Advice for when you bring your pup home

Recommended read

A great book to buy (or borrow from your local library) is 'The Perfect Puppy'  by Gwen Bailey

Before you bring your puppy home

Remember that most puppies will have only ever known being in a litter with their mum and siblings - everything smells familiar, you've got mates to play with and mum to enforce the rules if it all gets a bit rough.  When you bring your pup home he comes to somewhere totally new, with unfamiliar smells, and most of all no siblings or mum to sleep and play with.  

To make his new home smell more familiar take a piece of dog bedding (or an old blanket) to the breeder and ask them to put it in with the puppy bedding.  When you bring your pup home, take this piece of probably rather trashed and dirty bedding and put it in his dog bed to bring those familiar smells home.

A simple dog bed is a sturdy cardboard box - this means it doesn't matter if he chews it or generally trashes it - but it is annoying when he trashes an expensive shop bought bed.  Use another box with a puppy sized hole cut in it for him to play in. 

Once your pup is home

If you have children, supervise their puppy play times - don't let the puppy get overexcited or overtired.  Don't let the puppy chase them or bite at them when they run.  Don't let the children disturb the pup when he is sleeping.  Overall, teach your children that your puppy is not a toy.

Try hard not to touch the puppy when he jumps at your legs - if you stroke and fuss him since he is such a cute guy when he's a baby, how will he know that's not allowed when he is fully grown, wet and muddy?

Howling at night

Many people say that their puppy howled the first few nights (or longer) but if ignored they finally stopped.  This situation can be completely avoided, and in fact can be used to your advantage to build your puppy's relationship with you.  Puppies do not sleep the whole night through like people - they have periods of sleep, then they wake up and play before snoozing again. If you leave your pup alone overnight to begin with, when he wakes up he will howl since he is totally alone for the first time and is calling his mum and siblings to come and find him.  When you come downstairs and grumble at him for waking you up he is initially pleased to see you and then will learn that actually being around you is not rewarding if you either shout at him, or as some people still continue to do - physically punish him in some way.

A much easier way of dealing with this situation is to spend the first 3-5 nights sleeping downstairs with your puppy. When he wakes, you are close at hand to touch him and reassure him you are there.  He will then have the confidence to play or just to curl up next to you and go back to sleep.  No howling - he's happy and you sleep well!  After this initial period of confidence building, you can begin to leave him at night - put a hot water bottle in bed with him to cuddle up to (like his mum and brothers and sisters) and leave the radio on a talk station turned down low for reassurance. 

Alternatively you can let him sleep upstairs with you in his dog bed.  If you plan on always having him sleep in your room then this is fine, otherwise you will then have to gradually move his dog bed out of your room to its final resting place.  Also this can cause problems with house training as he will wee whereever he is - regardless of whether he is in the garden or laying on your bed or carpet.

Out and about

By the time you bring your puppy home (normally between 8-12 wks of age) your puppy will be ready for his jabs.  Whilst you wait for his jabs to fully cover him (10-14 days after the second jab is normally recommended by your vet) you can still carry your puppy out and about.  

If you are concerned about your pup catching the diseases you are vaccinating him for, consider the following information:

• Parvovirus is most commonly contrated through infected faeces

As you can see, carrying your puppy out and about should not put him at any risk of contracting these diseases, nor will having contact with another fully vaccinated dog in your garden.  Avoid places where lots of dogs are exercised such as the local park to lower any risk of contact with contaminated faeces, but allow him as much dog contact as you can with other fully vaccinated dogs so he can socialise and learn vital skills.

Puppies have a crucial period of socialisation (recognised to be up to around 13 weeks) when they are less likely to be afraid of new situations.  During this time you need to gently expose your puppy to anything he is likely to encounter in his life - sheep, the hoover, horses, kids playing, buses etc etc.  If your pup is kennel bred (outside in a kennel away from 'real' life - you will have to start with the basics since he may never have been on grass, watched birds, seen traffic etc).  A house bred pup will be more confident since he will have already met hoovers, the radio, TV etc so you need to take him outside to experience more.  So long as you carry him, he will be fine.

Always let your pup see new things at a distance - take him to school at the time when the kids come out, but keep him at a distance so that he is not overwhelmed by kids crowding round him.  Likewise, when you expose him to traffic, keep him at a comfortable distance.  If he shows signs of being afraid (tucking his tail under, lowering his ears, worried expression, licking his mouth or even trying to get away) immediately move him further away.  Stay calm and don't fuss him - "I'm OK, you're OK".  Next time, keep him further away to the point where he is calm, and again be calm and confident.

