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Cream Goldens
8 Important Things to Do When You Get Your New Golden Retriever Puppy
Olesya Nikolaev
August 28, 2022
Congratulations on adopting your new puppy if you just got it or are about to get one! There is nothing like the joy of welcoming a Golden Retriever into your home and watching it grow up. However, before you can begin the fun process of raising this new addition to your family, you must prepare for their arrival. There are a number of things you must do such as buying essential items, registering their microchip, potty training, providing food and water for your puppy, among other things. Let’s dive in!
English Golden Retriever Puppies for Sale

1. Making Your Home Ready for a New Puppy is Essential

Before you bring your new Golden Retriever puppy home, it's important to make sure your home is ready for a new member of the family. This can be done by puppy-proofing and proving a safe sleeping area:

  • Puppy-proof: The first thing that should be done is to go through every room in your house and evaluate what potential hazards exist for a curious pup. Things like sharp objects, breakable glassware, electric cords need to be put away where they cannot be chewed on or pulled down onto the puppy’s head while he or she plays. It’s also important to make sure there aren't any dangerous chemicals lying around (like bleach) since these can cause serious harm or even death if ingested by pets such as dogs or cats! Certain house plants are also poisonous. It's best to put all plants in places where your puppy can't get to them.
  • Safe sleeping area: Now that you've made sure all dangerous items have been put away—both inside and outside—it's time to start preparing a designated sleeping area for your new pet! Consider including one blanket in that area, but keep in mind that the puppy might chew and rip it. It may also be a good idea to get crate where you puppy can sleep and feel safe. There are other benefits of crates that we'll discuss below.

2. Purchase Essential Supplies and Items

Your new puppy comes with a lot of new responsibilities. As such, you must have the necessary tools and items to care for your puppy. For a full list of mandatory and optional items you should buy to take care of your new puppy, check out this link. The items on the list include obvious things like a collar and leash; you'll use these every day as your puppy grows into an adult dog. A brush and comb are good tools for keeping their Golden Retriever coat healthy. A food bowl, water bowl, as well as puppy food (Purina Pro Plan Puppy Lamb and Rice Formula) should be purchased right away—puppies will require frequent feeding at first, so having the right accessories and supplies right off the bat will make life easier for everyone involved!

Chew toys, such as soft rubber teething toys, can help prevent destructive behaviour like chewing on furniture legs or shoes left lying around by humans with poor judgment skills (like me). Toys that are safe for your puppy to play with should be bought as soon as possible because this is where most dogs get into trouble; they chew up everything in sight because they're teething! Other items to buy include poop bags, enzyme odour cleaner, nail clipper, dog shampoo, playpen or crate, as well as less obvious things like an ID tag and a pet license.

3. Start Potty Training

The first thing you should do when getting home with your new puppy is to start potty training. It’s important to start this process as soon as possible so that both you and your dog can get into a routine and to limit potty accidents. Your new Golden Retriever puppy does not yet fully understand that they should be peeing and pooing outside. As breeders, we do our best to start that training before you pick up your puppy, but they're still too young to be fully trained at two months old. The puppy needs to potty every time it has food or water, as well as when they wake up after sleep or a nap.

At two months when you take your new puppy home, the puppy can only hold its pee or poo for about 2 hours. So you should aim to take the puppy outside or to their dedicated spot, depending on the potty training technique, every 2 hours. A good rule of thumb is that for every month that passes by, that time increases by an hour. So at 3 months, you'll need to take the puppy out every 3 hours. At 4 months, every 4 hours, etc. Until about 8 months.

There are lots of different ways to potty train a puppy, but one of the easiest ways is crate training. A crate is where your Golden Retriever pup can sleep, rest and feel safe. Most people choose to housebreak their dogs using crates because it helps keep them safe from accidents indoors. All while also helping them learn how long they should hold their bladder before going outside again! That’s because dogs do not like to potty where they sleep. Additionally, a crate is a great way to keep your puppy safe when you can't be home. It's also a great place for them to go when they need some alone time or when you're running errands.

4. Create a Routine

When you bring your new puppy home, consistency is key. The puppy needs a routine to follow at all times of the day. A schedule will help your dog feel more comfortable and secure in their new environment. It also allows you to easily predict when the puppy will need something like food, water or to go outside so that you can be prepared with treats or a collar on hand respectively.

Create a schedule that may include things like:

  • Feeding the dog 3-4 meals per day at regular intervals (about 3-4 hours apart). When they’re 18 months, you may choose to switch feeding your dog to twice per day; morning and evening.
  • Walking the dog after each meal. Though at first, you should not take the puppy out for too long in different areas. Instead, it should be around the same area every time and away from other people and animals. This should be done until they get their rabies shot at about 4 months old. As previously mentioned, your vet should tell you when your puppy is fully immunized.
  • Playing with your pup right before bedtime so that they're more tired when going to sleep.

5. Microchip Registration

Either a microchip or a tattoo is required for all Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) registered dogs. When you adopt a Golden Retriever puppy from us (kennel name: Cream Goldens), they already come with a microchip. A microchip is a chip that the vet puts inside the puppy's skin. The main purpose of a microchip is for identification. For example, if your dog ever gets lost and animal control gets a hold of it, they will be able to scan the microchip and find out who the owner of the puppy is.

But how does the microchip know your information? Well, that's where registering your microchip comes in. When you arrive to take your puppy home, we will provide you with the microchip information and instructions on how that's done. It's very simple and can be done online through 24petwatch.

6. Visit the Vet

When you pick up your English Cream Golden Retriever puppy from us, we will provide you a health record of your puppy. It contains your puppy's records of immunization and deworming. Our puppies are vet checked and receive their first immunizations before you pick them up. We will tell you when the next visit to the vet is due. That visit will be when the puppy is 10-12 weeks old, so 2-4 weeks after you pick the puppy up. During this vet visit, you will need to bring your puppy’s health record. Based on that health record, your vet will know exactly what additional shots and treatments are needed and when. The vet will inform you when the next vet visit is needed. Probably a month after this initial visit. During the second or third visit is when your puppy should get the rabies immunization shot. At that point, you can introduce your puppy to other people and animals, as well as go for long walks and take your puppy to public places. Your vet should tell you when that point comes.

7. Socialize Your Dog

There are few things in life as rewarding as watching your dog explore the world around them. One of the best ways to ensure that happens is to expose them to new experiences, smells, sounds, and textures as soon as they get home. When you're out on walks or in other public places with your puppy, make sure they always have positive interactions with people and other animals so they learn how amazing it can be to meet new friends. If possible (depending on where you live), take your puppy into busy parks or events where there is a lot going on so they can get used to loud noises like cars driving by or children playing outside. Keep in mind, as mentioned above, this can be only done when the puppy is fully immunized.

8. Commit to Training

One of the most important things you can do when your new Golden Retriever puppy comes home is to commit to training. It may sound like a lot of work and it’s true that training requires commitment, time, and effort, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Training your dog is fun for both you and him/her! It will keep them safe from unsafe situations and help build trust between you two. Training also helps bond you with your dog by teaching him/her how to do fun tricks or commands, such as sit, play dead, and paw! It also stimulates your dog's brain, which is great for its overall well-being.

Teaching your dog to recall whenever that's indeed is extremely important and may even keep them out of harm's way. Recall is when you call your dog and they immediately stop what they're doing and come straight to you.

Conclusion

So now you know what to do when you bring home your new Golden Retriever puppy. There’s no time to waste, so get started on everything that needs to be done right away! We hope these tips have helped you prepare for the arrival of your furry friend.