You're only a couple days from bringing your bundle of furry fun home and we are so excited (and maybe a little sad) to be passing off these pups we have LOVED caring for these past 8 weeks. Our lives have revolved around them for two months and nothing delights us more than getting updates in the days and weeks and years to come from our adoptive families. Please don’t forget us! We’d love to get texts when you can with cute pictures and funny stories as your pup grows!
QUICK LINKS:
You should have already seen our Before You Bring Your Puppy Home list of things to buy to set up for your puppy's arrival.
We just want to emphasize again the great resource in Baxter & Bella training program where you have unlimited one-on-one coaching from professional dog trainers for LIFE so you’ve got someone in your corner when you have questions in these first weeks. Additionally they offer comprehensive training, videos, coaching calls and live or recorded sessions for everything you could possibly want to know about puppy training.
If you do sign up, be sure to use
coupon code GGG25 for a $59.50 discount!
Now to all the details of GOTCHA DAY!!
CONTRACT
Please familiarize yourself with the Buyer/Breeder Contract once again before you pick up. We will have a printed copy on hand for both parties to sign before transferring ownership of the puppy to you.
Please note these important points:
Breeding rights are not permitted and you are required to have your dog fixed by 6 months of age or at the time of your vets recommendation.
At any time, you may return your dog to us in the event that you can no longer care for it to avoid it being placed in a shelter or abandoned.
VET RECORDS
Puppies received a clean bill of health at their recent vet check. Per our contract, we encourage you to have your puppy seen by your vet within 2 days of bringing it home.
Here is a link to your pup’s Vet Records which you’ll want to share with your vet as it documents their first round of immunizations and deworming treatment they’ve already received.
PAYMENT
GoodDog app is the preferred form of payment. We will invoice you the remaining balance and you can settle up beforehand to make puppy pick-up day easier, or you can pay day of.
TAKE HOME PACKET
You have long anticipated Gotcha Day. It will be exciting, so sweet and cuddly, but disorienting for puppy and the beginning of a new journey for you! Be patient with the process. Remember that this is a huge step out of the only home and life these little ones have known. They are eating real food and are mostly weaned, but still find comfort nursing (and Maple is such a tolerant mama) so there will be some grieving for both mom and pups. Additionally, they’re going to be “by themselves” and away from a puppy pile of littermates. We’re preparing a few things which we hope will help make the transition easier….
Your puppy has been trained on Life’s Abundance All Stages dog food. If you haven't already, order this to keep their little delicate digestive systems settled for the first few months of life. Transitioning to a new food can be hard on them. We will be sending home a bag of this food for the first few days.
We will be sending home a “lovey” that smells like mama and littler-mates. You’ll want to keep this with your pup at all times in the early stages of this transition. Dogs have a keen sense of smell and this familiar scent will be a comfort to him as he learns to live independently of the litter.
TRAVEL
If at all possible, bring someone with you when you pick up puppy who can help hold a curious, active puppy on the drive home.
And if you’re traveling a long distance home, you may even want a car-carrier or small crate they can travel in.
We have taken pups on outings to help them get used to car rides and they’ve all done great. Eventually, she will probably fall asleep. As soon as she wakes up, you’ll want to stop and give her a chance to potty.
POTTYING
Do not stop at public rest stops where other people have let their dogs potty!
Until your puppy is fully immunized, you want to stay away from dog parks, public rest stops and places other animals have relieved themselves. Your puppy could contract something from proximity and you want to keep them safe from exposure until the vet clears them to be in these kinds of environments.
Better to find a grassy field or remote area to let your puppy potty!
Puppies have done amazing with litter training! Here are some tips to help you continue enforcing good behavior.
Place puppy in litter box after she wakes up from sleeping.
Place puppy in litter box after she eats or drinks
Praise her (high pitched voice) whenever she pees or poops in the box or reward with a treat
Do not give puppy the run of the house. Start her in a small contained space where she has play space, a crate (den) and her litter box. As she gets older (and can “hold it longer” you can extend her area and let her roam more freely.
Do not leave her in crate so long that she poops or pees. You do NOT want your pup to ever mess their “den” area. Dogs are naturally clean animals and want to move away from their den area to relieve themselves. However, if they get in a habit of messing in their crate, its a tough one to break!
Think of this like having a newborn. Your pup is not mature enough to hold it for long periods. If puppy whines in their crate at nighttime, take them to the litter box or outside to potty. Dont expect them to hold it for more than a couple hours.
SCHEDULE
Obviously, you can modify this to fit your family and your preferred wake/sleep times, but this is the general “schedule” we’ve implemented with your pup who is acclimating well to litter training and crate training:
Puppy usually wakes at first light (7:00ish)
As soon as you hear her getting “whiny” take her outside or put her in litterbox until she uses it
Puppy will be very hungry and ready to eat right away. Put down about a cup of dog food (may want more, may need less….you’ll get to know your puppys appetite) Offer water at the same time. You dont want to leave water down all day as this will make potty training harder, but you do want to offer it frequently!
Watch for her to start sniffing the ground. This is usually an indicator she needs to potty. Observe her signals and frequently guide her to use the litterbox (or take her outside)
Morning playtime usually lasts until 11/11:30 when puppies crash and pass out. She may choose to crawl in her den/bedding area. Or you might have her in your lap or in a cozy spot.
When she wakes, immediately take potty outside or place her in litterbox
Offer water whenever puppy has had an energetic playtime or if you see them “panting”.
Second feeding of the day is around 6:30/7:00. Potty right after
Pups usually get “the zoomies” before bedtime. This is typically their most rambunctious time of day when they need to run off steam before bedtime.
Around 10/11:00, offer water and one last potty, then tuck puppy into her crate. Make sure she has her lovey that smells like mama and cozy bedding. Dimming the lights and classical music is something we’ve used ever since they were born and it helps settle pups!
Set a 3 hour timer to get up and take pup potty. If you hear her start whining before that, she may need to potty sooner. You’ll likely need to wake at least two times during the night just during these first couple weeks. This is again where you’ll want to access the Baxter & Bella training resource to help you ascertain how to graduate on from this stage and get puppy to sleep longer!
If you haven't already, touch base with Mandy to confirm your date and time of pick up. Typically we do adoption meetings at Starbucks nearby as its less traumatic for Maple this way not having strangers take puppies from our home. We’ll meet at 1245 Lake Murray Blvd., Irmo SC and it usually takes about 30 minutes to get all the paperwork/payment/questions answered and sweet puppy passed off.
Let me know if any questions come up in the meantime that I can answer to help prepare you to bring your puppy home! Look forward to meeting you soon!!
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