BRINGING PUPPY HOME CHECKLIST

Here is a complimentary checklist that we strongly recommend our clients do to get their puppy home and settled.

Puppy TRAINING

We recommend you be prepared with these items before you bring your puppy home. You can either buy them individually via the links below (learn about affiliate links) or as together as a package when you pick up your puppy (only available in-person). Whenever possible, we like to support Canadian companies, including local Southern Alberta businesses. Everything we recommend is based on our personal experience while using the products with our dogs.

Education

We go to great lengths at Prairie Doodles to provide you with a healthy, socialized, and confident eight-week old ball of fluffy cuteness. But once the puppy is with you in their forever home, the responsibility of their development is in your hands, particularly the crucial next few months. It should be your first priority to educate yourself on what puppy ownership entails. 

Books

One of the most helpful resources we have found is the free e-book by Dr Ian Dunbar - “BEFORE You Get Your Puppy” and “AFTER You Get Your Puppy”. These books are a valuable source of information and we highly recommend you read them before you get your puppy and during the first few months after you get your puppy. You can find the books here and here. For a deeper dive into training, we recommend “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor. Susan Garrett’s website has a plethora of information.

Online Puppy School

It is critical to begin your puppy’s training as soon as possible. Dogs love to work and a busy dog is a happy dog. Training with your dog helps them behave in all aspects of their lives and it deepens your bond with one another. We recommend the online puppy school by Baxter and Bella. They have a ton of exercises and games to keep both you and your puppy busy and happy. They have live calls, forums, and LOTS of videos. You can sign up with our Baxter and Bella coupon code PRAIRIEDOODLES for 25% off. 

In-Person Classes and Private Training

We recommend you take a puppy class once the first round of vaccinations are done. The classes not only teach your puppy skills, but they also allow a space for your puppy socialize with other dogs the same age. They minimize the stress of socializing with other dogs and owners and you get used to body language and other cues. A professional trainer can help get your puppy started on the right foot. For this service, we recommend Living Prairie Kennels in Southern Alberta.

Puppy’s Place

Crate

All Prairie Doodle puppies undergo crate training before leaving to their forever homes. A dog trained to love their crate as their den is less prone to behaviour issues. We recommend that families adhere to the crate training, particularly when the puppy is still young and in the process of potty training and learning what (and what not) to chew. The crate is necessary from DAY 1 in order to put the puppy on the best possible footing when learning how to behave in their new environment. Portable crates are recommended if you intend on ever flying with your puppy in the cargo hold. Wire crates are sometimes better suited to the home and they flat pack for easy storage. They also have an interior divider, so the crate can get bigger as your puppy does. We recommend the 32 inch versions for small to medium puppies. Those bigger puppies who will grow into bigger dogs will need the next size up - Plastic and wire. For custom, furniture-grade dog crates, please contact Calgary Custom Cabinets and Carpentry(pictures coming soon). 

Exercise Pen

An Exercise Pen is somewhere where your puppy can hang out, free-ish, for longer periods of time. It’s not wise to immediately give the puppy free rein of the entire house. They need to begin with boundaries, and your Ex-Pen will help with that. You can put their crate in the Ex-Pen for a space within a space, along with toys, to create a zone for your puppy to be a puppy. We recommend a 36” version. 

Puppy “Toilet”

While potty training, particularly in an apartment without a yard, a puppy toilet will be helpful. Prairie Doodles puppies are used to using wood pelletsas a potty. You can put them in a shallow plastic container for the puppy to use on a patio or balcony. Or consider one-use absorbent pee-pads for if you need to briefly leave your puppy in their Ex-Pen for longer than their bladder can stand it. 

Dog Bed

Your puppy will like a cozy place to sleep and rest. There are beds that sit inside the crate and there are beds that stand on their own. Puppies can have some accidents on their beds, so we recommend something easy to clean. There are cozy donut versions and a lot of options on Amazon or Costco. We swear by Vagabond Beds from Red Deer AB. These are also available for pick-up when you pick up your puppy (notice needed). 

Dog Bowls

Dog bowls with a skid-free base are nice to have. You will need two. Custom dog dish holders are available from Calgary Custom Cabinets and Carpentry (pics coming soon).

