Bringing a puppy home: What to expect in the first week

Oh, the excitement and chaos of that first week with a new puppy!

It can be nerve-wracking having a new little four-legged home, especially if you’re a first-time pet parent.

Below, dog behaviourist Philippa Short shares what you can expect in those early days and how to successfully settle in your puppy.

• Before you bring your puppy home
• What to prepare for collecting your new puppy
• Taking your puppy for a vet health check
• What to do during the first week with your puppy
  > Introducing your puppy to new people
  > Introducing your puppy to your resident dog
  > Helping your puppy get used to the house
  > Feeding your puppy
  > Helping your puppy sleep
  > Toilet training your puppy
• After the first week with your puppy

Before you bring your puppy home

The biggest motto for settling in a new puppy is ‘be prepared’.

If your new pup isn’t yet home with you, here are a few ways to prepare for their arrival.

Get your scent into your puppy’s scent library

Take a safe, old clothing item – like a t-shirt – and sleep with it for at least two weeks. Pass this around to all family members so everyone scents the clothing.

With the breeder’s permission, leave the piece of clothing with your puppy the week before they come home.

• Doing this will help your puppy build positive emotional feelings towards your scent in familiar surroundings.
• You’ll then bring this back home when you fetch your puppy so it has the comforting smell of their mum and siblings.

Build positive scent associations for existing pets in the house

It’s also important to begin helping existing family pets build good feelings about the puppy.

• Ask the breeder to rub a soft microfibre cloth all over the puppy and bring it home with you.
• Place treats on the cloth and encourage your dog or cat to eat them.
• Do this daily so they can start associating the puppy’s scent with happy things.

Set up your house for their arrival

Where you place your puppy’s crate, playpen, and any puppy gates is key to their safety and comfort. As is deciding which areas of the house your puppy can go in.

The crate and pen should ideally be:

• Away from the main thoroughfare of the house so they can have quiet time for naps.
• In a room with direct outdoor access for toilet breaks. Place them too far away and they’ll have an accident en route.
• In a space with plenty of fresh air but not placed too close to a window. Your puppy can become overstimulated if they can see or hear the outside world via the window.

Think about whether you’ll sleep downstairs with your puppy for the first few nights. Or if you’ll have a second crate upstairs next to your bed where they’ll sleep before eventually moving to a crate downstairs.

You can also get your puppy pet-safe, vet-approved calming sprays and a mix of chews and toys to help calm and settle them.

Book time off to settle your puppy in

Joining your family is a huge transition for your new puppy. They’re leaving behind everything they’ve ever known for a new home, people, and routine.

That’s why it’s important not to leave your puppy alone during their first week with you. Ideally, you’ll book this time off work to fully focus on settling them in and bonding with each other.

What to prepare for collecting your new puppy

Before you set off to pick up your new four-legged friend, you’ll want to pack:

• Cleaning supplies, towels, and puppy pads in case your puppy has car sickness or does nervous wees and poos.
• A secure and comfortable carrier. They need to be safely contained in case of an accident but still have access to you.

I usually prefer to use a fabric crate on the front passenger seat. The crate would be fastened with the car seatbelt and a lead around the back of the car seat. This secures your puppy and keeps them close to reach in and comfort them on the journey home.

Taking your puppy for a vet health check

Go to the vet within 48 hours of getting your puppy to have a wellness check done. You can then go back to your breeder if anything is wrong.

This first visit is just for your vet to run their hands over your puppy’s body and listen to their heart. Give them a few treats and cuddles while you’re there to build a positive association, then leave.

Your puppy’s vaccinations and other treatments or procedures can wait for the following week. This helps avoid negative feelings – like getting poorly from a vaccination – during their first week of settling in with you.

What to do during the first week with your puppy

Prioritise keeping your puppy calm during their first week at home with you. Always remember that they have a lot to deal with and you can help by giving them as much stability as possible.

Puppies are very accident-prone so don’t forget to check you have comprehensive puppy insurance.

> Introducing your puppy to new people

For the first three days, your puppy should only meet immediate family living in the house.

