The long wait is over and your Puppy has arrived home with you. Exciting new times ahead for you and your new puppy. Lets get you and your new puppy off to the best possible start. Becoming a new puppy parent can be overwhelming and scary at the same time, but with the right support and information puppyhood is exciting and fun. Here we summarised a few tips for the first few days and nights. Remember from the moment your puppy arrives he is dependent on you and you will be teaching him/her new things everyday. Before your puppy arrives lets puppy proof your home for a stress free homecoming.
Puppy Proofing your home
Puppies like to investigate and explore, they learn to discover new things through their mouth like a human toddler they have no concept of danger and a very inquisitive. We recommend puppy proofing your home, garden and garage and any other area your puppy will have access to. If your puppy is left home alone we recommend putting them in a puppy playpen or an area that they are safe in and can’t break anything or harm themselves. Puppy proof your home by:
- store all household cleaning products & medication out of reach
- hide electric cables – Top tip smear Vicks Vaporab on it to deter the puppy from chewing if you can’t hide it.
- hide small kids toys so puppy doesn’t swallow or chew them
- check puppy sleeping area is safe, remove all chewable items just have chewable dog toys
- Stairs -check puppy can’t fall through the gaps, teach walking up and down
- Check garage and garden shed for any dangerous items like snail bait or weed killer, motor oil etc.
- Block off areas you don’t want your puppy to have access to through baby gates, like areas with carpet or kids bedrooms
- check your back and front garden and pool fencing, make sure that puppy’s head can’t get stuck in the fencing.
- cover pool/ pond so puppy can’t fall in and drown when unsupervised pool safety needs to be taught by you if you have a pool at home. (puppy needs to learn how to get out of pool)
- Check garden and indoor plants if they are poisonous for your dog
Coming Home
From the time your puppy enters your home you are going to get to know each other. Every puppy is different even if you had dogs before, your puppy might have a different temperament or confidence levels and therefore different training requirement then your other dogs in you life. Each dog is an individual and puppies are vulnerable and crave nothing but your affection and need clear guidance from you. Puppy Training has evolved over the years and is very science based these days. Some old puppy training tips you potentially used with your old puppy aren’t recommended anymore like raising your voice or putting the pups nose through their wee to stop them wee in the house.
Get to know your puppy, you want your puppy to bond with you and feel safe and comfortable with you.
You arrived home, let your puppy investigate his new home that you puppy proofed prior. Show him where his water is, where his new dog bed is, his new toys he can play with. After he explored a bit offer him some food but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t eat for a few hours or even the next day. It might just all be to exciting! Don’t stress your puppy will start eating soon.
It is recommended to use the same food the breeder used as a combination of new food, new environment can often be to much for a young puppy. Keep the same food for a couple of days until your puppy settles in before changing it if you desire to change it. Your puppy is away from its litter and mum for the first time and everything is new and potentially scary for him. Take it easy don’t invite to many people on the first day so you don’t overwhelm him with to many new things, give your puppy time to settle in for a day or two before inviting friends.
Puppy’s first Night
Your puppy had a busy day getting to know you and his new home. Your puppy will be exhausted and potentially a bit restless at night. Remember it is your puppies first night away from its mum and siblings. He might have never slept alone. To help your puppy settle at his first night place his bed next to you. We either recommend sleeping on the couch next to the puppy for a couple of nights or have the puppy in his bed/ crate next to your bed. Once the puppy is sleeping happily through the nights you start moving your puppy out of your bedroom away from you. Please note most puppies under 10 weeks can’t hold their wee all night and you would have to get up to them anyhow to take them to the toilet. Putting the puppy in a laundry at night and letting it cry out for 3 to 4 nights isn’t a recommended method, this causes the puppy way to much stress.
Enjoy your new family member and these exciting puppy days.
We developed a puppy guide for YOU, which you can download from the Take a Lead website. Puppy Guide