Surviving the first week with your new puppy!
Now that our puppy 'Forest' is almost 5 months old, we are getting into a good routine with him and he's learning the ways of how our family works, so I thought it was a good time to share how things went the first week he was home! Though awesome and fun, it was tiring, as well as a lot of work, and I I figured out a few tricks and tips along the way, so if your thinking of getting a puppy one day my story of our first week at home with our new puppy may be really helpful for you to read!
Many people say having a puppy is like having a newborn again, I totally get where they are coming from, but I have to disagree a bit. A puppy is a baby, but not a human baby and so for that reason, I found having a newborn human, much different. Having a newborn human baby is all consuming, but having a newborn puppy is probably only half consuming, haha. First things first, the biggest tip is to only get a dog if you are a dog person :) it sounds like simple knowledge, but if you don't have the drive and motivation to train a new puppy, or the time to put into it, then it's probably best to hold off until your ready! I look at it like this, when I get a dog, that dog is going to stay in our family until they pass away one day, and they aren't something I can 'get rid of'. They will be a part of our family for keeps, and they are worth all the effort of training them to be a positive family member that adds joy to our days. It had been almost 8 years since I had done the puppy thing, and Ruby (our first pup) was really bright and easy to train, so going into the puppy newborn days this time around, I wasn't worried, I figured, I got this! We were getting a similar breed to our first dog (who is a mini goldendoodle) but this time we went for a bigger dog, as the location we live up north it is the perfect spot to have a big dog that could fend for himself if he ran into any other big animals. Forest is a full size Goldendoodle, which means his Mom is a golden retriever and his dad is a standard poodle. We decided on a boy this time, as our first pup was a girl and while we love her dearly we wanted the experience of having a boy dog this time. The day I went to pick him up I was so excited and so were the kids! We got him from a very reputable breeder whom we had spent time researching, and he had an amazing first 8 weeks of life in his first home at the kennel with his 8 siblings.
We drove with my older brother, who was also picking up his new puppy (Forest's sister Piper! Yes my brother and I got sibling puppies, which has been so fun) and we brought a big box with blankets to put the puppies in, we thought they would like snuggling together on the way home because that is what they were used to. It was going great until Forest got motion sickness, and got sick all over Piper! We pulled over and got them all cleaned up and on our way again, it was actually a funny memory now and I am told the dogs that get sick on their first drive home are the good ones ;). We didn't bring the crate to put them in because the crate is something you want them to have a really positive experience in, and the first drive home can be a bit scary for them so we thought a big box was pretty neutral as they would never have to go in a box again, and it worked out quite well.
When I first got home, we had our older dog Ruby come meet Forest at the park, we had read about how to introduce them so that they started off on a good foot and we followed the 'protocol' for that, and they have been buddies ever since! (well, Ruby gets a little old lady annoyed at him sometimes when he has way more energy then him, but she puts him in his place, or hides from him lol) The kids were SO thrilled to meet Forest, and they had fun meeting him, and showing him the house. We all couldn't get over how adorable, fluffy and cute he was! We kept him contained to the main living room/kitchen area of the house for the first few weeks (except for sleeping) as we knew it would be easier to keep track of him in a smaller area, and he'd have less to get into to.
When you first get your new puppy, you don't really have a bond with them yet, and they don't really know who you are quite yet. They were just taken away from their mom and siblings, and everything they are experiencing is so new and different. I found taking times to sit with him on the floor and let him get to know me, and climb on my lap and cuddle a bit was an awesome tool in starting to bond, and showing him that I was going to be his new mommy. We also did 'hand feeding' for the first week. This is where you literally just feed them their food out of your hand. This helps them in their training as it shows them where they are in the 'pack' and that you are the giver of food, which in turn will help them to begin to listen to you. We also had all the kids take turns hand feeding him, and I think I even convinced Chris to do it once or twice also!
I took him out on a leash for a potty break, after every time he ate, as well as any time he woke up from a nap or sleep. Every time he went pee outside, I gave him a treat and praise. I also marked it by saying 'Forest go pee!' in a happy upbeat voice, then would reward him immediately with a treat after every time he peed outside. This is the best way to teach them where you want them to go potty! (you can get really tiny healthy treats at the pet store that are perfect for training, but the first week home we just used his kibble bits as his rewards and he loved it) I had Forest on a really good schedule of going outside on potty breaks, so we really didn't have that many accidents that first week. But make sure you have a good natural cleaner with no ammonia for cleaning up any pee accidents :) (if the cleaner has ammonia it can actually encourage them to pee in that same spot again, and you definitely want to discourage ALL peeing indoors.)
