The date that you will be bringing your new puppy home is fast approaching and it’s an exciting time! Let us help you double check you have everything in place while things are relatively calm before the tornado of a happy puppy changes things for a few weeks (months!)
There are so many ways we can prepare while waiting for our puppy, giving us a chance to do something before them even before they come home.
Preparation for bringing dog home – general checklist:
Bed / crate – finding a bed for your puppy that suits them now and also once grown or will you buy bigger when they need it? Maybe you already have a puppy bed from dogs you’ve had / have? Decide where you want the bed(s) to be placed.
Water bowls – do you need a certain size bowl for the puppy you will be getting? Maybe you have bowls but for a LeonBerger and this time you are having a Tibetan Spaniel. Different size bowls may be needed. Raised? Angled for Spaniel ears? Also where will these go and do you need bowl mats?
Food bowls – just with water bowls do you have bowls already and are they a good size fit? Have they had a good clean as there are so many bacteria’s etc that can be on the surface of bowls and not easily cleaned.
Collar / Harness – you might not need these instantly aside from maybe wanting something for safety while visiting the vets but take a look at collars and harnesses – what style will you get, do you need to organise an ID tag? Can you get your chosen brand in a small enough size for your puppy if they are a toy breed? Or a puppy harness big enough if you have a large breed?
Lead / Long line – again these are not as important instantly, especially the long line, but it’s worth considering what you may want to have as suddenly your puppy will be ready to go out for walks etc! Leads can be lightweight, heavy, various lengths, so many materials and different types of clasps! Longlines can be thick or thin, lightweight for recall or heavy for strong dogs never going fully off lead. You may also want to look at House Lines or Puppy Lines which was shorter and lightweight and help around the house and garden for puppy to get used to the feel of a collar / harness and line attached while giving you a way to prevent them running off if someone opens the front door!
Towels – will you get puppy towels? General towels? Use an old towels from upstairs in the cupboard? If you plan to get your puppy a towel to use then you know it will rain for the first week you bring your Puppy home if you don’t have it ready! In fact get two so one can be washed!
Coat – dog coats for winter, jackets for rain, Tshirts for hot days (esp white or furless dogs), fleeces to help dry off … when we brought Merlin home in Feb 2012 it literally snowed overnight and we had nothing that fitted him as he was tiny! Nothing at the local store we could walk to (that’s how much snow we had!) had anything he didn’t trip over in. So we made him a black jumper from a thick sock and cut the toe off and made leg holes. He looked pretty cosy and wore this for toilets in the snow garden for the first couple of weeks until he grew into his sweater! But what a panic that first morning was!
Food – often breeders will provide initial food but find out in advance what your dog is fed and if you want to change, then change gradually once dog is settled. If your puppy is coming from a rescue you can also find out what food they have been primarily fed on in advanced and choose to get more and then keep them on it, change slowly to something else or change straight away and chance a couple of days of diarrhoea – which may happen anyway with travel and changes!
Toys – you won’t yet know what types of toys your puppy will like but you can start making them a collection! Something soft to cuddle up with, something designed for puppy teething and maybe a couple of stronger toys too. Some of our favourites are from Tug-E-Nuff but we also love these from Nylabone
You may also want to look into ‘enrichment toys’ – these are often filled with small treats or your puppies food to give them something to think about, use their nose and brain and enjoy time getting their food. There are a lot to choose from but some favourites of ours are from Nina Ottosson and No Fuss Fill plus snuffle mats and toys are great fun such as Calm Dog Games
Insurance – many breeders have connections with insurance or through breeders programmes such as Kennel Club to provide new puppy owners with 4 or 6 weeks of free pet insurance. Check if you do get this and how to register as if your puppy needs vet treatment before you set it up you won’t be able to claim with the free insurance. You can then continue with the same insurance and contact them for your own policy or look around and see what works for you. Remember good insurance is less about who is cheapest on quote and more about the service you will get and recommendations from people who have used their insurance for a claim.
Vets and initial checkup up / vaccinations – you can register with a vet practise before you bring your puppy home or once you have your puppy and it’s worth looking around and asking people you who they recommend. There are more vet practises that are now part of larger groups with very different pricing structures and policies compared to independent vets – personally I prefer to support independent vets!
