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Puppy settling time

16 replies

user28288 · 17/05/2025 15:51

1 week to go until we bring home our first ever puppy! I need MN wisdom… does puppy need a settling in period where we let him be and explore the house a bit without taking him out anywhere or having too many people over? Should this be a day or a week? I don’t want to overwhelm him but not sure if I’m over thinking it. Picture tax added :)

Puppy settling time
Puppy settling time
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Stuckinarut100 · 17/05/2025 15:53

You can’t walk them until they’ve had their jabs and yeh I wouldn’t overwhelm them with lots of visitors too soon, it’s like having a newborn but one that can move, eat everything, doesn’t wear a nappy and bites!!

Stuckinarut100 · 17/05/2025 15:53

Is it a lab? Very cute!

user28288 · 17/05/2025 15:57

Stuckinarut100 · 17/05/2025 15:53

You can’t walk them until they’ve had their jabs and yeh I wouldn’t overwhelm them with lots of visitors too soon, it’s like having a newborn but one that can move, eat everything, doesn’t wear a nappy and bites!!

No you can’t but we will take him out in our arms and take him to our parents houses 😊 thank you, guess it’s the mum instincts kicking in

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user28288 · 17/05/2025 15:59

Stuckinarut100 · 17/05/2025 15:53

Is it a lab? Very cute!

Yes! Pure lab, we have been waiting for this breeder to have puppies for 6 months, can’t believe he’s finally coming home!

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LandSharksAnonymous · 17/05/2025 16:19

I wouldn't have visitors for the few two weeks as this is your first rodeo, for one main reason:

Training a lab should be a walk in a park. They are food motivated and they are smart. Within two weeks, with consistency and effort, by the time you do receive visitors they should have a good grasp on basic commands (sit, stay, recall, down, settle and mostly toilet trained) and this should help introduce them to people without them getting over-excited.

Introducing your pup to new people is great - but the last thing you want is to ingrain 'jumping' is good in a young puppy (and young puppies will jump and people will say 'oh it doesn't matter' and it 100% does. Correcting bad behaviour is a million times harder than instilling good behaviour). Your lab will still be excited by new people, but they will also know by then that obeying your commands = food and food = more exciting than people.

Lots of people talk about 'socialisation'. But they act like socialisation means getting your dog used to everything and everyone and greeting every person and dog who comes across their path and not being fearful. And to an extent that is correct. But it's also not: socialisation is, in my view, getting your dog robust enough that it is used to ignoring other things and focussing on you. A well trained dog is a dog that is always looking for it's owner and wants to be with it's owner - and the best way to install that behaviour, is to build that bond (usually with food - but in some breeds, it'll be toys) and fast. Most of the issues you see with retrievers (Labs/Goldies/Flatties) is, quite frankly, because of poor socialisation, lack of training and a lack of understanding from owners about how socialisation works.

And, being frank, people are bloody stupid around puppies that aren't their own. They wind them up. They encourage them to mouth (inadvertently). They encourage them to jump. They also, very often, damage the training that is already in place (i.e. effort going into not teaching the dog to jump up, or mouth). That's because they don't have to deal with the fallout.

I'd also not let the puppy explore the house. Labs can be very prone to joint issues. That means limiting opportunities to jump onto furniture (and most importantly off it), not letting it climb stairs, not letting it skid on stone or wooden floors. Also, just for hygiene reasons (alongside puppy training reasons - because no matter how much you think you've cleaned, your puppy will still smell the wee and that makes house training harder), I wouldn't have a puppy that isn't house trained anywhere except one room. House training is a lot easier if the puppy can't escape your eyes.

In case helpful, I do the following when I have a new puppy:

Week 8/9: Training. Socialisation in the car. Occasional outings in arms (something that straps him in, not literally just in your arms).
Week 10: Second vaccination. More training. Slightly more socialisation in the car. Occasional outings in the arms.
Week 11: By this time, if you have been rigorously training, puppy should be house trained, have basic recall (inside and in the garden) and pretty much love you and food. But, still, more training. Slightly more socialisation in the car, more outings. Visitors (1-2 at a time)
Week 12: First time in the ground. Careful interactions with other dogs (1-2 a walk, max), and other people (1-2 people a walk, max). Get your dog used to being outside and in the wider world - which is obviously very exciting - but still maintain their focus on you. Yes, your pup should be excited to see the world and it should sniff and greet other dogs...but it should still want you.

