Bringing a puppy home is exciting; you’ve probably been looking forward to it for a while. While you may be excited, remember that your new puppy may be very tired from the journey. Your puppy may also feel slightly anxious about leaving its mum and siblings and being in a new environment with strangers.
Preparation
To ease your puppy’s transition into its new family, it’s best to be prepared. A puppy will be easier to train if it feels relaxed, confident and happy in its environment. This would involve:
A designated safe place for your puppy to sleep – a crate is ideal, in a quiet area of your home, but somewhere your puppy can still see you.
When I brought our puppy Luna home, I had a blanket that her mother and siblings had slept on, and we put that in her crate so that she had a familiar scent to soothe her.
A designated toileting spot – by using the same area, your puppy will become used to toileting outside faster.
Use the same puppy food – use the same puppy food your puppy is used to eating. This will reduce tummy upsets, and the familiar food will soothe your puppy’s nerves.
Plenty of chew toys – having a variety of puppy chew toys readily available to redirect your puppy’s chewing will save your shoes and furniture.
Organise a vet and pet insurance – having a vet and pet insurance is necessary. Your puppy must be fully vaccinated to attend puppy classes and socialise outside.
Sign up for puppy classes – puppy classes are more for you than for the puppy, although your puppy will benefit. They teach you how to communicate effectively with your dog and break down teaching cues.
When Puppy Is Home
The moment of bringing your puppy to its new home is finally here! Your first stop should be the designated toilet area. Allow your puppy time to sniff around and praise and reward when it toilets.
Take your puppy to its crate or safe sleeping spot. Your puppy may need to sleep and decompress. Allow your puppy time to familiarise itself with its new sleeping area and rest. It may take a day or so before your puppy feels comfortable. It’s a big change; the easier you make this transition for your puppy, the quicker it will settle in.
Once your puppy is calm and relaxed, it’s time to introduce the collar and harness. Allow your puppy to sniff the collar, then put it on them. Seeing how your puppy reacts to this will give you an indication of its temperament.
Most puppies will struggle and have a scratch at it, then ignore it – this indicates a pretty easygoing puppy. Some puppies may act more distressed, leaving the collar on and allowing them to become used to it. This will show you if your puppy is more anxious and has difficulties with new things. A puppy like this often needs more patience and time to adapt to change.
Training Games
The easiest way to train a puppy is to ensure it is well-rested and feels safe. So allow your puppy plenty of rest time – puppies sleep a lot.
You may think that your puppy is too young to train. However, the sooner you start, the easier it will be to train your dog in your desired behaviours. A puppy can learn its name, sit, down, and come. As well as potty training!
Playing training games is the easiest way to teach your puppy that focusing on you is fun and rewarding. Engaging your puppy is the cornerstone of any and all training, and the quicker your puppy learns that you are fun and rewarding to pay attention to, the easier your training journey will be.
Positive reinforcement training helps you to create a trusting bond with your puppy. A happy, confident puppy will always be willing to try new games and tricks.
Start simple and set your puppy up for success every step of the way. Praise and reward every behaviour you like and want your puppy to repeat. Dogs and puppies love to celebrate, and lots of happy praise goes a long way. Treats will encourage your puppy to repeat the behaviour.
If you’re worried about your puppy getting fat, use a portion of your puppy’s daily kibble allowance instead of treats. I did this with Luna, and it worked wonders.
The name game is excellent for teaching your puppy its name; not only does it learn its name, but responding to it is fun and rewarding! This will help when it comes to recall training!
Another good idea is to play 4 feet on the floor –when you reward your puppy for keeping its feet on the floor and not jumping up. It’s fun when it’s a little puppy but not so much when your dog’s bigger, so don’t let it become a habit.
I also rewarded Luna every time she was calm. Puppies are fluffy balls of energy, but an over-excited puppy can be exhausting and hard to train. They will not naturally know how or when to be calm, so it’s beneficial to teach them that being calm is rewarding.
Socialisation
Many people think that socialisation involves introducing a puppy to new people, dogs, and other animals. And to an extent, it is. But it’s also about gently introducing new noises, smells, objects, obstacles and experiences your puppy will encounter daily. Rushing socialisation can cause stress and anxiety for puppies, resulting in nervous, anxious dogs.
A good rule of thumb is to introduce things slowly, allowing your puppy to take its time and decide if it’s ready to meet or experience something or someone new. You can tell if your puppy is worried; it will try to move away, turn its head, lick its lips and nose, or start sniffing around—these are all calming signals. Calming signals are important as they are your puppy’s way of letting you know it doesn’t feel comfortable.
This can be tricky when people see a cute puppy. Not every puppy is a social butterfly, and having strangers come up and touch can be overwhelming. Observe your puppy’s body language, and if it tries to move away or shows calming signals, then stop the interaction. Allow your puppy to decide if it’s ready or not.
You may find these articles helpful:
Introducing The Collar and Leash
Leave a Reply