Preparing to become a ‘pawrent’ is very exciting, but it can be hard to know where to start.
From choosing the right food to the comfiest bed - there’s an abundance of products designed for pets.
So I thought I’d tell you just how we geared up for our latest addition to our family.
We started shopping for our pup around three days before we brought him home. Sean and I decided that we were going to crate train our dog for a number of reasons. Not at all for punishment, but so the puppy had its own personal, safe space and also due to the fact that puppies chew and we had just had a new kitchen!
We decided to get a crate that would last our Golden Retriever for life and opted for a Kong crate . I picked the one that had a picture of a Labrador inside it to gage the right size. We bought ours from Pets at Home but there are lots of other pet retailers that stock all sorts of crates.
Other essentials that we purchased were a squeaky plush cow and a squeaky blue bunny rabbit, a cheeky lips chew toy , a Kong and a selection of balls .
We then stocked up on copious amounts of treats, which included Pedigree Tasty Minis , Pets at Home Milky Bones (which my puppy Bungle adores) and some Pedigree Denta Tubos .
We also got him a cute new Wainwrights collar with a pair of bow ties, an anti-gulp bowl , and a ceramic water bowl .
Once we got home, we assembled his crate and placed a blanket we had been keeping on our bed inside.
We then put his toys around the house and his teddys on the sofa so all of his new things absorbed our scents.
We didn’t buy a huge amount of things as the breeder had told us she had put together a welcome home bag for the pups. Inside the bag included a jar full of treats, a blanket with the mother’s scent on, little bowls, food, toys, a lead and collar set and even a super comfy dog bed!
So we were definitely all set when Bungle finally came home on March 4. Instantly, he loved his little cow and bunny - I must admit I kept picking them up and cuddling them in the days leading up to getting him. So, maybe the smell of me had something to do with that!
You don’t have to go out and buy all these things, but I thought it was worth sharing, because at first we had no idea what to get! If you are getting a puppy, my advice would be to just enjoy their puppyhood because it flies by so fast!
