Puppy Training Help: 5 Things to Do on Your Dog’s First Day Home

How much brainpower will you have the day you bring your puppy home? Maybe you picked them up from a shelter and drove home with the family. Or you might have picked them up from a flight at the airport. Or you might have even flown with them. No matter what, you’re going to be exhausted. You’ll only have time to do a few things, so let’s make them count. Here are five things to prioritize for the first day with your puppy.

Cancel that party

Did I mention you’ll be tired? Your puppy will also be feeling tired and it is likely their first time away from their mother, siblings, and the home environment they’ve come to know. This is not the day for a big party of neighbors and friends welcoming your puppy into the household. That can come later! Chances are you want your puppy all to yourself as well, and this is a good day for that.

Keeping a calm, quiet house on the day your puppy arrives will be a challenge. However, if you can keep things as calm and positive as possible, you will be setting your puppy up for a lifetime of success!

Introduce your puppy to prepared spaces calmly and kindly

You likely have already set up a safe space for the puppy to play in like an exercise pen or a well puppy-proofed room. Make sure these items are set up in advance so that your puppy doesn’t have to experience the chaos of assembly of a metal crate or exercise pen.

When you first arrive home, introduce your puppy to their safe bathroom area in your yard or outdoor space. Allow your puppy to explore the space on a leash while you observe. This is a great time for them to eliminate before entering your home for the first time (don’t forget to reward them with food when they eliminate outside). Allow your puppy to take in the sights and sounds that normally occur in your outdoor space, but don’t be surprised if they seem timid about their surroundings. This is all new and can be intimidating.

Once you move indoors, set the puppy down or walk them to the area you’ve prepared for them and let them explore at their own pace. Have a few toys set out for them to experience and simply observe your puppy taking in their surroundings. Feel free to sit on the floor and engage with them when they move to you. You are there to provide comfort and support if your puppy needs it, but try to keep your movements and noises calm and quiet and encourage children in the household to do the same.

Let your puppy explore their new surroundings at their pace, even if that pace dictates that they lay down in their toys, as shown by Evie!

Establish a schedule, but be prepared to troubleshoot

If your puppy came without any knowledge of potty training, now is the time to start rewarding them for the behavior you’re looking for. Plan to take them out every hour or two to eliminate in the same spot in your yard or outdoor space. Give them five to ten minutes in that spot to take in their surroundings and then get down to business. If they do successfully eliminate outside, reward them with food!

Make sure you build feeding times into your puppy’s schedule and cater bathroom break times to fall shortly after eating. When your puppy drinks a lot of water, you may have to take them outside to eliminate off schedule. For that reason, be prepared to troubleshoot and change their schedule as you go to accommodate bathroom times around major bouts of play or drinking water.

Don’t forget to enforce nap time, but stay close for now

Bennett reminds us that puppies need more sleep than adult dogs. Help them settle down for nap time by rewarding them in their crate or on their chosen sleep spot.

I already mentioned that you and the puppy will be tired, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to introduce sleep into your puppy’s daytime schedule. Young puppies need upwards of 17 hours of sleep per day, so your puppy will definitely exhibit behavior changes if they cannot get an adequate amount of sleep.

To gently add nap time into the puppy’s schedule, either crate them following playtime or lead them to their bed and encourage them to lay down and relax in that space. As you’re establishing their schedule, I’d recommend staying close to your puppy as they settle down for a nap. Puppies are often not used to being left alone, and certainly aren’t always prepared for confinement. Now is the time to introduce confinement and enforced naps gently. It is okay to verbally soothe and physically touch your new puppy to calm them if they feel distress during confinement in these early stages.

This goes for going to sleep the first night as well. Keep your puppy close to you and don’t be afraid to comfort them by touching them lightly through the crate at night. They’ll likely settle into a slumber once they know you are close. To make this easier, keep the crate by your bedside or even elevated on a nightstand.

Set aside some of your puppy’s food

Save half to three quarters of your puppy’s meals to use as training treats. You can use kibble to reward eliminating outdoors and to help your puppy settle in their crate or other rest space initially. You can also start to establish important communications like your puppy’s name by feeding them after you say their name.

If there are children in the family, have them feed your puppy as they hold and pet them. All members of the family should take time to gently handle the puppy and feed them by hand. This establishes that human touch means good things for the puppy and sets them up for success on the road to grooming behaviors, veterinary procedures, and even important behaviors like coming when called.

Whew, how does five things seem like so many? You might skip one or two of these, but circle back to them within the first two weeks of bringing your new puppy home. It is so important to calmly and kindly introduce new things to your puppy and start to establish important communication right off the bat! When in doubt, reach out to a professional for help with introducing environments, handling, and communication.

---