bringing home puppy

[ElizabethHaynes]

Hello!

We will be bringing home our new mini schanuzer puppy in just over 2 weeks. She will be 8 weeks old. I know the basics that we will need- clicker, crate, food, bed, leads, harness, etc. What are some out of the box things that we should consider buying to ease our transition and get a jump on training? I have contemplated a heartbeat toy, "calming" treats or sprays, and best toy/chew options for new puppies. I think that our initial priorities will be establishing positive association with the crate and getting a positive start on potty training.

I have read through the "puppy" section but are there specific articles or info from the archives that are most helpful to read before bringing puppy home that focus on those first few days?

[Adrienne]

Hi there!

I like that you are planning ahead, that is very smart. Other items that come to mind are:

For potty training:

• Enzyme-based cleaner to clean up messes
• A black light to find messes that you could have missed
• Paper towels to clean up messes.
• Puppy pee pads if you plan on using a long-term confinement area.
• Pooper scooper to easily clean up outdoor poop from the yard if you have one.

Other items:

• Interactive food-dispensing toys
• Baby gate 
• Grooming tools
• Puppy shampoo
• Toothbrush/toothpaste for dogs

Other articles/videos that you can find helpful are: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Desensitization and counterconditioning (for getting puppy used to being touched, picked up, wearing a collar or leash)

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

Stop by the obedience 101 section and train a nice sit. Puppies as young at 8 weeks can learn sits after just a few days after settling in the home. With puppies, consider that they get easily distracted and we may need to do briefer training sessions and take baby steps. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/

Target can also come handy with puppy nipping:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

Should your puppy ever show fear, this is a good method to implement:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/using-jolly-routine-fearful-dogs/

To prevent fear of water:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-water-bathing/

Leash conditioning exercises:

Also, there are oodles of tips for bity puppies in this forums if you search puppy nipping or puppy biting.