Puppy gear ideas

This is what we recommend you have on hand for your pup when you take it home:

- bowls or containers for the food

- food (you get a little from us)

- toys (you will get one from us)

- a carrier or crate or bed. You will get a small blanket that smells like Ruby.

- a heat pack or hotty to snuggle with through the night - WARM only not hot

- a spray to remove the odor if the pup has an accident inside

- puppies have short legs and can injury their legs easily, so you can use a ramp or cushion to make stepping down safe. Puppies shouldn't go up and down stairs until they are 12 weeks, so you might want a baby-gate or barrier to stop them attempting this if you have stairs.

Eventually you might like to consider the following

- a collar and lead

- Grooming gear. Even if you intend on having the pup professionally groomed, you might like to get them used to being brushed. You might need trimmers, clippers, scissors, nail clippers and shampoo if you will handle the grooming yourself.

- Doggy Toothpaste if you are so inclined

- flea and worm treatments

The puppy zone

It might be useful to have a temporary puppy zone inside your house, depending on your house, family and lifestyle. The idea is sort of like crate training on a slightly extended scale. A puppy zone is an enclosed area where the puppy can be safe and calm and doesn't need too much supervision. It is a lot of work to puppy-proof a whole house, especially if you have kids who leave their toys and half eaten sandwiches all over the floor. If you have animals or kids, then a puppy zone helps give them a break from the puppy or the puppy a break from them. It stops the puppy from getting under your feet when you are cooking dinner and saves the carpets while you are ensuring the puppy is house trained. If you can set it up with direct access to outside, then you can leave a door open and the puppy should take themselves outside to go to the loo. If you put bedding down and gradually make the space larger, that will help reinforce that this isn't a toileting place. Make sure there is a ramp or some cushions down to protect the puppy's legs if there is a step down to the outside.

You can make a puppy zone by putting a baby gate or barrier across the door way of a room, or else use some fencing/pen or furniture to section off an area. One of the benefits to fencing off an area inside a living room is that the puppy will still be around you when they are in their zone.

Here is a picture of Pink girl's puppy zone at our daughter's house. She has a puppy carrier inside the puppy zone for crate training. She has a ramp outside the door, so Pinks can take herself outside to the toilet by herself.

Big puppy zone with 2 kmart pens

Small puppy zone with one kmart pen ($50 each)