New puppies are an exciting addition to families and add an instant spark to homes. Although these outstanding young pups bring cuteness and fun to their owners’ lives, they require special care and attention to feel safe, develop into healthy adults, and create strong bonds with all housemates. Depending on how old your puppy is when you pick them up, owners should be prepared to feed them right away, start potty training, keep them warm, and help them develop social skills. 

What You Should Know Before Bringing Your Puppy Home

Building a relationship with your puppy is the first and most critical step in petcare once your new companion makes it home. Having the time, space, and energy to make a loving home for your pup is vital. Make sure to have an area prepared where they’ll be comfortable, with a floor or floor coverings that are easy to clean. Keep in mind that transporting your puppy home can be extremely stressful for your pooch. Holding visitors at bay for a few days while they acclimate to your home and establish a routine is best for your puppy’s emotional health. 

Even amid the excitement of bringing home a new puppy, it’s important to remember to ask the caretaker about your dog’s health and make sure that you have what you need to feed and care for your puppy as soon as they get home.

Creating a Successful In-Home Puppy Training Academy

Plotting out a training plan for your puppy can begin before they even arrive. Once they’re home, starting a potty training regimen will help them develop a structured routine and get comfortable using the bathroom where they should (either a pad or outside). While your puppy is acclimating to their environment in the first week, be sure to introduce training concepts slowly and focus on feeding, fun, and some potty training. After you’ve established a schedule, tackling manners training should be the very next step. It’s essential to make training time fun and be consistent at the same time. Be patient with your pup and remember that practice, determination, and support will help your puppy progress. Remember to work on one area at a time until your puppy masters it before moving on to another concept. 

Key Training Areas

Housebreaking: Immediately after your puppy arrives at their new home, take them to their designated bathroom area where they should ideally do their business and make this a regular part of their day. Adult dogs have more blatter control than puppies do, and if you’re wondering how many hours your puppy can wait to use the bathroom, add one to their number of months. Example: 1 month + 1 = a maximum 2 hour wait time. Encourage your puppy once you get to their potty area and have them move around. A healthy diet will help to prevent accidents and promote bowel regularity. If your puppy has an accident, be patient with them, and use positive reinforcement to encourage good behavior. 

Crate Training: Some people may consider crate training to be harsh or inhumane, but there are times when dogs need to be in crates for their own safety, and making sure that your puppy is calm and prepared for those instances will help prevent anxiety and injury. Crating also helps puppies to exercise blatter control and limits teething to their own toys. Before starting crate training, make sure that your puppy’s crate is the right size. Puppies can sleep in crates for up to six hours overnight and a crate can be used until your puppy grows out of adolescence. 

Socialization: Puppies’ brains develop at a rapid pace from 6 – 16 weeks of age, and introducing your pup to as many sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that you can during this time will help them to become far more adaptable as adults. Diverse environments and introducing them to a variety of different people (including children) and other dogs are a few areas that will help your puppy form a well-rounded perspective of the world. 

Chewing: Puppies that have a chewing issue may need more exercise, supervision, training, or chew toys. Be sure to take your puppy on a walk at least twice a day. Games, tricks, and training will also help them to stay entertained and develop good habits. Puppies do love to chew, and they discover the world around them through their sense of smell and taste. Getting a complete set of chew specific toys will keep their focus on their own items versus yours 

Conclusion: 

Puppies and humans have quite a bit in common, and keeping that in mind as you care for your puppy will help you to meet the needs of your pup fully. Your puppy’s behavior may not always be due to immaturity or age. It’s critical to watch for signs of separation anxiety and help your dog feel safe. Excessive barking, destructive actions, frequent potty accidents, and pacing, whining, or trembling could all potentially be signs of more profound distress. 

Don’t hesitate to give your puppy lots of love but also discourage clingy behavior at the same time. Start by teaching your puppy to entertain themselves on their own in a room in a non-destructive way. Plenty of exercise is always a plus, and using treats to reward your puppy when they act responsibly when alone will help them to look forward to behaving while you’re away. 

–— Written by Abigail Baker is a writer for K9 Sport Sack, the top retailer for dog backpack carriers.