Getting a Dog part 2

Our Puppy (Appa) is now 6 months old and it certainly has been an adventurous few months.

If you missed it, be sure to check out part 1 of this article here.

Visiting the vet

We are very fortunate that our local vet is good and speaks English (we also take our cat and rabbit there). If you are looking for a vet you can google or look one up in the telephone book (www.detelefoongids.nl) under ‘dierenarts’. Most vets can speak decent English, but to be sure give them a call and ask before making an appointment. New puppies have quite a few vet visits for different vaccinations (usually around 3-4) and you can expect to spend a few hundred euros in total for everything.

You will also need to give your dog worming tablets, these can be bought from the vet, or at pet shops. You may also want to consider the cost of spaying or neutering your dog. This can be done from 6 months of age. It is not necessary, but if you have a male dog that starts showing behavioural issues around this time it can sometimes help. Discuss the options with your vet. Spaying (for female dogs) costs between €250 – €350 depending on the size of your dog and neutering (for male dogs) costs between €120 – €150.

Puppy Classes

Before we picked up Appa I had already enrolled him on a puppy course in our neighbourhood. While I am familiar with training techniques, having had dogs in the past, there is no substitute for getting your puppy socialised with people and other dogs, and a puppy class is an ideal place for this.

I found our dog school through google (search for ‘hondenschool’ or ‘puppy klas’, plus where you live), but you can also ask your vet as they often know of local schools and may be able to recommend one to you. You can expect to pay between €10 and €15 per one hour lesson, and may get a discount if you pay for them in bulk. Also consider with the

classes if they take place outside or in a rented hall and look at the sizes of the class; small classes mean you and your puppy will get enough help and attention from the instructor.

Equipment

There are lots of cute and fun items that you can buy for your dog, but the basics that you will need are:

Collar & lead – halsband & riem
Food & water bowl – Voer- & drinkbak
Bed / pillow – Mand / kussen
Dog friendly toys – speelgoed (such as ropes and chew toys)
Puppy food – puppyvoeding
Doggy poop bags – hondenzakjes

You can buy these items (and more) at petshops (dierenwinkels) or online. Here are a few places that I use:

Petsplace – physical store plus an online webshop. www.petsplace.nl
Welkoop – physical store
Intratuin – physical store
Action – physical store, have a small selection of budget pet supplies
Zooplus – online webshop, great prices for dry food and supplies. www.zooplus.nl
Viadierenwinkel – online webshop. www.viadierenwinkel.nl

If you decide a dog would be a great fit for your family, wonderful! I hope you have many years of love and cuddles with the dog you choose.