Check services such as type of spay or neuter (some do laparoscopic but others don’t, for example), foreign dog policy, opening hours or overnight stays if your puppy were to need it or would they be transferred to the nearest emergency vet? Also find out when your closest emergency vet is as it might not be your vet, and might not be in your town or village! Ours are 30 mins away!
Consider Worming and Flea preventatives – your breeder or rescue centre will be able to let you know what they have been using for flea and worming treatments and sometimes can give you more for the next few months or you’ll need to go to your vet. You now need to have a consult to be able to buy worming treatments from vets whereas you used to be able to drop in and buy it so bear this in mind.
Brush / comb suitable for your breed or source a groomer if needed – good groomers are booked out weeks and months in advanced and often have dogs on a regular schedule such as every 6 weeks or 8 weeks etc so if you feel you will be using a groomer start searching for one before your puppy is home and find out availability. Also is you are getting a less commonly seen breed that has a specific grooming look you can ask their experience with that breed. Some places you’ll see on their social media they tailor each dog to their breed type, while other places every dog on their socials look the same; shaved all over with trimmed ears! If you are wanting a specific look or something like hand stripping for a double coat then don’t assume this will be done without requesting it!
Even if your puppy will be going to a groomer you will need to keep up the brushing and detangling at home otherwise your puppy will be uncomfortable and your groomer will have to spend time trying to undo the matts and possibly have to shave the whole coat just to avoid your puppy having a really painful few hours being groomed! Find out what grooming tools are best for your puppy’s coat type or ask your breeder, join a group for your breed online etc and get your combs and brushes etc ready. You can start with small sessions while your puppy is young and most breeders will have done some already.
Will you require a dog walker / doggie day care? – as with groomers and trainers you will find good places that come recommended will need booking in advance so start researching and contacting people you are interested in. Find out what services match your requirements, what availability they have and how much. If you are relying on a dog walker due to you being out at work also find out what happens when they take time off for a holiday or illness – will you need to find someone to pop in to your puppy or do they have cover? Some people have a walker on certain days, some every day, some have a drop in visit to let their dog out to toilet, give them a fuss and pop a treat down before they go.
Do you have holidays booked soon? Can your new dog come or do you need boarding as many good places fill up in advance!! And again if you can call a dog boarding facility and ask for space in 4 days time for 2 weeks I’d take a look at their reviews and maybe ask about as unless they just had a cancellation that matches your booking that’s not always a great sign! so contact in advance and get your dates booked plus arrange for an overnight stay before your holiday so your puppy can have a shorter and positive experience and if they really hate it you are around to collect them and have time to reconsider plans.
Puppy Training – many places allow puppies to start from around 12 weeks onwards, or once vaccinations are completed. Although you can train dogs at any age, we do recommend starting earlier when possible so you can help with safety and also prevent unwanted behaviour patterns starting like pulling on lead or jumping up at people!
Good training places will allow you to go and watch, planned, so you can check out the venue, how they teach, what the dogs and owners are doing etc. Go watch and see if it’s for you as these early stages are important and if you don’t gel with the trainer it’s better for a puppy to not join those classes and try to learn each week on a place their owner isn’t comfortable. Ask friends and family, check reviews on Google and social media, and watch some training taking place. Remember price doesn’t mean somewhere is great or bad!
And to really get prepared in advanced did you know you can start learning your puppy’s foundations before they even come to your home?! Our Online Puppy Lifeskills Masterclass provides you with 24/7 lifetime access with training videos, puppy behaviour talks and the option to ask questions about the training. So by the time your puppy joins you you’ll have an idea of how to guide them.
We also have an exclusive Puppy Bundle for people reading this blog in Summer 2026;
✅ Puppy Lifeskills Masterclass online
✅ 121 Training session with Royal Kennel Club Accredited Dog Trainer Joe Nutkins online or in person if you are local to Ardleigh in Essex
✅ Downloadable checklists for different types of puppy socialisation, remembering the names you’ve given the exercises you teach etc
✅ Plus bonus ebook on preparing puppies for travelling; car, bus, train etc.
For only £55!! – for more information email us or what’s app:
Email: joe@dogtrainingessex-suffolk.co.uk
What’s App Message: 07809 117912
Get ready to enjoy your new puppy and if you found this useful please consider forwarding to a friend who is getting a Puppy soon too.
Joe Nutkins x
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