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The Go-Home Guide
Before You Bring Home a Labrador Puppy: The Two-Week Countdown
What to buy, what to set up, and what to agree on before your Lab puppy walks in the door.
By Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA. Family-raised Labradors in Sanford, FL.
The bookThe Go-Home GuideFrom Chapter 3: The Two-Week Countdown.See it on Amazon
The short version
- The two weeks before pickup are prep time, not downtime.
- Buy a crate sized for an adult Lab and block it down with a divider.
- Buy the same food the breeder feeds. Switch later, slowly.
- Book the first vet visit and hold a family rules meeting before day one.
The puppy is picked. The date is set. Now comes the part most new owners waste: the two weeks before go-home day. You cannot puppy-proof a house and problem-solve at the same time while a scared eight-week-old cries at 2 a.m. Do the work now, while your hands are free.
Here is the countdown Borosky Labradors gives every family, in the order it should happen.
Day 14: Get the crate right
The crate is the single item people get wrong most often. Too big is the usual mistake. A Lab puppy in a huge crate will potty in one corner and sleep in the other, which defeats the point.
Buy a crate for the adult dog, then use a divider panel to shrink the space so the puppy can stand, turn around and lie down, and not much more. Move the divider back as she grows. One crate, bought once.
Austin Animal Services’ crate training guide says the crate should be big enough for your dog to stand up and turn around in, and warns that a crate that is too big can lead a dog to use one end as a bathroom.
Our puppies start crate training at 7 weeks, so yours will already know what a crate is. Keep it going.
Day 12: Pick the crate’s spot
Decide where the puppy sleeps now, so night one is not an experiment. A quiet corner of a bedroom or a calm room near the family works. Away from the TV, out of direct sun, and in Florida, away from the sliding glass door that turns the room into an oven by 3 p.m.
Day 10: Buy the food the breeder feeds
Ask your breeder what brand and formula the litter eats and buy that exact bag. Do not plan a switch in week one. A new home is stress enough for a puppy’s stomach. When you do switch, mix old and new and shift the ratio over about a week. Our Labrador feeding guide covers amounts by age.
Day 8: Set up a puppy zone
A puppy needs one safe place to just be a puppy. A gated area or exercise pen with toys she is allowed to chew. Walk through it on your knees and look for cords, shoes, plants and anything that fits in a mouth. Florida yards have their own list, sago palms at the top of it. Our Lab-proofing guide goes room by room.
Day 7: Book the first vet visit
Get it on the calendar for the first few days after pickup. Bring the shot record from your breeder. Every Borosky puppy goes home with AKC papers, a vet checkup with the shots listed, the food we use, and care instructions, so your vet has a clean starting point.
Day 5: Hold the family rules meeting
This is the step almost nobody does, and it causes the most trouble. One person feeds from the table while another says no. One allows the couch, another shoos her off. The puppy is not stubborn. She is being handed two rulebooks.
Sit everyone down and decide:
- Who feeds, and when.
- Who handles the late-night potty trip.
- Where she sleeps.
- Couch and bed: yes or no.
- The exact words for sit, off, outside and no. Everyone uses the same ones.
Day 3: Pack for pickup
Pickup is in Sanford. If you live farther out, plan the drive. Pack plenty of paper towels, a couple of old towels, cleaning spray, a water bowl and bottled water. If you are driving alone, bring a small travel crate. Stop every two hours. If delivery works better, we deliver up to 600 miles when available, for an added fee. We never ship puppies.
Day 1: Rest
Charge your phone. Get some sleep. Tomorrow you start the most important ninety days of your dog’s life. Next up: the first night and first 72 hours.
A lesson Dr. Paul learned the hard way
When the Boroskys drove to North Carolina for Dunkin, their first Lab, they were not ready. They fed him in the moving car, and the night ended outside a Walmart at 10 p.m., cleaning the back seat and hunting for a pet-friendly hotel. The prepared trip is boring. Boring is better.
Common Questions
What should I buy before bringing home a Labrador puppy?
What size crate does a Labrador puppy need?
Should I change my Lab puppy’s food right away?
When should the first vet visit be?
Raising a Borosky puppy?
Our next litter is Luna x Louie, white and cream English Labradors due at the end of November 2026. Deposits open once the puppies are born. Every family gets this same playbook at pickup, plus Dr. Paul’s phone number.
See upcoming littersCall (321) 948-9588