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What's the 'play-by-play' on the FIRST DAY(s)/week with your new puppy??

2K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  doggiedad 
#1 ·
Pup is home in 8 days! He'll be 8 weeks on the dot, coming home from the breeder. Super excited but starting to get nervous. I know I've got everything prepared but I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something.

Lately, whats been on my mind the most is.. What do you do with your puppy on the FIRST day home. From the moment you bring him home to the next few days to a week?? Sort've of like a play-by-play. From the moment i walk into the house, to going to sleep that night. What training do i do? When do i start walking him? Crate training? Potty training? Food/water? Chew toys? Should i plan to be up a couple times in the middle of the night and let him out of his crate to go pee? Start bite inhibition right away? Should i carry him in the house? or Let him walk in behind me? When should he meet the Roomba/vacuum?

I just got out of the military and wont start school until April, so i'll basically be able to watch his every move until then. So however detailed you can get would be awesome! Whether its day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute! hahah lemme have it! Thanks!
 
#3 ·
Take him out every 30 mins to potty. Start Crate training the first night. We put the create beside our bed.

Bond, play, poop, sleep. :) I would not do any training aside from crate and potty training. It will likely take him a few days to even get near comfortable. Love the pup.
 
#4 ·
Realize now that night time will be the hardest time. You'll need to get up every couple of hours to take puppy out to potty. Puppy is going to scream for hours. Puppy will finally be quiet, and it's time to take it out again. Stay strong those first few days and it will pay off HEEPS with keeping your sanity when the shark phase kicks in.

Some folks get lucky and it takes a day or two. Some folks get cursed and it takes weeks. Hope or the best, but expect the worse.
 
#5 ·
My pup is 8 weeks and 3 days. We spend the day replacing children and shoes with puppy appropriate toys and potty breaks every 30-45 mins. I think I made night time worse in several ways by not being consistent and giving in to sleeping on the floor with her bc of the non stop screaming :( we rearranged our bedroom to fit the crate right next to the bed. We are still at the constant crying stage but it's becoming less and less every night. She is even willingly going in there to nap during the day.
I'm a new puppy owner and have spent many hours reading through this forum. So many things I didn't know before we got her.

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#6 ·
Thanks for all the fast replies! as far as crate training and waking up in the middle of the night to take him out to potty. Would i have to wait for him to stop crying before i let him out? It seems counter-productive to take him out to pee if hes crying. Wouldn't this teach him that crying gets him out of his cage eventually? Curious
 
#7 ·
I wondered about this as well. If I woke to Zoe whining and it had been over an hour and a half since she'd been out I'd let her out. We go straight from crate to outside and back to the crate for a treat. As long as she peed and pooed I'd consider good for at least another hour or two regardless of whining.
I'm no expert but it's working for us. She is whining less and has only had one accident in her crate.

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#9 ·
I do it a little differently but my pup was 12 weeks when I got him. I take him out every-time he wakes up and about 1/2 hour after he eats. He doesn't need to go out every half hour. At night he goes in the crate around 10-11. He starts crying somewhere between 1 and 2 I get up take him out to go potty and then its right back into the crate.... No playing. He sleeps till the alarm goes off around 5:30. Last night 13 weeks and 1 day he slept all the way through to 4:30. I have high hopes that soon it I will get a full night sleep again.
 
#10 ·
Lots of bonding, out every 45 minutes for potty breaks, crate training, letting puppy explore the home... first night can be rough.

So glad I don't have to get up at night anymore, and we extended how long Zenna waits between potty breaks and no more accidents in the home. Things "get better' pretty quickly!
 
#13 ·
my pup was 9 weeks old when he came home. i took him out
every 15 minutes. i spoke to him in a normal speaking voice.
i used his name a lot. overnight he was out every 2 hours.
i crated him on and off during the day. everytime i crated him
i would say "go to your crate". i knew at some point he would
learn what "go to your crate" meant. when my pup wasn't crated
we watched him like a Hawk. we didn't let him wonder out of our sight.

after his 2nd round of shots he was in a puppy class. the class wasn't
all play. everybody handled each other pup. the class was held at my
Vet's office. the vet's would give the dogs mock exams. the Vet asked us
to bring the pup in a few times a week for the mock exams, petting
and treats. there was 2 cats in the puppy class and that was great
for the pups. the pups were exposed to a lot in the class. they did steps,
walked on leaves, blow dried, crated, walked on wet floors, handled
by everyone in the class, mock exams, put on the exam table and
table would go up an down, weighed, walked all throught the Vet
office. that's all i can think of for now.

his first days home was mainly potty training, usuing his name and
keeping him out of things and away from things. we were out and
about after his 2nd round of shots. i took him to the woods a lot. i took him
to stables for the horse exposure, fed the ducks and geese in the creek
(the ducks and geese would get close to him when being fed),
had lots of people visit some with dogs, had lots of play groups,
had my neighbors treat him in the yard and reach through the fence
to touch him, mailman petted him a lot (now he goes and gets the
mail form the mailman), go to the mall for people exposure and petting,
stand near the Supermarket doors, ask juggers to run near him and touch
him, had kids skate board near him, walked on crowed streets, walked
where there was heavy traffic. exposure, exposure, exposure.

formal traing started at 4 months old. untill then he knew his name,
was house broken (11 days), leashed trained (he was use to it and
his collar which was never on when home), crate trained.
 
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