouth.)
This will not harm your puppy for him or her to experience a gagging reflex. That is actually the goal. Your puppy will quickly learn to associate gagging with play-biting and realize that is not behavior he wants to continue. Your puppy will quickly learn there are repercussions to biting.

Enjoy your Labrador Puppy

Even with all the stress and messes, enjoy the time with a cute bundle of fur that is growing into a remarkable family pet!

What to do when bringing home a new labrador puppy?