Toys

We recommend you start with at least one of each - an engagement toy, a chew toy, and a tug/throwing toy in order to keep your puppy happy and active. 

Engagement Toys

Engagement toys reward your puppy for working for their food. Wild dogs spend 90% of their waking hours searching for food, so it’s a good idea to let your dog work for their food instead of just plopping a big bowl in front of them, to be wolfed down in sixty seconds. There are a ton of fun toys out there that will exercise your puppy’s brain. We love the Snoop, the Kong Stick, Kong Spiral, and Kong Wobbler, Nina Ottosson Puzzles, and From Beads to Yarn Snuffle Mats. There are also some excellent DIY options. Keep an eye out for blog posts and videos where we suggest brain games for your puppy. 

Chew Toys

Puppies like (and need) something to chew. Proper chew toys teach your puppy what to chew and what not to chew. The best chew toys are those that can be stuffed with food (like Kongs) and thus reward your puppy for chewing on the proper thing, and they are a mental workout as well. Chew toys help with dental health and the teething stage. Your puppy will need a smaller chew toy at first and will eventually graduate to a bigger one as they grow. There are plenty of DIY options as well, including one of our dogs’ favourites - a plastic bottle stuffed into an old sock! 

Tug Toys and Throwing Toys

These toys are fun games for your puppy. Australian Labradoodles are excellent retrievers and love to play fetch. Avoid tennis balls, as the rough texture is like sandpaper for your puppy’s gums. They will need a small ball at first until they grow into a bigger one. You have to be careful not to over-exert your puppy when playing with toys, as they are still growing and their bones and joints aren’t fully formed yet. Chuckit squeaker balls are a robust hit with our dogs. 

Playing tug with your dog, when done wrong, can lead to aggression and possessiveness. It is critical to read and watch videos (see “Education” above) to learn the proper way to tug with your dog - YOU are the boss. Touch your puppy all over while they tug. Teach them to drop the toy and don’t give it back until they are calm and sitting and making eye contact. Look for toys that have different textures - crunchy, squeaky, etc. We like the Kong Wubbit. Simple rope and ring toys work well too. 

Comfort Toys

Your puppy will be leaving their mama, their siblings, and their human friends when they join you in their forever home. This is a big change for them over the first night or two. To make this transition easier for them, we have had a lot of success with the Snuggle Puppy. This is a small stuffed puppy that has a little “heartbeat” and small, safe heat pack. So your puppy will have something warm to snuggle up with for the first couple nights.

Food and Treats

At Prairie Doodles, we start all puppies with TLC puppy kibble. We recommend continuing with this food, as it is what the puppy is used to. If you choose to switch foods, then change slowly to allow your puppy to get used to the new diet. You can use our TLC dog food coupon code for $5 off: 62974-1025

Kibble or Raw

Our puppies start with kibble and we recommend high-quality kibble. It is important to study the ingredient list of the kibble you are thinking of buying. Dogs are carnivores, so meat should be the majority of the content. There are resources and ratings available online. Some brands we recommend are TLC, Acana, Putcurean Now Fresh. Raw food is something that is best discussed with your vet. There are pros and cons to both and raw food and kibble, and the choice is yours to make. If you opt for raw, we recommend . Grand Cru and Smack for dehydrated raw. 

Training Treats and Chewing Treats

We recommend training your dog with their kibble before they realize how delicious dehydrated sardines and beef liver are! But for those high value treats, look for something with ONE ingredient. For training, you really want something bite-sized - the smaller the better. Break it up by hand if needed. Our dogs love liver bites, sardines, beef lung, etc. Companies we love to support are Granville Island Pet Treatery, Crumps, and Puppy Love Pet Products. You’ll probably want a treat bag unless you want your hoodie pockets to be full of liver dust and sardine oil! 

For chewing treats, again look for one ingredient. “Bully sticks” are a go-to for our dogs, but they’ve been known to gnaw on the odd pig ear here or there. Don’t let your puppy eat too much in one sitting, as it will cause an upset tummy.

Leashes, Collars, and Harnesses 

We recommend a simple 5-6 foot long leash and a simple flat collar. We do NOT recommend retractable leashes, as they relinquish too much control to the dog and can be dangerous. 