You may have plenty of well-meaning people who can’t wait to meet your puppy – but first experiences matter.

Being introduced to too many people at once can be overwhelming and cause your puppy to develop a negative association with the house.

> Introducing your puppy to your resident dog

If you need to introduce your puppy to an existing dog in the house, here’s what to do:

1. The day you get home with your puppy, take the resident dog into the garden with a Kong or treat.
2. Once the resident dog is calm and settled with their toy, you can bring the carrier into the garden or carry your puppy outside and hold them.
3. Let your adult dog approach, have a sniff, and explore on their terms. Always check they have plenty of room to move away and never force them to come over.

It’s normal if your resident dog doesn’t initially like the puppy. Sometimes things can feel off for the first few days and slowly improve. Key things to remember:

• Forcing a friendship and continually asking your adult dog to play with your puppy will cause stress and delay bonding. Allow their bond to form organically.
• Always protect and support your adult dog, giving them an exit strategy and time away from your puppy.
• Don’t forget to have special time with your adult dog away from the puppy.
• Remember that you can always turn to a dog behaviourist to help if things go wrong.

If you have a resident feline, check out my guide on introducing a new puppy to your cat.

> Helping your puppy get used to the house

Hopefully, you’ve already pre-puppy-proofed your home.

Don’t be tempted to take your puppy around the whole house as this will overwhelm them. Keep their world as small as possible for the first few days and only let them in rooms where they’ll spend most of their time.

1. Take them to their main rooms, for example, the kitchen and family room
2. Show them where their water bowls are in each of these rooms
3. Spend time with them in these places to help them adjust

Part of your puppy’s habituation includes getting them used to the sounds of the house, so make sure they hear noises like:

• Vacuum cleaner
• Dishwasher
• Washing machine
• TV
• Radio
• Footsteps going up and downstairs
• Doors opening and closing

> Feeding your puppy

Your breeder or rescue centre should have told you what your puppy eats and how often.

Sometimes their feed schedule may need to change to fit your schedule but there are a few key things to bear in mind:

• A very young puppy should be fed smaller meals four times a day
• Don’t change their food in the first four or five days as this will give them a stressed stomach

> Helping your puppy sleep

Puppies need a lot of sleep. A tired puppy becomes emotionally overwhelmed, which can lead to biting and forming negative associations with things.

Break up each hour so your puppy spends half the time exploring and the other half sleeping.

I’ve done a full breakdown on crate training your puppy but below are a few key pointers:

• Place a few treats inside their crate and pop them inside for them to sniff out.
• Scatter a few treats around the outside of their crate when they’re not looking and let your puppy find them.
• Use a light tone and lots of encouragement when they’re in and around the crate to build good emotions.
• Don’t let young children play or talk to the puppy when they’re in their crate. Your puppy needs to learn it’s their sleep/chill-out space.
• Only safe toys that can’t be destroyed or swallowed should be left in the crate.
• Don’t wake up a sleeping puppy. If they’ve fallen asleep in the middle of the floor, let them wake naturally. Take them out for a wee and then put them in the crate if they still need sleep.

If your puppy is struggling to sleep, you can try using:

• Pet-safe calming sprays approved by your vet
• Calming music played quietly in the background

> Toilet training your puppy

You can start toilet training your puppy straight away. By this, I mean regularly taking them out into the garden.

Head over to my guide on toilet training puppies for a step-by-step breakdown on how to do this using positive reinforcement.

Many dog parents can get stressed and hysterical about their puppy’s toileting progress. Just take a deep breath and keep persistent with their training. Always remember that each puppy will become toilet trained at their own pace but it will happen.

After the first week with your puppy

After the first week, your puppy will hopefully be settled into their new home and your family.

You can now start:

• Inviting new people over to meet the puppy. Be careful of having too many visitors at once as this can still overwhelm your pup.
• Taking them out once a day for a new experience, such as a trip to the pet shop. You can carry them if they’ve not been fully vaccinated yet.
• Starting basic training to teach your puppy essential cues like ‘leave it’.