We are bringing home our yellow lab puppy in one month. She will be my first dog in 11 years and my 5 year old daughter's first ever. We get her at 10 weeks because of a pre-scheduled trip at 9 weeks that can not be changed.
I am a little out of practice. We plan to crate our dog and will use a gate to partition off part of our living room for her space. Her space will be on our wood floor and a friend has recommended I tape plastic underneath her space to limit wood floor damage until she becomes housebroken. I planned to also tape old rugs on top of the plastic. Her crate will fit inside her space, and I plan to make it very comfortable for her. I like the idea of purchasing a large crate that has a divider so she can grow into it. She will be coming to work with us, unfortunately she will not be able to be in my office, but my wife and I will be able to check on her every hour or so. I have a truck with a camper shell where she'll reside during work hours. Based on my research, I plan to feed her grain free diet... local stores carry California Natural and Innova. I also have a vet picked out. I plan to have her chipped for ID purposes.
That's about as far as my thinking has gone so far. I could use some advice on what to get in preparation of her arrival... a puppy checklist so to speak. For eaxample:
Bathing- how often and what to use?
Collar- Good idea for puppy or not?
Brush- What type best for puppy?
Bed for inside crate- recommendation?
Chew toys- Plastic or natural?
Also if anyone can recommend a quintessential lab puppy reference book, I would appreciate it. Heck I'll take any advice right now!
I am a little out of practice. We plan to crate our dog and will use a gate to partition off part of our living room for her space. Her space will be on our wood floor and a friend has recommended I tape plastic underneath her space to limit wood floor damage until she becomes housebroken. I planned to also tape old rugs on top of the plastic. Her crate will fit inside her space, and I plan to make it very comfortable for her. I like the idea of purchasing a large crate that has a divider so she can grow into it. She will be coming to work with us, unfortunately she will not be able to be in my office, but my wife and I will be able to check on her every hour or so. I have a truck with a camper shell where she'll reside during work hours. Based on my research, I plan to feed her grain free diet... local stores carry California Natural and Innova. I also have a vet picked out. I plan to have her chipped for ID purposes.
That's about as far as my thinking has gone so far. I could use some advice on what to get in preparation of her arrival... a puppy checklist so to speak. For eaxample:
Bathing- how often and what to use?
Collar- Good idea for puppy or not?
Brush- What type best for puppy?
Bed for inside crate- recommendation?
Chew toys- Plastic or natural?
Also if anyone can recommend a quintessential lab puppy reference book, I would appreciate it. Heck I'll take any advice right now!