It is good to get your puppy used to a harness as soon as possible. Some puppies struggle with harnesses, so it is helpful to try some on at your local pet shop. But we have had success with RC Pets and Rocky Mountain Dog. We recommend harnesses because puppies will eventually learn how fun pulling is, and it is hard on their delicate necks and can damage their windpipes if they pull the leash with their collar. Getting your dog to walk calmly on leash will be one of your biggest challenges and a harness helps stack the cards in your favour. A harness with an attachment on the chest will help dissuade some of the more pully puppies - it’s tough to pull from the chest. 

A long leash is a requirement for effectively training your dog to come when called. 

For particularly distracted puppies, you might consider a head halter. This is a temporary tool and you must do your research on the proper way to use it. Start with what dog trainer Susan Garrett has to say on the subject here.

Health and Hygiene 

Supplements

At Prairie Doodles, we firmly believe in supplements for your puppies growth and development. We require our families purchase at least one 3 month supply to keep puppy healthy while they are growing. Prairie Doodles is a proud affiliate of NuVet Labs® and we recommend their supplements of their Plus line for our puppies to help them in their growth and development. Learn More About These Products. You can pick this up on pick-up day or you are welcome to order online.

We also like Adored Beast pro and pre-biotics

Keeping Clean

Australian Labradoodles don’t shed! You know this already, of course. But the flip side of clean sweaters and nasal passages, is the maintenance involved in caring for your puppy’s coat. You should be brushing your puppy as soon as you bring it home, to get it used to the feeling of getting groomed. Particularly the legs, paws, armpits, and tail. Your puppy is in for a long life of trips to the groomer and you want these trips to be totally stress free for you, the groomer, and your dog. There is a critical stage (around six months) when your puppy’s coat will begin to change. This is where you will likely meet your first mats! To minimize these (and avoid a close-cropped haircut), you want to brush/comb on a regular basis - daily, once it gets long. We have had good success with a furminator brush, but once the hair gets longer than the “teeth” on the brush, then you are brushing top coat only, and the bottom coat gets matted. At this point, only a comb will do a proper job. We recommend poodle combs with rounded teeth. Be diligent under the collar, behind the ears, and on the legs/paws. The more often you brush and comb your dog, the more gentle you can be, the happier they will be. Reward with treats! 

They will need a bath from time-to-time. We like Burt’s Bees puppy shampoo. Don’t shampoo them too often as puppies. 

In addition to their coats, you want to brush your puppy’s teeth. Again, get them used to this feeling as early as possible. It is NOT fun to brush an adult dog’s teeth for the first time. You will also want to invest in some nail clippers. Even if you just “fake” clip your puppy’s nails - this gets them used to the grooming process. The earlier your puppy is exposed to hygiene practices, the better.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions or comments!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS Before your puppy comes home

• Find a vet if you don't already have one. Find one that you trust, or one that has been recommended to you by a friend or relative. It is very important that you trust your vet to make accurate, truthful diagnosis and to feel confident that they will not do unnecessary testing of your dog or puppy. Please don't just pick any vet out of the Yellow Pages: be sure to get recommendations. We use Elizabeth St. Pet Hospital and SAVE in Okotoks and they are very good. We recommend the following vets which we either know well or other clients have recommended: Bridlewood Vet (our old vet works out of this clinic, her name is Maya), Elizabeth St. Pet Hospital in Okotoks, and Highview Animal Clinic in High River.

• Check into puppy socialization and obedience classes for your new puppy. We strongly recommend this! We recommend starting with puppy classes and then moving on to basic obedience classes and beyond. The puppies love going and are the star in most classes. We use Michelle at Living Prairie Kennels here locally for a lot of our training, as she has a great puppy bootcamp program for basic and advanced training, as well as boards our puppies when our families have to pick up at a later date. For those of you in the Calgary area we recommend Kirsten Rose of Canine Mind and Manners, and Dogma. For one-on-one classes, we like Larry of Konfident Kanines. We have personally used Larry and he is firm but good.

Questions? We're always available at prairiedoodles@gmail.com.