Poodle (detailed introduction)

　　To let the dog know its own living place, a doghouse is absolutely necessary

　　Once you have chosen the puppy you want to raise, you should start preparing to welcome it home. Even if you want to keep a small dog indoors, you should prepare a doghouse for it. If you have a large dog, it is even more important to let it know, obviously during the day, and especially at night, that this is its sleeping place and it is not allowed to sleep wherever it wants. For a dog, having a designated living space where it can stretch out comfortably counts as a degree of freedom. The doghouse doesn’t have to be fancy, just spacious. In fact, using a cardboard box or wooden crate with a towel on top is also fine. If you buy a commercially available doghouse, it is indeed convenient to confine the dog before guests arrive if conditions allow. The doghouse should be placed in a quiet, slightly dim spot, preferably in a place that is warm in winter, cool in summer, ventilated, and shaded; if possible, select different spots for winter and summer.

　　Do not arbitrarily change the puppy’s defecation area

　　Besides the doghouse, a dog toilet can also be purchased from stores, or you can make one yourself if you are handy. A larger plastic container used in kitchens or a two-layer plastic basket used for draining vegetable water can work, as long as you lay several layers of newspaper inside. The dog’s toilet is best placed in a quiet corner out of people’s sight so that the dog can defecate easily. It can also be placed in a household toilet; for easier cleaning, it can be placed in a bathroom or on a balcony with drainage. Once the location of the toilet is set, try not to move it frequently to prevent the dog from soiling places due to not finding it. Besides the above items, you also need to prepare a feeding bowl, a collar, and a leash for walks. Convenience of use should be your first consideration when selecting these items.

　　Choose a suitable dog feeding bowl

　　If you choose a plastic bowl for the dog’s feeding bowl, it is easy for the dog to bite and damage it, and it is not easy to clean when dirty. It might be better to buy a more expensive stainless-steel bowl. It’s best to select ones with a stable base that are hard to tip over. Breeds such as bulldogs, pugs, Japanese Chin, and Pekingese, which have shorter muzzles, should use large and shallow bowls, while breeds with longer muzzles should use deeper bowls. Dogs with long ears should be given bowls with narrower openings and deeper bases to prevent their ears from dipping into the bowl.

　　Choose a collar suited to your dog

　　Collars come in various types, including leather, synthetic leather, nylon, and metal. Small dogs are best fitted with softer collars. Long-haired dogs may shed or have flattening of neck fur if they wear collars, so it is better to use a harness that goes from the front leg around to the back shoulder.

To maintain your dog’s health, you should prepare some hygiene and cleaning supplies

　　To keep your dog’s fur and skin clean regularly, don’t forget to prepare some hygiene and cleaning items, such as shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes, nail clippers, tweezers, cotton swabs, and so on. When selecting shampoo, be sure to consider whether it is suitable for your dog’s coat color, as there are many varieties specifically for white dogs, gray dogs, indoor dogs, puppies, etc.!

　　An iron cage can also be used instead of a doghouse

　　If you have enough space at home, you can also prepare an iron cage indoors, where you can place a toilet and a dog sleeping den at the same time. There is a type of foldable iron cage that is convenient to dismantle and install. On nice weather days, you can even move the dog with the cage to the yard to enjoy the sun.