Not Sure What to Do When You Bring Your New Puppy Home?
Here’s How to Make That First Day & Night Easier on Your Pup and You!
It’s so exciting to bring home a new puppy! Not just for you, but for the pup too, of course!
It may be a bit frightened of all the new things on the first day, so remember you’ll have to take it easy on the little furball.
Think of how YOU’D feel….you’d be scared too! I know I’d be….
First day home
It’s Potty Time!
Once you bring your new puppy home, let it go potty outside in a spot where you want it to go. If your puppy does go potty, praise it a lot!
If it does not go within 10-15 minutes, I would then bring it in the house, but make sure you watch your new four-legged friend at all times. I would recommend bringing it out again in about 15 minutes or so to try again.
Time to Eat!
Another good thing to show your new pup is where the food and water dishes are located. I recommend asking the previous owners what type of puppy food it has been eating. This way you can have it on hand so it will be something familiar for the puppy.
After the puppy has eaten and drank some water, it is always a good idea to bring it out again…yes, AGAIN! Usually, it does not take long…most of the time it is only about 10-20 minutes or so after.
Nap time!
Very young puppies usually are very active for a little while at a time, usually at most an hour or so, then they tend to get tired and fall asleep wherever they might be. If your puppy is getting tired out and starting to slow down, try putting it in its crate. Find the best prices for Midwest Life Stages Double-Door Folding Metal Dog Crate, 
What I found has worked, at least for me, with a young puppy around 8-10 weeks old, is to just sit on the floor next to the crate or even put the crate next to where you are sitting. This way my new furry friend can see I’m still there.
Puppies are used to sleeping with its litter mates and of course their moms. On your puppies first night at home try to make it as close to being with its momma and litter mates as possible. Try placing something with the mother dog’s and litter mates scent on it within the crate.
There’s No Place Like Home!
Another good way to keep the crate from being a terrifying place for your new pup is to bring a stuffed dog toy, a towel or small blanket with you when you go to pick your puppy up.
This way you can use the stuffed toy or blanket to get a “scent from home” for your puppy. Do this by rubbing the toy or blanket on the mother dog or its litter mates.
This really helps, at least it did for my puppies. Just remember, it is not advised to leave them unattended with anything that they can easily choke on or chew up into small pieces. So, make sure it is something durable.
Puppy’s First Night Home
Okay! Bed time…finally! So tired after chasing around and keeping an eye on the puppy all day long…especially after the long drive there and then back home! Boy, I bet the pup is exhausted!
It won’t stop whining and crying! Why?
Let me tell you, it’s not easy having a new puppy in the house, especially the first night home. You probably won’t sleep much for awhile. Sorry, but that’s usually how it goes. Once in awhile though you may be lucky and end up with one of those pups that actually sleep for most of the night.
Follow These 7 Tips & Make Life Easier on Both of You
- Give puppy plenty of exercise throughout the day
- Keep puppy in its crate even in the day when it’s sleeping. If it falls asleep outside of the crate, put it in the crate…very carefully! So, hopefully, you won’t wake it up!
- Make a regular schedule for everything- potty times, eating and drinking times, play times, etc.
- Do not give food to your puppy just before going to bed. Do this at least an hour before and although many say not to give any water to the pup either, I would at least give it a little bit. I guess I’m a big softie.
- Make sure you bring your pup out to potty JUST before going to bed. This has worked for me and I’ve had dogs all my life.
- Place the crate next to your bed. This is another thing I’ve always done with all of my puppies and so far I’ve made it through their first nights. I DO NOT let them in bed. This will lead to them expecting this treatment all the time. Just think about how big your puppy will be full grown…do you want your full grown dog jumping up there?
- Get up every couple of hours to bring puppy out to potty and give it lots of praise when it goes potty…then go back to bed, or at least attempt it. Try to teach your puppy this is not time to play, although it may take awhile for it to learn this.
What to do if your puppy is whining in its crate at night?
Don’t go crazy! It will stop, hopefully sooner rather than later! Remember, especially on the first night, it is in a strange place and has to learn a routine!
I would make sure you met all of its needs prior to putting it to bed in its crate such as going potty, food and water-but not just right before bed, exercise and play time. If you just let your puppy sleep for a few hours and woke it up just to go to bed I wouldn’t expect to get sleep anytime soon!
Don’t worry it will get better! Just stick to a routine and make sure to praise your puppy for the good behavior that you want!
I’d love to hear from you! What has been your experiences with a new puppy? Never owned a puppy before? If you have any questions, go ahead and leave them in the box below, and I WILL get back to you!
So, please feel free to comment, ask questions, and share this with your friends!
🙂 -Sherry
More about crate training your puppy…