Confining the puppy and housetraining tips

It is very useful to be able to confine the puppy to one part of your house - most commonly your kitchen since most kitchens have a hard floor (ceramic tiles or lino) and often have a back door which leads off into the garden.  Use a stair gate, or for springy, able breeds use a special dog gate (available from argos) to keep him contained.  If you decide that he will not ever be allowed upstairs then you will also need a gate to stop him - after all he won't know that he musn't go up there.

This room can also be used to put the pup in so he can chill out and sleep without being disturbed (particularly if you have kids) and to teach him to be clean.  He also needs to be put here when visitors initially arrive, or when someone comes to the door - this has significance in teaching him how to behave around your visitors (in time he will learn not to leap like a looney all over them), and forms part of his understanding of who is in charge of and responsible for the pack i.e. not him!

If you allow your pup to roam your whole house - like small children who are being toilet trained, you will get accidents anywhere your puppy happens to be. Apart from the obvious mess this causes, unless you use a branded urine killer the urine sinks down through the carpet/cushions/sofa/kids toys etc and then crystalises.  Although we cannot smell it, your puppy can and he will be drawn back to this spot again and again since it smells to him like the bathroom!  We have tried a wide range of cleaners (bleach doesn't work, nor does biological soap powder), but the best one we have found is 'Urine Off' which was developed for old people's homes and works to destroy the urine crystals and hence stop your pup returning to the same inappropriate place.  For more information, or to order online follow this link: petfresh

Never punish your pup for having accidents outside of the area you have confined him in.  People say "well he knew it was wrong because he cringed on the floor..."  This is an old wives tale and is total rubbish!  When you walk in the door your pup will be pleased to see you, you start shouting because of the mess on the floor and he will hit the deck and wee himself since he is afraid - this is fear not guilt....  Simply clear the mess up without fuss.  Remember it takes time to house train puppies just like it does toddling children.

When you are home, take him out at least once an hour to the garden to give him the opportunity to wee or poo.  A good idea is to take some wet or dirty paper from indoors and put it in an area of your garden.  This is significant to the pup as wild dogs have a designated "bathroom" area where everyone goes - he will smell that this is the area to go in and be more likely to relieve himself there.  Don't be surprised if he wees when you bring him back indoors!  Initially he will have little understanding that he was supposed to wee in the garden - he will think that he's out there to bit the heads of your flowers and charge about!  A good plan is to take him to the "bathroom" spot of your garden on lead - if he relieves himself there, use a cue word such as "be quick" or "go now" so that he learns to associate this phrase with weeing or pooing.  That way, as he grows and you let him out in the garden, you can simply say to him "be quick" and he will know that is what he needs to do.  Its also useful if you take him on holiday and get out at the services as it saves keep walking up and down on the grass waiting for him to decide if he needs to go!

Using a crate

Having a puppy crate can be useful providing it is used in the 'correct' way i.e. not as a prison, but a place of security.  Dogs in the wild will dig a den - a confined place of safety.  If you teach your pup that his crate is a great place to be, he'll always be happy to be in it.

Put his bed inside, and a few toys to play with.  Always leave the door open. Shutting the pup in the crate - especially the first few times you use it will turn it from a place of safety for him into a prison from which he cannot escape.  Never shut the puppy in the crate as punishment.  Feed your puppy in the crate, and play with him in the crate (throw toys in when you are playing with him).  This will help him see the place as a good place to be.

Shutting the puppy in the crate to stop him weeing on the floor whilst you are out does not help him. Dogs do not like to wee or poo close to their bed so they will get as far away as possible beforehand. Often shutting the puppy in will stop him weeing or pooing, but this does not help with his long term housetraining, or his positive view of the crate. Whilst he is little, keep him confined in 1 room (as detailed above) with paper on the floor.

Letting him off lead

Start teaching him to come to you when you call him as early as possible in his life.  Call him in from the garden, hide up and call him, call him back and forth between 2 people - make it fun and rewarding!  Don't waste your money on commercial dog treats - use cheese, sausage, hot dog sausage, liver cake or cooked chicken.  Your puppy will find these much more interesting and much more likely to come and find you!

You must let him off lead as soon as possible - take your courage in both hands and have faith in him!  After all, you're all he knows there. 

If he's playing with another puppy don't expect him to come the first time you call him - if he ignores you, go up to him, take hold of his collar and encourage him to come with you and then reward him for coming. Try running away in the opposite direction and calling him - like you do with a stroppy toddler - he'll come running pretty quickly as you begin to leave!

Take him to the beach as the tide goes out and practise on the freshly washed sand.  Practise in a friends garden - anywhere and everywhere it is safe to do so. The sooner you let him off the better!