Bringing a puppy home on Tuesday. What do I need to know?

[GreaseTrap101]

We have only ever had adult dogs (rescues). On Tuesday we are picking up a puppy. Do you have any tips or tricks the websites may have missed? She is coming home with a blanket from her home, we have a crate for bedtime etc. How do I make sure we don’t over/under stimulate her? How much socialising should we be doing each day? I am a neurotic person, how do I not pass this on to her? Any advice gratefully received.

Really good advice on here

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/puppy

Just be prepared for some sleepless nights while it settles in away from Mummy and the litter.
Plenty kitchen roll and anibac/ disinfectant.

Enjoy they grow up so quickly

Something like this helps in the early days

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Paws-AFP-Little-Buddy/dp/B01HZB2950/ref=asc_df_B01HZB2950/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343324484327&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16793746678754857784&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046606&hvtargid=pla-569817768196&psc=1

Get in a good supply of !!

And get hold of the appallingly named but rather good book "Easy Peasy Puppy Squeasy" which will steer you through just about everything

Remember that socialising is about much more than meeting other dogs, it's about giving confidence in dealing with the world and all the new sights, smells and noises.

Unless the puppy is about 12 weeks old, you shouldn't put them on the ground where there are other canines or rats until they've had all their jabs, but you can still carry them round so they can see/hear/smell their new environment.

If coming from a pile of littermates and mum, then sleeping alone might be challenging - if puppy is unhappy alone, can someone sleep nearby for a while?

Keep the stuff you need for toilet breaks by the door - if you've got a grab bag and a pair of shoes (or in this weather, wellies and brolly) you'll get outside faster!

And the thing I wish I'd done more of - teach good habits for tooth brushing and nail-clipping!

Start training from day 1 with toilet training and sit. Think of the rules you want her to be following when she's an adult and start them now.
She should be sleeping 18 to 20 hrs a day for the first 6 months. Ensure she gets this by using the crate to enforce naps.
Have a variety of toys to redirect for puppy biting/ mouthing.
Ours has been home only 3 weeks. We went 'tough love' the first night in the crate and ignored the crying that happened for roughly 15 mins. The 2nd night nothing. Lift her water 2 hrs before bedtime to help with toilet training. I was sceptical about this but it was the right thing to do for her and us.
We set am alarm for 2 nd a half hours after bedtime and rook her out to pee. She managed that fine so extended it slightly over the next few days. She was toilet trained within a week.
Remember she's a dog with dog thinking, not a human. Use food treats to train, give her routine and consistency. It's working really well for us, she's amazing.
I have never had a dog before although my husband has, so we hired a trainer who comes in once a week to help us learn to train her and is available by phone and text for advice and support. It's been really helpful.
Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the helpful tips!! I am so excited. I have ordered a heartbeat toy and will crate train her at night and lift her water before bed. Fingers crossed! I can’t wait!!

It will be more difficult that you expect, you will need the patience of a saint, but it will be worth it.

Respect puppy’s choices, let puppy come to you, don’t force cuddles, don’t forget she’s still a baby.

We have the heartbeat toy..she loves it, mauls it like a lion😆

I agree with this. It's hard work, like going back go baby toddler stage when you have to factor in naps, pee feed,pee,play,pee,nap,pee,etc. I have a routine orientated 7 yr old too so it's intense at the mo. But worth it I think for when it's older..hard work now to pay off later!

Puppy instinctively want to be with you, near you. Use it to set up good recall. Make being with you fun. Give her pets and cuddles, but let her move on when she’s had enough.

This is even more important than house training, because it sets up your whole relationship and teaches her to trust you. For house training you just need to watch out for the cues she’ll give you, that’s all.

I remember seeing something which said , the most important command to teach is ‘come’ so your dog has good recall. Every day you should practice calling your puppy’s name and ‘come’ in a high voice, then masses of praise when he/she runs to you. Continue every day on walks in garden or further afield to practise’come’ and reward for doing so.
also socialise your puppy with other dogs so they learn all the doggy cues and language

Please don’t restrict water. Completely unnecessary and unkind.
Look at the group dog training advice and support on FB. Especially advice on first night, crate training and toilet training. You must NOT leave a pup to cry. It’s actually more likely to lead to separation anxiety when they are older.
Do not forget insurance! And keep food the same as breeder. Good luck.

I don’t get the water restriction thing either. With my first ever puppy I watched her trotting round the room looking for the water bowl I’d picked up under old fashioned instructions and she pawed the door to go out and drank from a puddle in the garden for ages. I resigned myself to having to change the bedding in the crate in 3 hours time and it was dry. If you let them out regularly you won’t have accidents. If you CBA to get up in the night for your puppy to be comfortable, you shouldn’t be getting one.

Don’t throw balls for them before bed or to cure zoomies. It doesn’t tire them out, it jacks them up and hurts their joints.

