New Dog Checklist: Everything You Need To Welcome Your Puppy Home

Becoming a new puppy parent is an exciting event in one's life — but it's certainly not as simple as it looks. From making your new dog feel comfortable in your home to teaching it basic manners, there's so much for both you and your young pup to learn. But, fortunately, there are some ways to make the transition a bit smoother.

For more than 25 years, Andrea Arden, a professional dog trainer and author of several dog training books — such as "Barron’s Dog Training Bible," "Dog-Friendly Dog Training" and more — has been helping owners learn how to better manage their pups and feel less stressed while doing so.

"New puppy parents are often overwhelmed by how much they need to teach their pups, as well as the adjustments they need to make in their lives in order to properly care for a baby animal," Arden says. "While there are time-sensitive things to address with a pup (specifically in regard to socialization), the main area of focus should be the proper use of management tools — a crate, a pen and engaging toys — so as to prevent mistakes and set the pup up for success."

Arden kindly shared some of her favorite products and training tips to help pups feel happy and comfortable in their new home, all while teaching them a thing or two about being a good boy (or girl).

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Create A Comfortable Space

Welcoming a new dog into your home can be a bit stressful for your pup, which needs time to get used to the new surroundings. Luckily, there are ways to help them feel more comfortable. A comfy bed, a properly sized crate, an exercise pen or gate, and food-stuffed toys can help ease their anxiety.

"Some pups can also benefit from calming products such as the Adaptil diffuser. This has a synthetic pheromone that mimics the natural pheromone a mother dog releases when nursing," Arden says. The diffuser helps pups adjust to challenging situations, curbs stress-related unwanted behaviors and helps them adapt to new surroundings.

"The SmartPet Love Snuggle Puppy can also be useful as a calmative with young pups that have just been removed from their litter-mates," Arden says. The cuddly stuffed animal provides comfort to our four-legged friends with its “real-feel” pulsing heartbeat and heat-pack calm, which appeals to pup's natural instincts.

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Get All Your Grooming Essentials

According to Arden, you want your pup to to enjoy grooming, not be afraid of it. Practicing grooming sessions for brief bits of time with a young pup can help them feel more comfortable in the long run.

She says, "The choice of grooming products depends on the coat type of your pup. Generally speaking, you are looking for products that are soft and easy on a pup’s coat and skin. This is particularly true when it comes to combs and brushes. Rather than something like a pin brush, consider a soft bristle brush and a wide-tooth comb."

When you have a new dog, things are bound to get a little bit messy — which is why pet wipes are also a good addition to a new puppy parent’s toolbox. "These can be used to help your pup learn to have their feet, undercarriage and eyes gently wiped," Arden says.

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Stock Up On Tons of Toys

New puppies have a ton of energy — so you're going to need some toys that will allow them to get those "zoomies" out and help them stay occupied, too. "Toys that are hollow so they can be filled with healthy food are some of the best behavioral pacifiers," Arden says.

Arden suggests the Planet Dog Orbee Tuff Carrot, Busy Buddy Twist n’ Treat and the Monster Mouth — all of which you can fill with healthy and delicious treats for your pup to snack on while playing.

Bringing home a new pup means tons of playtime, so you'll also want some engagement toys that can get you in on the fun, too, such as ZippyPaws Caterpillar and the Skineez toys.

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Keep Pups Safe With Crates And Pens

You can't be with your pup 24/7, so leaving them home alone is inevitable. Using crates and pens for both long-term and short-term confinement is vital to keeping a puppy safe, and will make you feel better about leaving them unattended. A crate will, eventually, help them be calm and comfortable when left alone, and it will also teach them some house training skills in the process.

"A crate is intended to be used for short periods of times (the length of time depends on the pup’s age and experience with confinement)," Arden says. Crates come in many different sizes depending on the size and breed of your pup.

Pens are also essential to training a new pup, especially when they're still being potty-trained (and you don't want to ruin all your carpets). "A pen or gate used to block off a small area is a long-term confinement area," Arden says. "This type of confinement is most useful with very young pups who haven’t yet had the benefit of playing crate games (to learn to be comfortable and calm in a crate) and who don’t yet have much bladder and bowel muscle control."

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You can also use puppy pads in your pen to start training your pup. They can help determine when the pup needs to go potty and reward them for going in the correct spot. "Puppy parents can start by covering the entirety of the long-term confinement area with pads so the pup has a 100 percent chance of going in the right spot," Arden says. "Every few days, a pad can be removed so the pup starts to target to a smaller potty spot."

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Training Books And Tips

According to Arden, it's extremely important for puppy parents to prioritize their training goals. "For most puppy parents, the most pressing objectives are house training, teaching a pup to learn to spend time calmly and quietly alone, and curbing nipping and mouthing," Arden says. "Pups should also learn basic manners such as sit, down, stay, hand targeting/come when called, and impulse control. But these skills are not as time-sensitive as the first three mentioned above."

If you're looking for some more tips on training your new furry friends, check out Arden's super helpful dog training books — "Barron’s Dog Training Bible," "Dog-Friendly Dog Training," "The Little Book of Dog Tricks" and "Train Your Dog the Lazy Way."

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Learn more about Andrea Arden's School:

Andrea Arden Dog Training, in New York City, has a team of 10 trainers, offering group classes, private lessons, play groups and other enrichment activities for dogs. Their focus is to help people learn how to better manage their pups to set them up for success and to learn how to teach their pups life skills to support great manners.

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