Your first day with your new puppy

Bringing your new puppy home is an exciting day. But it can also be a very stressful one. Suddenly everything is real - you’re now responsible for this tiny, furry baby and it’s very normal to start to worry whether you’ve made a big mistake. Being prepared before you pick up your puppy and having a plan for their first day in their new home allows you to relax and focus on building your relationship with your new best friend.

Bringing your puppy home

Leaving their mum and siblings and travelling with you to their new home can be a scary experience for your puppy. They’ll need lots of reassurance and comfort for you if anything worries them. You can’t do this if you’re driving so make sure there’s at least two people in the car - ask a friend to drive if necessary so you can focus on your puppy.

Whether you’re driving or taking a bus or train it’s a good idea to have some kind of carrier to put your puppy in to keep them safe. If you’re planning to crate train your puppy, I wouldn’t recommend taking them home in their crate. The journey can be stressful and could teach them their crate is scary. A cat carrier is a good size for most puppies and is usually a worthwhile purchase as you’ll be taking your puppy to the vets and out for socialisation a lot in their first few weeks home.

If you were given a blanket that smells like your puppy’s mum and siblings it’s tempting to put this in their carrier to comfort them - but that’s not a good idea. The chance your puppy will toilet or be sick on the journey home is high. And then you’ll just have to wash the blanket when you get home and it won’t smell like mum anymore. 

Start toilet training straight away

Your puppy will probably need to go to the toilet by the time they get home so use this to your advantage. Take your puppy to their toilet spot in the garden or their litter tray if you don’t have outside space as soon as you get home. If your puppy goes to the toilet then awesome, give them a treat. If they don’t, don’t worry. Just keep bringing your puppy to their toilet spot very regularly - around every 20 minutes and after they’ve eaten, drunk played, woken up and before they go to sleep.

Successful toilet training is a numbers game. You want your puppy to toilet A LOT in their toilet spot and for them to have as few accidents as possible. Not just because cleaning up pee isn’t fun, but because your puppy can only learn where to go if they’re actually toileting there. So while most other training can wait a few days, make sure you start toilet training straight away.

Your puppy’s first day

After you’ve taken your puppy to the toilet, show them where their safe space is. Make sure it’s already set up with their bed, blankets, toys and bowls. If you have a blanket that smells of their mum, put it in their bed so they feel more at home. Give your puppy time to explore their new home. Depending on how tired your puppy is and how brave they are, they might be super excited to run around and sniff and chew everything. Or they might want to have a nap or sit quietly in one spot and take everything in. Whatever they need to do is great.

Going with the flow is the theme of your puppy’s first day. If they want to play, have a quick game. If they want to sleep, let them nap. Don’t focus on training or trying to create a routine. Just let your puppy settle in and start to build your bond. And the most important part of building your bond is staying with your puppy all day. Your puppy has just left everyone and everything they’ve ever known. Moving in with you is scary. By staying with your puppy and comforting them they’ll start to learn that they can trust you to keep them safe.

Make your life easy

Your puppy’s first few days home are EXHAUSTING. Most puppies don’t like being left even for a second and you’ll be watching your puppy like a hawk to make sure they don’t toilet in the house or chew something they shouldn’t. Looking after your puppy takes so much time and energy it’s hard to make sure you and your family's needs are met.

Plan to do nothing other than looking after your puppy for at least those first few days. Don’t even think about cooking. Batch cook in advance, buy ready meals, order takeaways - whatever you need to do to make sure you and family EAT. And have loads of tasty snacks you can grab whenever you need a pick-me-up. Looking after a puppy isn’t easy, but it’s so much harder if you’re hungry.

Settling your puppy for their first night

After a long day of playing, exploring and toilet training, you and your puppy will definitely be ready for a good sleep. Take your puppy out to the toilet, get them a toy to comfort them and something to chew on and take them to their bed. You’ll need to sleep with your puppy the first few nights so they’re not scared. If your puppy isn’t going to sleep in your bedroom forever, they can either sleep there for a few nights or you can sleep next to your puppy’s bed.

Your puppy will probably wake a lot in the night. They’ll need the toilet, there’ll be strange sounds and they’ll realise they’re not with their mum. As soon as you hear your puppy waking, reach over and comfort them. Then take them out to the toilet and then straight back to bed. Give them midnight snuggles if they need them. Yes you won’t get much sleep, but it won’t be for long. The sleepless nights will be worth it. Your relationship with your puppy will be so much better if they know you’ll protect them if they’re scared.

Written by Juniper Indigo, dog trainer in Tiverton and Exeter