Remember, a good breeder should have socialised the puppy with relatives etc before this. So they should be used to people. You just need to reinforce this - not create it.

Good breeders will also have a puppy pack for you that details this in more detail - or they should explain it to you when you collect your new addition.

user28288 · 17/05/2025 18:27

Ha I was hoping you would see this! Thanks @LandSharksAnonymousyour timeline of events is very very helpful. Yes we have a lot of literature coming with puppy apparently:) thank you again

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LandSharksAnonymous · 17/05/2025 19:58

@user28288 glad I was able to help! 😊

Honestly, everyone makes mistakes with their puppy - I know I made lots with my current youngest (and you'd think I'd know better tbh) - the main thing is to make sure your mistakes are the only mistakes! 😄He's going to be a handsome bugger though - hope you're ready to fall madly in love within the first five minutes!

tizwozliz · 17/05/2025 21:14

Your lab will still be excited by new people, but they will also know by then that obeying your commands = food and food = more exciting than people.

No one told my labs this rule... 😀 The older one in particular hadn't read the Labrador handbook at all.

I thought I was going to be able to use kibble for training

ejsmith99 · 17/05/2025 21:37

You'll have to follow Shay Kelly on Facebook. He's just picked up his yellow lab puppy so you will be able to follow an amazingly well qualified trainer and copy where appropriate.

Oh, and get a buggy. They feel pretty light when you start your walk, 10 minutes in and your arms are dead

user28288 · 18/05/2025 00:41

ejsmith99 · 17/05/2025 21:37

You'll have to follow Shay Kelly on Facebook. He's just picked up his yellow lab puppy so you will be able to follow an amazingly well qualified trainer and copy where appropriate.

Oh, and get a buggy. They feel pretty light when you start your walk, 10 minutes in and your arms are dead

I have thank you, I’ll enjoy looking through that.

I have a puppy sling, will this do the job? 🙈

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user28288 · 18/05/2025 00:43

LandSharksAnonymous · 17/05/2025 19:58

@user28288 glad I was able to help! 😊

Honestly, everyone makes mistakes with their puppy - I know I made lots with my current youngest (and you'd think I'd know better tbh) - the main thing is to make sure your mistakes are the only mistakes! 😄He's going to be a handsome bugger though - hope you're ready to fall madly in love within the first five minutes!

It must be so much easier nowadays to avoid mistakes with so much information at your finger tips! I’ve been in love since I saw the first pic I think 😅

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ILOVECHAMBERS · 18/05/2025 01:41

Get him into meeting people in your home..strait away, he need interaction, I would slow him down to greet there dogs in your house to, if they are up on there boasters, you definitely need to keep him safe, do not take him out till he’s had his jabs. But all the time he’s at home, in his safe space, make it interesting and peaceful, if not he’s gonna chew threw walls 🤣🤣🤣🤣

ILOVECHAMBERS · 18/05/2025 01:42

I do appoligize…my text didn’t sound right 🫣

Bupster · 18/05/2025 11:22

user28288 · 18/05/2025 00:41

I have thank you, I’ll enjoy looking through that.

I have a puppy sling, will this do the job? 🙈

Second Shay Kelly, he's great too.

My Lab/Spaniel cross grew out of his sling in a week, quite literally. After that I put him in a rucksack which I wore on my front, which worked brilliantly. One thing to warn you about is that for some dogs, the jiggling of a sling or rucksack can encourage the innards to, um, process, a little more energetically than they might have done otherwise, so don't make those walks too long 😄

@LandSharksAnonymous gave great advice. Just go at your pup's pace - you don't yet know how confident he will be, and you don't want to overwhelm him.

My one big mistake was to spend so much time working on recall that I didn't really work on engagement when we were out, and I'm having to fix that now, and it's a pain. So plenty of engagement and getting him to respond to his name, and no leaving him to play for ages with other dogs while you chat (which is a mistake i'm still making when he's having fun)

OnlyHerefortheBiscuits · 18/05/2025 12:19

@LandSharksAnonymous yes!!

It is not really socialisation. It is acclimatisation

user28288 · 24/05/2025 20:21

He’s home 🥰 first day has been lovely, here’s to a good first night!🥂

Puppy settling time
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