new puppy, where do i start?
 

We are suprising our 9 yr old daughter with a yorkie for her birthday. The puppy will be 6 months old. Of course I can't wrap it, so I am wrapping a box with a stuffed yorkie and puppy items for her and will bring out the puppy once she opens the gift. So this is what I'd like to know: What are the most important things I will need? I thought about the potty training book suggested on this site, maybe some treats and toys, collar, leash, grooming supplies??? I'm trying to keep it inexpensive but I want it to be fun and practical. She has never had a dog before and I've never had an inside dog, so I don't really have any experience with this! The puppy is coming with a crate and that's all I know! Let me know what I should get! Thanks!

You will need a bed, blankets, coats and sweaters if you live where it's cold, a harness for walking because collars are bad for little dogs (collapsed trachea), you might want pee pads if you are potty training inside or using them when you can't be home to get the pup outside. Enzyme cleaner to remove stains and "smells" from carpets and floors for potty training, baby gates to block off rooms so you can keep an eye on the puppy during potty training period, possibly you might want to use blankets over your carpets in the room the puppy will be spending it's time with your family, we used them to cover our floors so the pup couldn't pee on the actual carpets and just machine washed them after accidents, works great!!

treats, toys, training treats, (a clicker if you want to clicker train), tooth brush and toothpaste for dogs, nutrical or karo syrup for possible hypoglycemia episodes, metal water dish for keeping water cooler all day, NO Plastics, porcelin or ceramic food dishes, food dish mat for spills, heart worm medication, flea and tick medication (from vets) ear cleaner, tear stain remover, oatmeal puppy shampoo, and conditioner, pin brushes, flea combs, regular comb, crate for training and at night, exercise pen for long hours you may be gone while dog is in training because the crate is too small for all day use. good top quality dog food (i use a home made raw diet PM me for details) a good vet office you trust for shots and check ups, puppy steps if you have a tall bed or couch and want the pup to get up there easily, chew toys and Bully Sticks (from AMD for less stinky and cheap ones www.westbrookdog.com) you might need bitter apple spray to prevent cord chewing, hide all things dangerous and puppy proof the home.

This is all i can think of now. make sure you really read up about caring for a yorkie. they are a very difficult breed to potty train unless you really can be consistent and they don't do so well being alone for very long, i would highly recommend Yorkshire Terrier's for Dummies and any other yorkie book about the breed so you are very ready for this baby, they are wonderful but challenging dogs.

hope your daughter will just love this and i'm sure she'll be thrilled to get a puppy, but they are hard work, so be ready for a lot of work and a lot of expenses at first, puppies are not cheap and take a lot of supplies and work.

Good luck and give us lots of pictures when you get him/her

Thanks! I am compiling my list! I hope we are ready for this. We've waited forever to get a puppy so that we could have time for it and I hope our timing is right. I have 4 kids and I knew that before now I would never have had enough time to spend with a puppy. My youngest is 3 now so I think all the kids will be a big help. She will have lots of attention and love! The 3 older kids are at school all day while the 3 yr old and I are home so that will be a good time to work with her I think.

What kind of dog treats do you use? Also is there a specific type of harness that you would recommend? What size leash?

Thanks so much for your help!

I use a buddy belt. I would say any "harness" would be good. I have a retractable leash, they have them at petsmart they are the "mini" ones.
With treats Peanut likes the "jerky" type treats. Petco has better treats than petsmart..

we use a step in harness from petsmart, just think small and you'll be fine. and the leash, just get a small one, i use the non retractable because of wanting her to learn to heel in training her to walk, but we'll be getting a retractable someday when i'm confidant in her.

we use cheerios for training treats and then give bigger treats once a day, i like liver treats, chicken tenders (dried) and other "natural" meats and selections. they can eat the bully sticks as well, but they take all day to chew them down (they are great babysitters when you need tv time to veg. out and stop watching the dog on the floor.)

a good reminder unless he/she's already trained, watch the dog 100% with all your focus so you don't let them have an accident until you are very very sure they are trained!

this is a good list, I wrote everything down, eventhough I already have two dogs, I want to start fresh w/ my new baby, when I get her/him. which wont be for a while but its still good to be prepared. You guys are great!

Carla :aimeeyork