New puppy checklist (Vilnius edition)

Before puppy comes home

Puppy-proof one room rather than the whole flat — tuck away cables, remove anything chewable at nose height, and block off stairs if you have them. Buy a crate sized for an adult dog (with a divider for now), a well-fitted harness rather than just a collar (puppies slip collars surprisingly easily), and food that matches whatever the breeder or shelter was already feeding. Switch brands gradually over a week if you want to change it — a sudden switch is the single most common cause of a puppy's first upset stomach.

The first vet visit

Book a check-up in the first few days, even if your puppy seems perfectly healthy. A vet will confirm weight, check for parasites, and set out the rest of the vaccination and deworming schedule. This is also the visit to ask about microchipping: dogs in Lithuania need to be chipped and registered, and most clinics can do it in the same appointment as the first check-up.

Socialization, safely

Until the vaccination course is finished, avoid ground where unfamiliar dogs congregate — but socialization doesn't have to wait. Carrying your puppy (literally, in your arms) to a café terrace, letting friends and family handle them, and playing recorded city sounds at low volume all count. Once your vet clears off-leash exercise, Vilnius has several fenced dog areas well suited to a young dog's first off-leash outings — Vingis Park's dog area is the best known, and it's split into separate zones for small and large dogs, which matters more than it sounds for a nervous first outing.

House rules, from day one

Decide now what you'll allow for the dog's whole life — on the sofa or not, begging at the table or not — because it's much harder to walk back a habit than to never start it. Take your puppy out immediately after waking, eating, and playing; those three moments cause more accidents than any other.

When you need a hand

Most new owners hit a week where work, travel, or just exhaustion means the puppy needs a walk or a check-in they can't provide themselves. That's what a dog walker on PetNanny is for — every nanny on the platform is ID- and phone-verified before they can take a booking, and every booking comes with a downloadable care contract that records exactly what was agreed.