You put your deposit down, and now it's time to get ready to bring your sweet puppy home. How exciting!
What to do as you prepare for your puppy's homecoming:

When you come to get your puppy, your appointment will take about 40 minutes. A lot of this time is taken up with paperwork. By reading our sample health guarantee online, rather than waiting to read it when you pick up your puppy, your appointment will go more quickly.

Visit our blog post on Pet Health Insurance to see if investing in insurance is the right decision for you and your dog. Links to various insurances provided (no paid endorsements.)
3. Make some phone calls.

Serena before her first groom, six months old.
Set up appointments with your vet, groomer, and trainer. Call early; their schedules fill quickly. Part of our Health Guarantee is that you take your puppy to see your vet within 15 days of bringing him or her home.
For the health of your puppy, we recommend finding a vet that takes a conservative approach to the vaccination schedule (such as spacing out ALL vaccines to allow their baby system time to recover and minimize toxicity and side affects) and delays spaying and neutering until 9-12 months of age to allow proper bone and brain development.
If possible, make your first visits to the vet and groomer “happy visits” where your puppy gets to greet the people, get a treat, and learn that these are fun places to go without being jabbed or prodded too much.
Do you need to find a groomer? Ask for recommendations in your area on our private Facebook Group. Depending on your confidence level, complete grooming can also be done at home.
Bathing: Once a month your puppy should be bathed. Bathing too often is drying to the skin and coat. Wash their collar/leash/crate blanky/bedding/toys every time they are bathed to keep everything clean and fresh.
Nails: Plan on trimming nails every week. When you hear them clicking on the floor, they are too long and in need of a clip.
Brushing: Your puppy will need to be brushed at least twice a week to prevent mats in their puppy fluff. It is also wise to do a monthly Puppy Clip (face, paw pads, sanitary trim) leading up to the first official haircut.
Haircuts: Your puppy will need their very first all-over haircut around 6-8 months of age, and this will need to done regularly for the rest of their life. Depending on how short they are clipped and how well you keep up on brushing in between haircuts, they will need to be fully groomed every 6 weeks to every 3 months.
We highly recommend finding a trainer. Puppy classes are great for socialization, and early training will pay dividends over your dog’s lifetime. The more you invest in teaching your dog to behave well, the more enjoyable your relationship with your puppy will be his or her whole life through! We are now affiliates with Baxter & Bella an online puppy school that offers phenomenal help from preparing to pick up your puppy, to early training that can be done at home as you wait for your puppy to be old enough to attend in person classes. With step-by-step directions, videos, and even lists to prepare for homecoming, please click on the link to learn more. Be sure to use our code, NYDANDY, to get 25% off a lifetime membership to the puppy school with Baxter & Bella.

This link will show you all of the goodies provided in your Puppy Starter Kit. Our puppy families have loved their gift bag full of helpful supplies and information!
At the following link we have catalogued our favorite puppy purchases and supplies. Each item is linked directly to Amazon to make shopping for your new furbaby as easy as possible.

This page contains helpful training information that you’ll want to think about before bringing your puppy home. Training-specific questions are near the middle of our FAQ page.

Most of us are familiar with child-proofing. Puppy proofing isn’t too much different, as long as you keep these things in mind. Click this link to make sure your space is ready for your new fur baby. See what the American Kennel Club has to say about Puppy Proofing Your Home and Yard here.
Medina is truly one of the best historic villages to visit in Western NY. Visit this link to see our recommended places to stay, shop, and eat while you are here. Located on the Erie Canal, Medina has diverse restaurants, a thriving business district, and lovely places to stay. There are wonderful Amish stores nearby, and we are only an hour from Niagara Falls, an hour and half from the beautiful Finger Lakes region.

Here’s a packing list for your puppy’s homecoming day!
- Cashier’s check made out to NY Dandy Doodles for puppy balance (or you may use cash if picking up at our home)
- Crate
- Blanket or towel
- Spray Cleaner
- Paper towels
- Baby wipes
- Sealable plastic bag for trash
- Pee pads, so that you don’t have to put puppy on the ground at a public place if he or she needs to go potty.
- A toy for chewing
- Optional: Softsided car seat like the one in photo, above.
Here is a handy Puppy Checklist you can print off to help you keep track of everything. Enjoy!

Fur Family
You are invited to join our NY Dandy Doodles Fur Family FaceBook Group here! This group is just for folks that have NY Dandy Doodle fur babies. See pictures of your puppy’s relations, ask questions, share the excitement! Membership will be granted once your deposit is received.
Gotcha Day Pictures
The big day is finally here! We’ll get pictures of you and your fur baby on your Gotcha Day. (Please let me know if you do NOT want it shared on social media.) We send these to you so you have a keepsake to remember when your puppy was so little!
Review NY Dandy Doodles on Google.
One last thing: Would you be so kind as to leave us a review? In this day and age, we all depend on reviews to help us in our decision making. Will you help others choose us for their Goldendoodle breeder? We would appreciate that so much! (Google might not publish reviews with emojis; please leave those out.)
Remember, we’re here for the life of your dog, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions along the way.