Your First Week with a Puppy: Essential Steps for New Owners

Preparation: Making Your Home Puppy-Safe

Bringing a new puppy home means setting up an environment where they can learn and grow safely. Puppy-proof your house by removing tempting chewables like shoes, wires, and loose clothing. Use crates, pens, and gates to limit your puppy’s access to certain areas. This helps them form good habits, such as chewing on appropriate toys instead of household items. Also, secure any plants or small objects that might be harmful. A little preparation now saves time and stress later.

When searching for puppies for sale, always choose from reputable breeders who prioritise health and temperament, ensuring your new friend starts with the best foundation.

Establishing a Routine: Building Security and Confidence

Puppies find comfort in routine because it creates predictability. Set consistent schedules for feeding, toilet breaks, playtime, and rest. Feeding your puppy three times daily at roughly the same times helps regulate digestion and toilet needs. Take your puppy to the toilet area frequently—every hour during the day, soon after meals, naps, or excitement—to encourage successful toileting and reward them with praise and treats after they go in the right spot.

Potty Training: Early Success Builds Good Habits

1. Take your puppy outside to their designated toilet spot regularly—ideally hourly and immediately after waking, eating, or playing.
2. Be patient and calm if accidents happen indoors; quietly clean without scolding to avoid creating fear or hiding behaviour.
3. Reward your puppy immediately after they toilet outside to reinforce the behaviour positively.

Managing Puppy Biting: Gentle Redirection

Puppies explore the world using their mouths and often nip during play. Rather than frightening your puppy, gently offer a chew toy to divert biting onto appropriate items. If your puppy continues biting you, calmly pause play for a few moments to show that biting causes play to stop, reinforcing gentle behaviour without punishment.

Settling at Night: Comforting Your Puppy

Nighttime can be challenging as puppies miss their littermates. For the first few nights, keep your puppy’s crate or bed in your bedroom or another designated puppy zone where you can provide reassurance. Being nearby helps them feel safe and allows you to quickly respond when they need toilet breaks during the night, which is common.

Socialisation: Positive Introductions to the World

Socialisation in a puppy’s first 16 weeks is crucial for a confident, well-adjusted adult dog. Introduce your puppy gradually to varied people, other animals, sounds, and environments—like vacuum cleaners, traffic noise, car rides, and different surfaces. Until fully vaccinated, carry your puppy when out to avoid health risks, ensuring every new experience is positive and calm. Use treats and patience to build good associations, helping your puppy adapt without fear as they grow.

Have Fun and Build Your Bond

Your puppy needs to learn you are a safe and loving companion. Spend quality time playing and gently exploring their new world together. This early bonding lays the foundation for trust, making future training easier and more enjoyable for you both.

For further guidance, explore dog coach Vicky Carne's website for up-to-date, kind training advice suited to today’s best practices.