You’re bringing home a new puppy… now what? While it’s very exciting to bring home your newest family member, it can also be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first puppy. And even if it’s not your first rodeo, all puppies are unique and will have their own personality to adjust to.
While beginner obedience is very important for your new puppy, this article will cover the more general basics of helping your puppy adapt to your new home, routine, and lifestyle. While there’s so much that goes into bringing your new puppy home, I’m going to focus on a few main areas.
The key is to set your puppy up for success. If you don’t set your puppy up for success, they will be confused as to what’s expected of them, it will take longer for them to get comfortable in their new home, and you’re likely to get incredibly frustrated.
So to keep the fun and magic in this exciting journey of bringing your new puppy home, let’s dive into the basics of setting them up for success.
How to potty train a puppy
A key element to potty training your puppy is consistency. This is a theme that is common throughout the various aspects of setting your pup up for success.
The first part of this consistency involves teaching your puppy where to go to the bathroom. Obviously, you want them to go outside and not in your house. But you want to establish a consistent spot outside of where they relieve themselves.2
You’ll also want consistency in their schedule. A great way to set your pup up for success is to take them outside after they eat or wake up from their naps. You may also want to take them out after they drink water.3 You’ll experience even more success if these events (eating, napping, etc.) run on a set routine. We’ll talk more broadly about the importance of a consistent schedule in a bit.
The third key aspect of potty training is using positive reinforcement. It is more effective to praise and reward your puppy for going to the bathroom outside than it is to get mad at them for having an accident in the house. Punishment and anger about an accident before the pup is trained may cause confusion for your puppy.3
As you spend more time with your puppy, you’ll also start to become more familiar with their body language. It’s advantageous to pay attention to their body language right before they go to the bathroom so you can start to learn the signs of when they may need to go outside.1
The importance of a puppy schedule
A consistent schedule is not just important for your puppy’s potty training but is crucial to helping your puppy adapt to their new house and lifestyle. By adopting a consistent schedule for your pup, they start to learn their expectations.
They learn when they can expect to eat, go outside, play, and rest. They’ll also start to learn when you leave the house and when you come home. All of this eases the puppy’s mind by helping them feel more comfortable with what’s coming and allowing them to fulfill their desire of making you happy as an owner.
How to crate train a puppy
While it may be difficult to put your cute fur ball in the crate as a puppy, teaching them how to adapt to the crate is critically important for not only their training but for their overall health and safety. Crate training your pup keeps them safe and can help prevent destructive behavior and mitigate separation anxiety. The crate can also become a comfortable spot for your puppy to calmly relax.2
Just as positive reinforcement was important in potty training, positive reinforcement will be important in crate training. A great way to create a positive association with the crate is to feed your puppy its meals in the crate. You can close the crate door when the puppy eats and then open the door when they are finished. You can start to slowly ramp this up over time as your puppy gets used to the crate so they don’t develop an aversion to the crate right away.1
When you put your puppy in its crate at night, there are a few things you can do to make this easier on yourself and your puppy. You can make the crate more comfortable and cozy by putting a stuffed animal in with the puppy.1 I do not recommend this if your puppy has a tendency to rip these up.
You’ll also want to keep the crate close to your bed so your puppy can easily see you, and then you can slowly move it away over time.1 There’s a high probability that your puppy will cry in their crate at night until they get used to it. If your puppy cries, you can take them outside if it makes sense with their potty schedule, but then they should go straight back into the crate after being out.1
As an added bonus, crate training will help with potty training since dogs will not typically relieve themselves in the same place that they sleep. So the use of the crate is a great way to reinforce potty training when you’re away from the house.3 However, you should not be gone for long periods of time (more than 2-3 hours) when you have a puppy.
Starting new puppy training early
While it’s tough to do anything but smile, laugh, and cuddle with the new baby furball that you just brought home, it’s important to start training early and correct bad behaviors right away. One example of this is teaching your puppy not to bite by ending playtime if they bite too hard or redirecting their attention to a chew toy.1
A great way to incorporate training into your regular day is to allow your puppy to drag their leash, or a drag line, around the house. This helps them to get used to their leash but also helps with keeping the puppy close and gaining quick control when needed.4 This should only be done under supervision for the puppy’s safety so the leash doesn’t get caught on household items and so your puppy doesn’t get tangled up in it.
Socialization of your new puppy
Similar to training, socialization of your puppy should start right away because it will help keep your puppy from developing dangerous behavioral issues down the road.1 Lack of socialization can cause aggression, fear, or excessive barking.3
Socialization helps your puppy to become more confident, and it also helps your puppy to more effectively adjust to new situations, environments, and noises.2 When your puppy is confident and able to adapt to new surroundings, they will have less reactivity to people, animals, and other factors that are outside of their normal routine or control.
If this seems like a lot, it’s because it is. Taking home a new puppy is a huge, long-term commitment and not something to be taken lightly. The two important themes to remember are that consistency is crucial and that it’s important to start the various aspects of their training early.
If you find yourself struggling through any of these aspects of bringing your new puppy home, give me a call and I’m happy to help. And just as it’s important to correct bad habits right away, it’s just as important to start obedience training early on as well. I offer beginner obedience classes and one-on-one training depending on the needs of you and your pup. Call today to learn more!
847.409.1363
1 “How to Train a Puppy: 13 Tips From a Dog Trainer”, by Kristi Valentini on Daily Paws, https://www.dailypaws.com/dogs-puppies/dog-training/basic/how-to-train-a-puppy
2 “The Ultimate Guide to Puppy Training: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques”, The Puppy Academy, https://www.thepuppyacademy.com/blog/2023/4/7/the-ultimate-guide-to-puppy-training-tips-tricks-and-techniques
3 “10 Tips to Help You Train Your Puppy”, by Amy Bender on The Spruce Pets, https://www.thesprucepets.com/top-puppy-training-tips-1118511
4 “What is a Dragline and Why Does it Help New Puppies”, Chicago Dog Trainer, https://www.chicagodogtrainer.com/about/blog/109-what-is-a-dragline-and-why-does-it-help-new-puppies.html#:~:text=Leash%20Exposure%20%E2%80%93%20Although%20not%20its,outdoors%20less%20stressful%20and%20strange
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