OK so now that you have piled into the car and your Toronto Family Great Dane and your family are headed home with the Great Dane puppy that is just perfect for you and your Toronto family (Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Ottawa and all the little towns in between works too...), you will want to lovingly prepare for your special new family addition.
So grab the plastic and lets go shopping - Yippee. The first thing you want to buy is a baby gate, yes a baby gate, because you can quote me on this: "its all about the gating". Control the areas of the house your puppy can enter. A baby gate is the simple temporary way to design the areas the Great Dane Puppy is trained to go, or stay out of. Now this can be expanded into Kennel kits in a variety of sizes that can be used for more elaborate function and design of your floor space.
Now that you have decided to be Alpha as the dog whisperer says and control the floor plan, you can give your Great Dane Puppy a bed and perhaps a crate to put the bed in and a blanket to cover the crate so that you can give your new pack member a cozy safe cave to retire in sanctuary nightly.
High quality chew toys such as the Kong family of chew toys are recommended to give your great dane puppy an object to direct chewing urges toward that is acceptable to you as oppossed to say your Thomasville dining room set you 2nd mortgaged your house for. Great Dane Puppies go through a period of training and teething at the same time so these toys are a real bargain and remember shopping is fun. If you really have a good sense of humour you could swap out your Thomasville stuff for some Salvation Army stuff and your Great Dane Puppy will never figure it out.
You will want to purchase stainless steel water and food bowls over porous materials such as plastic, to control germs. Germs have a hard time hanging on to stainless steel and it cleans up real nice and easy, clean and simple. The puppy will get bigger, Yes the Great Dane Puppy will grow and you will want to raise the bowls, counter top materials are better for hygenics than porous woods and its the same for stainless steel raised bowl kits.
Which of the many dry food brands for Great Dane puppies is for you and your Toronto family, you must decide in conference with your puppy. Now while your watching the dog whisperer to learn to speak in pack language, learn to speak nutrition. I have watched Great Danes run past other brands of dog food to dive into a bowl of Royal Canin like John Bulushi in Animal House (National Lampoon) stuffing his face. The Great Dane likes Royal Canin better, and of course, better than what, well thats for you two to decide. Try Natural Choice Brand Nutro products. Your Great Dane breeder likes both products because of the Glucosamine, and other good nutrition in the dry food. John Bulushi could not live on dry food alone, and neither can your Great Dane so pick up some canned food called Tripet for the same reasons above, The Great Dane really likes it and so does your Great Dane Breeder.
Now I like Ryans Global Pet Foods because the people are really nice, not just in one store but across the board, Pet Values are convenient as they are everywhere, and of course Pet Smart is good because they have puppy classes to begin your Great Dane Puppies training experience. All of these outlets carry the brands I recommended in addition to some really good products I think you may want to review with your Great Dane over one year of age.
Training your Great Dane Puppy should start somewhere, Petsmart is convenient, and for the advanced Great Dane enthusiast the sky is the limit on training. You can sign up for the training on your way home with your new Great Dane Puppy and pick up lots of cool supplies too. You can benefit in your decision to hire a trainer certified by CCPDT to train your Great Dane for happy family life, or perhaps visiting seniors homes and hospitals to brighten another persons day. The training can begin simply at Petsmart or you can scan the yellow pages for a local dog whisperer.
The first few weeks with your Great Dane puppy will require non stop attention and care and will benefit from you time and attention. Your new Great Dane Puppy will be searching (scavenging for treats) and wanting to play which is good old fashioned mischief. This is your oportunity as pack leader keeping an eye on, overseeing everything the puppy does and everywhere the Great Dane puppy goes to communicate your praise, or to obstruct behaviour you do not accept. Please remember to have limitless patience and work one step at a time. Your training is good vibrations like Brian Wilson was saying when he wrote the song about dogs having Kreskin like abilities to know your mind and heart so be kind dont unwind. A sense of humor when your puppy disobeys, just like toddlers, is the cornerstone of a trainer that draws the puppies will to gain your acceptance forward, they will grow out of the Great Dane Puppy phase.
When you get home start the evolution of a puppy proof house. This is the point when you put the collar on the Great Dane Puppy, not at the store, the collar as will the leash, takes a little getting used to. Slowly introduce the collar and leash. Let the puppy play with them a bit, they love to run around with the leash in the mouth, you can let them win the game for a while to introduce the Toronto Family Great Dane Puppy to the new stuff.
After a few weeks your Great Dane puppies will have developed a routine with your family and your floor plan both inside and outside and will be habituated to your Toronto Family Great Dane home and your family atmosphere.
Start simple, clean the bowls, put down some clean fresh water and keep the bowl filled with clean fresh water, you have begun your Great Dane Puppy adventure...
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