Frequently Asked Questions

Our puppies come with free delivery to Newcastle, Central Coast, and Sydney (Thornleigh). If you’re located outside these areas, including interstate, we’re happy to help organise transport and provide you with a quote.

We recommend Dogmovers, a professional pet transport company we’ve trusted for years. They handle our puppies with great care, and even on the long trips, the puppies travel amazingly well.

Your puppy will likely be quite tired the first night after all the excitement.

However, it’s a big adjustment to be away from Mum and littermates and it’s normal for your puppy to cry the first few nights, especially if you are crate training.

To help your puppy settle into their new life with you, it’s recommended to put their bed or crate next to you at night at the start.

You can gradually move your puppy to their permanent sleeping spot over time if you wish.

Sometimes a hot water bottle wrapped on a towel and/or something that ticks can help settle your puppy through the night.

Some people have reported good success using one of those soft toys that have a heart beat (beware that it may work but your puppy may also take great pleasure in chewing it to pieces).

Lots of cuddles and praise in the first few days!

BASIC SUPPLIES

• Food and water bowls
• Bed
• Collar
• Lead
• Food (make sure you have some of what the puppy is used to. We supply a 3kg bag in our puppy pack which should last almost a month)
• Training treats – we recommend using small pieces of bbq chicken
• Something to bring your new puppy home in if you’re travelling a bit of distance
• Crate if you plan on using one
• Worming tablets – we use and recommend Milbemax
• Flea and tick treatment – make sure you choose on that can be used on puppies from eight weeks of age

TOYS

• Puppy chew toys
• Fluffy toys – we supply one of these in the puppy pack, we put the litter’s scent on it so it helps them settle into their new home
• Environmental enrichment toys, eg Kong, lickimat

GROOMING

• Puppy shampoo – something containing oatmeal is nice and soothing for delicate young skin
• Brush and comb
• Nail clippers

MISCELLANEOUS

• Enzymatic stain cleaner
• Toilet training pads or pet loo if you plan on using them
• Puppy play pen
• Paper towel to soak up urine
• Pet insurance – we supply 30 days free pet insurance with Trupanion. You can continue the policy after the 30 days if you choose to.

• Check your home and garden for any plants that may be toxic to dogs. Make sure your new puppy can’t access these.
• Keep medications in a safe place inaccessible to your new puppy.
• Get a dog proof rubbish bin or keep it somewhere that can’t be accessed by the puppy. Don’t forget about bins in your bathroom etc as well, they can contain dangerous things too.
• Cleaning supplies are toxic so make sure they are kept somewhere safe.
• Consider how you are going to keep your puppy away from cords because then can and WILL chew them! You can get products such as puppy proof cords, cord concealers or PVC pipe to help protect cords as well.
• You might like to consider a couch cover if you’re worried about your puppy making a mess of your lounge.
• Put away small objects and chewable things that could be hazardous.
• If you have a kitty litter box in your home, make sure your puppy cannot access it. Apart from it grossing you out when they decide to eat the cat poop, cat litter can cause health problems if ingested.
• Make sure your backyard has good fencing, remember that your puppy will be able to squeeze through small spaces so take care to check the whole fence and backyard carefully for places it might get through or get stuck. They may also dig so a small space under the fence can quickly be dug large enough for the puppy to squeeze under. Climbing and jumping could also be something the puppy might try so make sure your fence is high enough and that there’s nothing the puppy can climb onto to potentially get out.
• Make sure the puppy can’t access pools and other water sources that could be hazardous.
• Make sure stairs are safe, you don’t want any gaps the puppy could fall through.
• If you live on a busy road, put something in place to make sure the puppy can’t get onto the road, eg. baby gate on the front door if you don’t have a secure front fence.

Make sure you know what the breeder was feeding your puppy. Continue on this same food for the first week or two at least. If you want to change to a different diet, be sure to do it gradually, over a period of about two weeks ideally to avoid tummy upsets.

This can be an issue in particular if you’ve been working from home and now have to go back into the office. It’s great to have all that time to spend at home with your new puppy but to ensure they become confident little pooches rather than anxious kids that can’t deal without Mum or Dad for any length of time it’s important to train them gradually to be apart from us.

Start small and work your way up. You may like to start with half an hr or even less if your puppy doesn’t seem to handle it at first. Make sure they’re in a safe area and you might like to give them some enrichment toys (eg Kongs or whatever might keep them occupied). Gradually increase the amount of time they are left on their own until you feel they are handling it well. You may like to keep practicing this even once they’ve got it down so they don’t revert back to being so emotionally dependent on you.

“But I secretly love that my dog can’t live without me”…. Just like kids, we need to set them up to be confident individuals, as much as we kinda love it when all they want is Mum/Dad. It’s important to think of their overall mental health as well as their physical health. What happens if we can’t take our pup on holidays or something unforeseen happens and you can’t be there for them, how would they cope?

Please do not put your new puppy on the ground anywhere unless you can be certain there has been no parvo in the last 5 years. Even though they have had their first vaccination, they are not yet protected from parvo. They won’t be protected until after they’ve had their full course of vaccinations, ask your vet when they would suggest it’s safe to take them out and about. Do not let them come in contact with unvaccinated dogs in this time either.

Having said that, if you find yourself in a situation where you have no other choice (and it happens), the safest option is to choose a surface like the footpath or road (obviously the road isn’t a good option if there’s traffic!) or a deck. If you have no choice but to put your puppy on grass/soil then choose an area that gets lots of sun.