Hello.  My family and I are now the proud owners of a beautiful english springer spaniel.  We are so excited about having him in our lives and incredibly grateful that he chose us!  We get him in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!

Our questions are many.....what will we need to do to prepare for having him in our lives?  Please enlighten with tips for our little one's physical and emotional well-being.  We need a crate, dog food, vets, training classes, etc but we are also interested in having an emotionally happy dog.  He is so little and to be taken away from his mum and siblings is going to be hard on him.  Yes, yes...I know, he's just a dog and not human (hopefully, as you are all dog lovers, you won't think I am completely out there) but I want to make sure that he feels safe and secure.  As his new mummy, I want him to know that it's my job to look after him now and that he can rely on me to do that.  I guess creating a secure environment for him will get him to feel safe and generate that lifelong trust (being the "leader", I will take care of him).  So I am thinking about what kind of parameters/ rules to set out from the start?  What can I do to make his transition into our home comfortable, happy, and loving?  What kinds of things did you do to welcome your new puppy into your home?  Is there something you didn't do and wish you had from the very start? 

Questions, questions....but I reckon it's best to ask now.

Many thanks.

How exciting :-)
I have an ESS so I know what fun is in store for you :-)

Just a few pointers....have you thought about leaving a blanket with the mum for a day or so before you collect your pup so that it has her scent on it? We did this and I'm sure it helped him to settle in, to have a familiar smell. We were also careful not to overwhelm him with too much fuss and too many visitors to begin with. And the children definitely weren't allowed to pick him up but they could sit on the floor and let him climb on their laps.

As far as rules etc. just decide the rules now and stick to them. For example, do you want your pup to be allowed on the sofa when fully grown? If not then don't let him up there at all - it's not fair to change the rules as he gets bigger. Will he be allowed upstairs? If not then make sure he can't get up there from the start.

There is a book called The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey that I found extremely useful. I read it over and over before we got our pupster and referred to it time and again while he was growing up.

Oh yes....take lots of pictures. I didn't take nearly enough and really regret it.
Have fun with your new baby....I'm very jealous! :-) :-)