Perfect Puppy Care Book – Chapter 4 – Bringing Home Puppy (Part 2)
Chapter 4 – Bringing Home Puppy (Part 2)
The Arrival
When you get home, immediately take your puppy to her potty area because she may have to relieve herself again. Puppies tend to need to potty anywhere from 3 to 5 times a day. Go ahead and start your housetraining right from the start.
If you have a fenced-in area, carry her there. If you do not have a secure yard, put on her collar and leash. Don’t risk her dashing off—puppies are fast! Plus, you don’t want her to learn her very first day that she can run away from you. Because she doesn’t know you very well, you might have trouble catching her.
Don’t be surprised if your puppy doesn’t relieve herself right away. She may be too excited, and this is normal. Give her about five minutes, then take her inside to her new home.
The First Few Days
The first few days are the honeymoon period. You and your family will be completely entranced at your new family addition, and your puppy will provide you with hours of entertainment. You’ll take pictures and e-mail your friends, you’ll laugh at her cute antics…and you’ll also start to realize just how much work raising a puppy can be.
Puppies need constant supervision. You may find that your puppy has lots of energy but you’re beginning to get very tired. Here are some tips for making the first few days easier:
- Take your puppy to the vet right away. Bring your puppy to the veterinarian within 48 hours to make sure that she is healthy and so that you can start her health care program.
- Set rules now, and stick to them. If you let your puppy get up on the couch with you now because she’s small and cute but don’t want her to get up there later when she’s bigger, that will confuse her. Give her consistent structure.
- Begin your training now. Start teaching your puppy manners today, such as sitting for her food or at the door. If you train her now, she will keep those manners as she gets older. Puppies are like sponges—they soak up information. They have very short attention spans, though, so shorter training sessions are best (10 minutes maximum).
- Stick to a schedule. Puppies do best with consistent routines. You should keep your dog’s feeding and potty schedules consistent.
- Get your puppy used to being independent. If you picked up your puppy on a weekend or decided to take a few days off to bond with her, she might be confused and upset the day you head back to work. To prevent this reaction, train her to being confined in her crate periodically. Leave her crated while you run short errands so that she won’t experience such a dramatic transition when you return to your regular schedule. Keep in mind, as she grows you will be able to remove the crate from the scenario, but until then the crate will keep her from getting into too much trouble while alone.
Some puppies will waltz into your home and act like they’ve lived there all their lives. Some puppies may be hesitant or confused. Some puppies will be fine during the day, but whine or cry at night. Keep in mind that your puppy has left the only home she’s known, and this could be a confusing transition for her. It may take her a couple weeks to feel comfortable and fit in with her new routine; this is normal.
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