Preparing For a New Puppy

My partner has wanted a dog in our family for many years, but in my opinion, bringing a dog into your family is one huge decision. It's a huge responsibility and not only that, there's an extra cost too. It took me over 7 years to finally give in and make the decision to bring a dog into our family. I wanted to make sure that I was in the right place myself and that I was definitely done having children.

Our Ollie is now 8 months old, and I couldn't imagine life without him. It's been difficult, don't get me wrong. We are first-time dog owners, and I think he has mixed in with our family pretty well. He adores the kids, and they love him too. I remember when we told the kids that we were getting a dog and having those weeks to prepare ourselves before he came into our family. There was a lot of learning and preparation to do, and I thought I'd share what I learnt along the way of preparing for our new puppy:

1. Food
We were puzzled to find the right food for our puppy, but after lots of recommendations, we finally settled for Hill's™ Science Plan™. Not only is the food suitable for puppies and dog, but it's also a great 
tasting for them. Their food is high-quality something to look in for when buying your dog food. 
It's important to buy the right food with the right high quality ingredients to give them the 
best benefits in their life. Another reason we were happy with our dog food choice was the 
benefits that Hill's food had such as the omega-3 and optimal minerals levels for mobility and 
skeletal development. This particular Hill's™ Science Plan™ Puppy Healthy Development™ Medium Chicken is formulated to support their immunity and mobility with clinically proven antioxidants. 

2. Sleeping area
This is where you will need to decide if you are going to crate train your puppy or not. We did at the beginning, and we got the XL size crate. Ollie now has a little room next to our kitchen, there's a safety gate in between, so he's not able to access the house on his own when we are out.
We try to make him sleeping area cosy by adding lots of bedding, toys and cosy blankets and beds. There are a few reasonably priced dog beds on eBay and pet stores.

3. Puppy Proof!
This is something we didn't really prepare ourselves for. As Ollie is a big dog, and grew really quick, he can reach most things. I would definitely recommend puppy proofing your home. Move anything smashable and valuable as they will probably try and bite/chew it. Not only that, but if you are not wanting your puppy to go upstairs or into certain rooms of the house, prepare yourself by buying safety gates.

4. Accessories
There's a lot of things you will need to buy, from the dog lead, doggy poo bags, treats, toys, beds and much more. You can find most of these things in local pet stores, and there are many online stores too that will also sell these things.

5. Register with a vets
Find the right vet for your puppy. It may also be best to sign up with any pet plans, this will be great for monthly check-ups, vaccinations, worming and so on. Vets are great to help you with any advice too or if there's anything wrong with your puppy.

This is a sponsored post - working with Hill's Science Plan.