





When you bring your puppy home for the first time…remember to first introduce them to the front yard to see if they have to go potty after the trip home. This is also a great common ground to introduce your puppy to any other dogs you own.
Once you bring them inside you want to try to keep the vibe in the house as calm as possible.
This is not the best time to invite over all the neighbors to meet your new baby, there will be plenty of time for introductions and something I highly recommend taking advantage of!
Neighbors are great for puppy socialization – just not the first day home.
Give it a couple days. I know this is hard for a lot of people especially little kids because… they’re so proud of their new puppy and they want to show them off to all their friends (totally understandable) but try to remind your children why it’s so important to let their new puppy get accustomed their new environment and also start to develop that special bond with their new family first. Discuss this with your whole family before bringing your new puppy home.
#1 – Puppy Supplies & Setup – Make sure you have a nice cozy place for your new puppy like crate or x-pen setup. Get all your puppy supplies ordered and ready to go, so you can focus all your time on just enjoying your new puppy and not running around trying to figure out what they need and where you’re gonna get it.
GETTING PREPARED FOR PUPPY IS ALWAYS STEP ONE.
Labradoodle Puppies prefer the safety and comfort of their family’s company and really don’t like to be separated from them.
When you bring a new puppy home, it’s important to keep in mind that this baby animal has spent all of their life surrounded by the warm bodies of their mother and siblings. Dogs are pack animals after all so it is unnatural for them to be alone and it something that needs to be trained.
It’s most likely the first night your puppy has spent away from his mother and littermates. Because dogs are pack animals, your puppy knows instinctively that being separated from the pack is dangerous. Whining and crying at night is just their way of calling out for their pack to come find them. Yes, I know its so sad but they get past it and it will get better. Promise.
Puppies first night home can also be one of the hardest nights for us because we tend to get more emotional and either feel really guilty they’re sad or we take it to heart and assume they must not like us, or we get overwhelmed and frustrated. Try not to do any of the above.
It’s so important to get prepared mentally and emotionally for the first night to be a challenge and just remember… this too shall pass. Some puppies do really well their first night home but I’ say a puppy who doesn’t make a peep or cry in the their crate is more of a unique situation. Crying is pretty much the norm.
Never jump to conclusions about what kind of dog your puppy is going to be after just the first week home…. if you’re puppy is really throwing a fuss whenever they’re left alone, peeing on the carpet and absolutely hates the crate… DO NOT automatically assume that you must of picked the wrong puppy and this is how they’re going to be forever…
DO NOT PANIC. Take advantage of my free tips and advice on this website! I’ve raised LOTS of puppies and dogs and I can help you if you’re willing to follow along.
Buying puppy supplies can be overwhelming and expensive! Make sure you’re prepared and you’ve purchased all your necessary puppy raising supplies before you bring them home but you don’t need to break the bank buying expensive toys and fancy beds – alot of that stuff can wait until you have a better idea about what your puppy REALLY needs and likes and somethings can wait for example expensive dog beds because puppies are notorious for peeing on dog beds and some may even chew them up. You will need the basics at the very least and have everything setup and ready to go so when you bring your puppy home you can focus all your attention on your new puppy and not shopping.
Spend your money wisely and buy the things your gonna need the most like lots and lots of chew toys, your dog food, collar and leash and dog tag, food and water dishes and a crate and xpen.
Lucky for you guys I’ve spent years putting together a VERY long list of all the best puppy stuff I’ve personally purchased myself for my puppies and that I recommend for our new puppy families!
Make sure to check it out because you may just save some money and time.
CHECK OUT OUR PUPPY SHOPPING LIST FOR NEW PUPPIES!
The crate isn’t a magical solution. If not used correctly, a dog can feel trapped and frustrated.
I CAN NOT EXPRESS ENOUGH…. HOW HELPFUL A GOOD CHEW STICK OR TOY CAN BE!
I recommend the Beef Gullet sticks on Chewy.com! They are half the price of the ones you can get at most Pet Stores and puppies LOVE them!
Separation Stress and Seperation anxiety – When we move this puppy into our home, we’re actually separating them from the only family they’ve ever known, so it should be no surprise that there will be some initial signs of anxiety and even grief.
There will be a transition period for every puppy in a new home. Some do take it harder then others, doesn’t mean they have seperation anxiety even if they cry and hollar when left alone… it just means they’re normal young puppies going through some seperation stress, which is only temporary.
Signs of Puppy Stress and How to Help your Puppy get Past it…
Some signs of Puppy stress may include acting shy or timid at first, not being interested? Max. All puppies deal with stress differently, some may pant alot the first night, some may sleep alot or just seem down and out and kinda sad.
