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Comment by Jane Christensen on November 6, 2013 at 9:37am

What I do is buy a small fleece blanket, wash it(even twice) in something that doesn't smell strong and then cut the edge off if hemmed.  I can easily get 9 pieces.

Comment by Marissa, Bandit, and Bacon on November 6, 2013 at 9:10am

Denis - That is so cute about the bear! I am going to sleep with a towel in the bed for a few nights before we go pick her up. I plan on having our scent and her littermate's scent with her on the way home and during the night.

Comment by Denis J. on November 6, 2013 at 8:22am

I agree with Janes recommendation about the towels.

I didn't have a chance to send one to the breeder in time, as we picked him up four days after we got the call.   But I still brought one from home that had our sent and the cats.    The breeder gave us his favorite chew toy and plush bear that had the send of home.

When flying back from Ottawa (direct flight for 90 minutes) he had them both in his crate.

He didn't fuss at all, peed on the pad one and slept even during heavy turbulence.

The funny thing is that for the following 8 months, he slept with that bear everynight, chewed on it a bit but nothing destructive.  He shredded any other ones though.   :)

The bear eventually succumbed to his wrath at 9 months.    RIP

For us it was a sign he was ready to move on and finally accepted our home as his own....   lol

Comment by Marissa, Bandit, and Bacon on November 6, 2013 at 8:14am

Jane - Great idea about the towels! I will go ahead and bring a few just in case. I want the transition to be as easy as possible for my pup.

Nora - I especially want her used to me messing with her teeth, ears, feet, body, etc after reading so many posts about people who have terrible issues with it when at the vet or just trying to trim nails! I will for sure enjoy her. This moment has been years and years in the making. It is a dream come true :)

Also, when setting up the excercise pen in my living room, should I put down any sort of rug or barrier just in case she has an accident? We are primarily going to be using the x-pen when we want her out of her crate and able to play while I am busy cooking or doing school work. I plan on leaving her water bowl, toys, and a bed in the x-pen. 

Comment by Nora on November 5, 2013 at 7:42pm

Definitely get her used to be checked ears, eyes, teeth, FOUR feet and whole body --- Easy to do: check/touch one thing, give a treat (or its regular dog food). I would do it since the first day she arrives and be consistent.

I don't think my girl has been touched/checked her body enough when she was young. Therefore, when she gets older, it took me more time, effect and treat to correct that.

Oh, one last important thing --- Enjoy and have fun with her!!! Keep us posted.

Comment by Jane Christensen on November 5, 2013 at 7:27pm

I recommend a crate for the car also...much safer:) My adults get crated with a leash. If you start them young with nail trimming you won't need a dremmel. Actually a large toenail clipper works great for a few months. I always showed my new owners how to trim them before they walked out the door. No pee pads! I used a soft rubber horse type brush for my pups as you want to get them used to brushing but don't want to use anything harsh at this age....sounds like you're more than ready...now when she gets home you can enjoy her...accidents and all! Ask the breeder(or bring a couple of hand size towels along so she can rub it over the parents and other pups...I sent mine in baggies for them to use when they got home...1st night etc. if you cut them in half you can have even more...incase they get wet...

Comment by Marissa, Bandit, and Bacon on November 5, 2013 at 11:01am

Thanks for the information, Denis! I actually work at a small pet store, so over the past two months I've had a few things ordered in every week. I went the crate route for in the car because I've read several articles where the safety harnesses for dogs do not pass crash testing. I like that a crate can be secured in my car and in the event of an accident, she would be safe in the crate instead of thrown from the harness. The reason why I am not looking into the pee pads is that I don't want her to get in the habit of going inside at all, so I will be taking her out about every 30-45 minutes at first.

I have used a furminator on my cat for years and she doesn't seem to mind it. I am very gentle when I use it. I was looking into the undercoat rakes as well, but I have some time before I will need to get one.

Comment by Denis J. on November 5, 2013 at 8:54am

Wow!  

That must have been one shopping spree...    :)

I can't think of anything else as we didn't have half of your list when Wally came home.

The crate for the car is good but I would recommend getting her used to a safety harness that buckles to the seat belt.    I'm preaching this and I'm not use it myself.

We live in a very cold winter area in the Maritime and Wally can be of a puller on his leash.   So I let go of the plastic clips for the collar to the metal ones.  Much safer.

Training pee pads is something to consider.

Wally used them for about 3 weeks, on and off, until he had more fun but trying to unstick them from the floor and riping them to shreds.   Then it was going outside every 45 minutes, extending to every hours, every couple of hours to half days (work days).

 

I have the Furminator and Wally just hates it.

It pulls on his fur too much I find and when he fusses I'm worried that he would jap the corner of the brush on his nose and cut himself.  That brush is pretty sharp so I would recommend getting her use to it at very young age if you intend to continue with the same.  

I use those undercoat brushes (little needles) and using it for about 5 minutes every second day works best.  He still does not like it but I find it less dangerous.

I do have a dremel too with the proper bit but I have yet to try it myself.   I bring him to the groomers about every 2-3 months as his nails stay short way longer with the dremel.   Plus with steady walks in trails and sidewalks it will help as well.

 

Good luck