Bringing Home a New Puppy:
Steps To Take Before the Arrival

Photo courtesy of Hervé de Brabandère

Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting event. Make sure you are prepared.

So at this point you have selected a perfect Golden Retriever puppy to call your own -- now what? You have visited the breeder multiple times and have picked out your special puppy. But before your darling puppy comes home, you have work to do!

Remember that your puppy is going to be brand new to your house and your way of living (in fact, he is just 8 weeks from being brand new to the entire world!). He will need time to adjust – and you will need patience while he does so!

You can take multiple steps to help the adjustment process prior to your puppy's arrival. Of utmost importance is setting up your home to make his new environment the safest it can be. Further we recommend that you plan a relatively detailed routine for your puppy. You must also purchase several supplies prior to his arrival (link). And finally, you must decide on the food your puppy will eat.

Taking these steps PRIOR to the arrival of your new puppy will save you and your puppy a tremendous amount of trouble.