Getting them used to the crate is also crucial to their training and sleeping! I brought the crate out to his living area, and would put kibble bits in it and encourage him to go in and check it out for short increments while leaving the door open. I would also give him affirmation in a soothing voice every time he went in the crate and we started called the crate his 'bed'. I put a cozy towel down in there, and made sure it was a nice small and cozy space. Then came the first night! People always dread the first nights with a puppy, but the breeder had given us some good advice, and we were hopeful it would go well. A huge tip we had been given was to bring the crate into our room for night time. So we got it all situated in the corner of our room, and put a nice blanket over top to make it like a 'den' for him. When it was time for bed, we got him to go in and slowly closed the door and then I sat down in front of it with him, so he could see me for a bit. I am not going to sugar coat it, he wasn't pleased at first! But I stayed sitting with him until he calmed down and fell asleep, and then I got up to go in my own bed. When he saw me leave he started to get upset again, and so I took another small blanket and put it draped lightly over the front of his crate and he calmed right down again and went to sleep. Yay! I think being in our room and knowing we were there was definitely helpful as he didn't even cry once in the night after he initially settled in! I did take him out when I heard him moving around a lot around 3am to pee, for the first 6 nights, but after that he was already holding it through the night and waking up dry! He woke up around 6 am, and I took him right outside, and then in those early morning times we had LOT'S of amazing snuggle sessions while the house was quiet.
The biggest tip I can give for crate training is, as long as they have been fed, walked, and taken out to go potty, do not go to them or let them out if they are crying or whining! This teaches them that whining and crying gets them OUT, and you want them to learn that if all their needs have been met they are to get used to self soothing themselves in the crate. To this day, I only ever go to Forest in the morning and let him out of the crate when he is quietly waiting, otherwise they can feel as though they are being rescued from something bad, and you want the crate to become their safe spot to sleep soundly and protected. During the first week, I brought the crate out to the living area every day so that he could see it and go in and out of it as he pleased throughout the day to get used to it. Then at night we'd bring it back into our room. He took to night training like a champ thankfully and I was only mildly zombie like for the first week from the once a night pee run and early mornings :).
We made sure he had lots of different dog chew toys in different sizes and textures to play with, and we would bring them out only a few at a time, so he didn't get overwhelmed or bored with them too quick. This minimized him chewing on things in our house, or chewing on us! I also made sure he had short and positive playtimes with the kids, so that he didn't get too overwhelmed or frustrated with them as he was just learning how to behave around kids. If he gave them a little too hard of a nip, we would firmly say 'ouch!' or 'No!' and he quickly learned that our hands and feet are not his chew toys.
During that first week, you want to keep it simple and only focus on a few things, the first thing is bonding with them. Get down on their level and sit with them, play with them, pet them all over and take them on walks and definitely take advantage of their small snuggly state! I have about 100 pictures on my phone of him cuddling with the kids and I, and its so heavenly to have them all cozy in your lap.
The second thing is getting them used to the crate, make it a priority that first week to spend time giving them positive experiences with the crate. This will go a LONG way in having a dog you can trust as well as a dog who potty trains faster and doesn't pee all over your house! It will also get them started off sleeping well at night, and that is definitely a number one priority.
The third thing to focus on the first week is potty training. Making sure your taking them outside a lot and giving them every opportunity to pee outside and not inside. This does mean you have to watch them closely in those first days, but it's so worth it to teach them where they can and can't go potty. Keep it positive and light, reward them as fast as you can for when they do go pee outside (I always had a pocket full of mini treats every time I took him outside) and unless you actually catch them in the act or see them have an 'accident' inside, don't get upset with them. Remember they are babies and still learning! If you do happen to catch them in the act, give them a firm 'No!' and bring them immediately outside to show them where they do need to go. The fundamentals are easy, it's the effort in keeping consistent that can be tiring, but it will pay off I promise!
From the first moment he came in the house we used positive dog training approaches, I had read up on positive dog training in the months before Forest came home, and I really liked the kind tactics to training a dog. Every little interaction with your dog those first weeks are a good opportunity to teach them, without them even knowing. You are showing them who their giver of food is, and who they should be listening to, as well as how things work in your home. After the initial first weeks when they get the hang of potty training, the crate, and they are bonding well to you, then you can move into more advanced training like leash walking, commands like sit, lay down, paw, and 'recall' (which is getting them to listen and come when you call) We are still working on that one specifically lol!
In general I have found when you show your puppy love, spend time with them, make sure they have lots of fresh air and exercise and feed them on a good schedule they are very happy and begin to learn fast how to live in a home full of people. They LOVE their people, and they just want your affection and company. They may even follow you everywhere, even to the bathroom lol, but that's only because they love you so much. Forest has been such a joy and I know as he grows and learns even more he will continue to be such a special part of our family! The kids are in love with him, and were just working on Daddy now ;)
Thanks for reading :) Do you have a dog? What do you remember about their first week home with you? Do you want to get a puppy one day? Or definitely not? Comment below and let me know!
xo,
Shelley