Tibetan Spaniel Puppy Checklist

Before Puppy Comes Home

Health Documentation, Supplies, and Home Preparation

Before your Tibetan Spaniel puppy comes home, the first priority is health documentation. Confirm that both parents have been DNA tested for progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and obtain copies of the testing certificates from the breeder. A puppy from two clear parents cannot inherit two copies of the affected gene. Retain these documents with your puppy's health records.

The Tibetan Spaniel is a small but active dog that benefits from standard puppy-proofing — secure electrical cords, toxic plants out of reach, gates on stairways, and baby gates limiting access to unsupervised areas. While the Tibetan Spaniel is not known for the extreme destructive capacity of terrier breeds, puppies of any breed can cause significant damage when bored, anxious, or unsupervised.

Supplies to have ready before pickup:

• 24-inch crate (appropriate for a 9–15 lb adult): wire or plastic, with washable bedding
• Stainless steel or ceramic food and water bowls
• Puppy breakaway collar with ID tag engraved with your phone number
• 4–6 foot lightweight leash
• Pin brush and medium-toothed metal comb
• Enzyme cleaner for accidents
• Baby gates for stairs and room boundaries
• Variety of appropriate toys — soft toys, gentle chews, a puzzle feeder for mental stimulation
• Puppy food as recommended by your breeder

Schedule a veterinary wellness exam within 3 days of pickup. Bring all health documentation, vaccine records, deworming history, and microchip information from the breeder to this first appointment.

First Week Setup

Settling In, Routine, and the Independent New Arrival

Tibetan Spaniel puppies tend to approach new environments with characteristic dignity — they observe, assess, and decide when they are ready to engage fully. Do not interpret initial reserve as unhappiness. Given a calm, safe first few days, most Tibetan Spaniel puppies settle comfortably and begin showing their personality within the first week.

First week priorities:

• Crate training: Introduce the crate gradually with meals, treats, and positive association. Close the door for brief increments only after the puppy enters willingly. Place the crate in your bedroom for the first week — olfactory proximity helps puppies adjust to new environments overnight. Crying in the crate is normal for the first few nights; respond with calm reassurance rather than removing the puppy from the crate, which teaches that crying produces freedom.
• Potty routine: Consistent outdoor trips after every sleep, meal, and play session. Tibetan Spaniels house-train at a moderate pace; consistency is more important than intensity. Praise and treat immediately after outdoor elimination.
• Grooming handling: Daily gentle touch of ears, paws, muzzle, and coat from day one. The Tibetan Spaniel's coat does not need much grooming at puppy age, but building the handling habit early makes lifelong grooming pleasant. Run the pin brush gently through the coat for one or two minutes daily — it is a bonding activity as much as a grooming one.
• Respect the pace: Tibetan Spaniels choose their pace of engagement. Do not force interaction — invite it, then wait. A puppy that comes to you on its own terms is building the foundation of genuine trust.

Training

Socialization Priorities, Training Approach, and the Watchful Breed

Training a Tibetan Spaniel effectively requires understanding that this is not a breed that performs for performance's sake. It is intelligent and entirely capable of learning — it just asks "what's in it for me?" more often than some other breeds. The answer must be compelling: high-value treats, genuine warmth, and training sessions that are interesting rather than repetitive.

Early training foundations:

• Name recognition: the most important first lesson. Say the puppy's name once, and reward immediately when it looks at you. Practice dozens of times daily during the first week.
• Sit and focus: these two behaviors, trained positively and briefly, create the attentiveness that all other training depends on.
• Come: begin recall training in the most distraction-free environment possible — indoors, with the highest-value treats you have. Always make coming to you rewarding, never punishing. The Tibetan Spaniel's independent streak means recall must be trained as a genuine preference, not a compliance.

Socialization is the most critical early investment for the Tibetan Spaniel. The breed's natural reserve with strangers is a feature, not a bug — but without broad early socialization, this reserve can become excessive wariness or anxiety. During the first 12–16 weeks, expose your puppy to:

• Many different people — varied ages, genders, appearances, and energy levels
• Gentle, friendly dogs of different sizes
• Different sounds, surfaces, and environments
• The full range of grooming handling: brushing, ear cleaning, paw handling, bathing
• Elevated surfaces — the breed's natural inclination to perch on high ground means it will seek out countertops, chair backs, and stairs to observe from; introduce these safely from the start

Enroll in a positive-reinforcement puppy class once your veterinarian approves. Look for a trainer who understands independent breeds — someone who explains the reason for asking the dog to do something, uses highly variable and interesting rewards, and does not insist on immediate compliance as the only acceptable response.

The Tibetan Spaniel's watchdog heritage means it will alert to sounds and arrivals. Train a quiet cue from the first week — ask for quiet, mark and reward the moment the dog stops barking, and build the association consistently. Early quiet training is far more effective than corrections after the barking habit is established.