There's alot of " you must not" instruction here.
I did alot of reading and researching and came to my own descisions and judgements on what sounded like sensible safe and kind actions for the long term care of my puppy.
I read the easy peasy puppy book in amongst others.
A good one was the golden retriever handbook ( they have for different breeds) which gave advice and information from a long term owners breed and at the end of each chapter gave comments on the chapter subject eg toilet training, crate training etc from a variety of breeders and lo and behold everyone has different opinions and practices based on their dogs, their lives, their perspectives and personal preferences.
Toilet training does not mean trained through the night. I still get up twice currently.
There are different schools of thought on many aspects of puppy life as with everything else. Some people think managing a puppy to settle through the night quickly rather than the softly softly approach is kinder and less likely to lead to separation anxiety. Others think the opposite.

The right thing for your puppy and family will be different from the right thing for someone else's while still being safe and loving.

As @Awumminnscotland says, there are lots of ways of going about teaching the puppy to cope alone, or stay dry through the night. Every puppy is different - we had one who just didn't respond to the toilet training we'd done with previous puppies and we had to change the system.

There are three big things I would generalise about, though.

1. Practice recall from the off and reward reward reward. Across the room, room to room, garden from house, house from garden, before you can even take the puppy out.
2. 'Socialisation' really means 'exposure'. It doesn't mean letting your puppy run to very person or dog she sees, but just getting her used to a huge variety of dogs, people, noises, smells, locations and sensations.
3. Get the puppy used to the collar well before the first walk. Then let the lead trail. Then do a bit of time on-lead in the house and garden. Then finally try outside.

I also made sure I left our last one alone for short spells from a young age. Easier said than done with two other dogs and four people living in the house...

I also let our puppies off lead in safe outdoor places asap. When they are little they will want to be near so pile in the recall practice before they get bold and brave.

We've never restricted water. We had middle of the night toilet trips for the first 3 weeks but both pups were sleeping through the night with no accidents from 11/12 weeks.

When they're little, you really don't need to overdo it. Yes, introduce them to lots of new sites and smells but often just 10 minutes of watching the world go by in a new place is plenty.

Toilet training and recall are the two skills I concentrate on and just building a bond through play.

Book a puppy class now, the ones round us get booked up.

Dont restrict water ever

Many good trainers offer a puppy package where they will see you at home in the early days when you first get your puppy and then it leads onto puppy classes.

Really useful to help with individual issues in your household and for your puppy.

Agree focus to name and recall from day one. Have off lead and following you in the garden and out and about as soon as vaccinations are done.

Most puppies are born understanding sit but do reward it every time.

Use daily food allowance for training

Avoid interactions with every single dog or person you see. Sometimes ask for focus on you. Unless you want your dog running up to every dog they see and every person they see.

If the puppy shows signs of anxiety then do step back and give them more space in the situation.

Heart beat toy, lots of kitchen and big bottles of Simple Solution to clean up accidents, a soft harness and light lead to get puppy used to them rather than trying to wrestle them on at 14 weeks before their first walk, a crate or puppy pen, lots of washable blankets/vet bed.

Book vets appointment for vaccinations asap, vets are really busy and you will need puppy to be fully vaccinated before you can take puppy out for walks.

They nip. A lot. They have teeth like needles. It's all a game to them and it's what they'd do with their siblings but it bloody hurts! Be firm- a sharp "No!" and moving away will eventually give them the message.

Invest in a gun dog whistle, use this every time you give puppy its meals, I use 3 shorts pips and it has helped enormously with my pups recall.
socialise as much as possible but don’t be afraid to say no, after all we don’t say hello to every single person that we can see.
Puppy blues are real (especially when your sweet, innocent little puppy turns into a land shark combined with skippy the bush kangaroo (eyeing up my 4 month old pup).
sleep and rest are very important, a tired puppy is a nippy puppy!
Good luck and enjoy!

My best advice is to get to know your puppy and treat her as an individual. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to dogs (or any animal, for that matter). I think that sometimes people experience the puppy blues when they have specific expectations about what their puppy will be like but the pup fails to live up to those expectations. Being flexible is so important. Maybe your puppy will love her crate, for instance. But she may not. It's fine to ditch the crate if that happens. Just learn who she is as an individual and build a strong bond. All good training starts from there IMO.

Puppies need a lot of sleep, 16+ hours a day. None of mine have been bitey sharks nor have they ever had the zoomies, which I suspect is because they got plenty of zzzzz.

Absolutely love this reply, and I will follow this when it comes to training our puppy, our way.

Your puppy will be following you around in the first few days/ weeks (depending on temperament)
Use it! Make your puppy walk with you giving the command heel & maybe tap your left leg. By 16 - 20 weeks this window is closed so use every opportunity!

And your puppy will be happy to come and see you- especially when having been outside. Again use it for recall training... call puppy and give a little reward.

Lastly, when puppy is doing it's business outside. Say good puppy No1 /2. After a few days say go No1 / 2 and thenrewardif theygo. - it's teaching to go on command!
Great for those moments when you are short of time!