AJ Vargas walks through what you need before bringing home a puppy: finding a good breeder, budgeting for costs, crate training basics, and gear like collars, long lines, and grooming tools. He covers muzzle training and gives a 3 to 5 day acclimation plan for your new dog.
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Bang bang! Welcome to today's short set. Today we're going to talk about puppies. So before we even do anything, we need to go over the selection process. So when you're considering what type of dog to get, one thing that I always tell clients is get the dog that's going to fit your lifestyle. There's a lot of breeders out there, and one thing that I always recommend is looking into the dog's genetics. If you're not an active person, to be frank, you really don't need a dog whose parents were sport dog champions or police dogs. So you want to look at something that's going to fit you as far as the temperament and the breed and also the size as well. And then make sure you're going through the proper vetting process when looking at breeders or people selling dogs. So you want to go through someone that's well established and has a good history of breeding. Take that into consideration when you're building a budget. Now, you also want to ensure that as soon as you get that dog, you get that dog in a good routine and you get that dog into some training. So make sure before you even purchase that dog, you got some money set aside for training and other needs that the dog will need, including medical care and just some general stuff that they're going to need at home. Remember, having a dog is like having a kid. You got to feed them, bathe them, and take care of them, right? So let's talk about some of the essentials that you're going to need before you even bring that puppy home to make sure that they're safe and secure and they're well taken care of. First things first, you're gonna need a crate. You're gonna want a crate. Crates are a very vital tool in not only training, but ensuring that your dog is safe when you're unable to supervise them. So make sure that you have a crate available for your dog when he comes home so he has a safe place that he can be. Another thing that I wanna ensure that I have is a collar and a leash. These are two vital training tools that also afford us the ability to ensure that we have positive control of that dog. Collars are vital. It's going to ensure that we can get a handle of that dog when we need to, and it affords us a contact point for our leash. Now, people have different preferences on collars, leashes. I always just go with the classic buckle collar and a leather leash. Next thing I'm going to need is a long line. Long lines are awesome tools for training and also afford us the opportunity to allow that dog to explore in a safe manner where we still maintain positive control. Next thing we're going to need is we're going to need some sort of reward system for training. So if your dog likes a toy, make sure you got them some toys, and if not, treats work just as well. Those are what I call my training essentials. Now on the opposite end of the spectrum, we want to make sure that we're taking care of our dog's grooming. So here's some basic tools that you need for grooming. First and foremost, we want to keep a healthy coat and skin. So a brush is going to be very, very important. You want to ensure that you're brushing that dog's coat at least twice a week, removing any loose or dead hair or any matting that might occur if you have a long-haired dog. Another thing that I want to make sure that we have is some nail clippers to ensure that we're maintaining our dog's nails. And then also some styptic powder, also known as Kwik-Klot, which we're going to utilize if we ever cut that nail a little too deep and that dog starts bleeding. This powder here will stop the bleeding. You're going to be trimming that dog's nails. You want to make sure that you have a muzzle as well, just in case, for your safety, to ensure that that dog isn't harming you or itself during the process. If you're interested in learning about how to prep a dog for a muzzle, we have a short set dedicated to that that we'll link below. When you bring that dog home, first thing you want to do is give it about 3 to 5 days to acclimate and get used to you guys. Ensure they're comfortable with that crate or that kennel, and ensure that you're keeping them on leash so they don't get themselves into some trouble. Thanks for joining me for the short set. If you have any questions, comments, go ahead, leave them below, and we'll see you on Friday for our long-form podcast. Have a good one. Bang bang, then wipe. Music. Thank you, editor. I'll send it over to you. Okay. So, so you have focus. So we have a lot of— I'm not gonna put my hands on my hips. This short set, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. A lot of clients. We have a lot of clients. That was too aggressive. Not every dog— wait, so, so making sure we got a collar and a leash. I already said that. Just get a— just get a leather. So thanks for jamming. I was gonna say jamming.
