Bringing Your New Puppy Home

Choose your puppy carefully, taking into account behaviour as well as appearance. For example some small dogs can be very active, while some large dogs can be placid. Now that you are ready to bring your puppy home, you want to get off to a good start.

Leadership

Within a week of coming into your household, your puppy will have worked out all the important questions of who’s who and who runs the pack. The puppy will be aware of where the pack leader sleeps, what is the most comfortable spot to sleep, who controls the food, what you have to do to get it, and who gets possession of valuable articles and who wins the competitive games. If the puppy demands attention, demands food, gets on the couch, sleeps on your bed, has tug of war games, plays keepings off with toys and other personal items and takes them to his or her basket, then the puppy is on the way to becoming dominant. No matter how cute the puppy is, try not to encourage spoilt, bossy or demanding behaviour. It will not be so cute in an older dog.

Where will the puppy sleep?

This is a personal decision, however I would rather toilet train the dog and teach it to settle down inside. Sleeping in a basket on your bedroom floor can help the pup overcome the stress of isolation and minimise nuisance barking. Being nearby but on the floor (not on your bed) will show the puppy its new status - lower than the leader. If you are not comfortable with this, a basket in the laundry is a good compromise. You should not give a puppy or young dog unrestricted access to roam the house. This can lead to destructiveness and toilet accidents. Confine the puppy or restrict its movement to a small space.

Toilet training

Toilet training is usually the new owner’s first priority. First you must decide where you want the puppy to go - outside or on paper inside. You might want to start with paper and move the puppy outside later, but this complicates training because two steps are needed, and the puppy gets used to a particular surface (such as paper, concrete or grass) as a toilet area. Feed the puppy at regular times, and take the puppy to the toilet area immediately after waking up, after eating and drinking, after periods of activity or chewing. Supervise closely or restrict the puppy’s freedom to roam at other times.
Praise good behaviour, and forget about old fashioned or harsh methods such as hitting with rolled up newspaper or rubbing the puppy’s nose in its own mess. You only have to go to the park to see that poo-sniffing is a favourite doggy pastime. Punishment only makes the puppy frightened of you and less able to learn.

Diet and feeding

Find out what the breeder or previous owner has been feeding the puppy. Any sudden change of diet could upset the puppy and cause diarrhea and this of course will interrupt your efforts to toilet train the puppy. If you want to change the puppy’s diet, do so gradually. If you are feeding a commercial dog food, be sure to get the puppy formula. If you prefer to make up your own puppy health food, ask your vet about calcium and vitamin and mineral requirements.

Do not overfeed your puppy. It is normal for them to go off their food for a day or two when they go into a new environment. Puppies grow quickly and they may go off their food occasionally while they have a rest in between growth spurts.
Come to puppy class where gentle handling, socialisation and basic training will get your puppy off to a good start.