Especially considering what a big change it is for them. Separation discomfort is a normal part of acclimating to a new home and family, and gentle patience and awareness is called for. Keep them busy and give them lots of reassuring praise and cuddles and they’ll be bouncing around in no time.
It is this natural instinct that still prompts puppies to whine, howl, squeal and demonstrate restlessness when they’re separated from their families.
For the first few days, or weeks, it is natural for a puppy to have trouble falling asleep in their new environment or crate, because it’s natural for the puppy to feel vulnerable and afraid as she adjusts to the absence their littermates and fluffy puppy piles and it can be a big transition for them to learn to feel safe in a new environment and to being alone.
Teaching them to feel safe alone as a puppy can help to avoid true “seperation anxiety” issues and unwanted behaviors as adults.
Crate training puppies is invaluable for helping to avoid seperation anxiety in adults!
Read our blog post on How to Stop Puppy Whining and Crying in the Crate Blog Post!
Day one in the new home will be the most frightful for the puppy, and the most challenging for you to lay the groundwork for your relationship with your puppy.
READ OUR POST ON CRATE AND PUPPY PEN SETUPS!
I recommend a crate and x-pen setup if you work or can’t let them in and out of the crate every 2 hours during the crate training schedulecrate training schedule. You can put these almost anywhere in your house but it’s best to put it on hardwood or tile flooring and on a tarp I use the large poly tarps under our playpens (below).
You can buy the Waterproof Poly tarps on Amazon (8′ X 10′) they’re easy to clean and hard to destroy. You wanna get one that is not too big and not too small. You should have at least an inch all the way around that is outside of the pen to avoid the tarp slipping, leaking or allows the puppy to pull up the sides while playing. You can use strong tape like duct tape to tape them down to your floor, so they don’t slide around, because believe me they’ll slide around if you don’t tape them down.
You can find all the best puppies supplies that I recommend for new puppy families on our Puppy Supplies page and on Amazon!
Honestly, just having the right tools and the right puppy setup can make raising a puppy 100% easier!!
CHECK OUT OUR Recommended Puppy Supplies Page or our Puppy Crate and X-Pen Setups Blog post.
Most everything on that page is linked to Amazon Prime for free 2 day shipping!
You need a crate big enough so that the puppy can at stand up and turn around without hitting their head on top of the crate and long enough for them to sprawl out because puppies do love to sprawl!!… but NO bigger.
Buying a crate with “room to grow” is NOT always a good idea UNLESS you’re going to use the divider that comes with the metal crates if you don’t want to use the divider then get a smaller crate.
If the crate is too big then your puppy will create a bathroom on one side and a bedroom on the other. During potty training going potty in their crate is exactly what you want to avoid and really defeats the whole purpose of crate training… The crate works so well for potty training because dogs and puppies don’t like to eliminate where they sleep… so we’re using a dogs instincts to be clean den animals to our advantage and so you need to give them just enough room to sleep – not pee and 💩 poop.
Potty training puppies do not NEED big fluffy pillows, blankets or dog beds yet! Save those for AFTER potty training. IF they can handle having a bed without using it as a pee pad then great go ahead and make it as comfy as they want!
BUT if your puppy continues to go potty in the crate and on their bedding then remove all the bedding – just until they’re consistently potty trained and no longer having accidents in the crate.
The more accidents they’re allowed to make in the crate the longer potty training will take and the less likely you’ll be able to use their natural instincts as clean den animals to your advantage. Puppies can do just fine without bedding as long as the room is kept warm enough. Remember these are still dogs, they are animals not humans. They’ll gladly sleep and snuggle in a big pile of dirt or even a mud puddle if you let them.
A bed is a human necessity, not a dogs. *smile
Replace the doggy beds, blankets and towels with a soft decent sized Teddy Bear or a few small beanie baby size bears to keep them company and something comfy to snuggle.
Every puppy is different and every puppy will have their own unique qwerks and issues.. just be consistent with your puppies training schedule, don’t sweat the small stuff and enjoy the puppy raising process.
You are essentially raising a family member, best friend and life companion and I think that deserves some real commitment and if there’s a few challenges along the way… it’s all gonna be worth it in the end!
If your puppy doesn’t seem to be “getting it”… first you REALLY need to be honest with yourself about how consistently you’ve been training them so far and maybe cut them a break… because more often then not… it’s not the puppies fault and has a whole lot more to do with you…..
If you can answer all those questions honestly and you’ve done everything right… then maybe you do need a professional one on one trainer to come and help you but based on my experience, if most people are truly honest – then they KNOW they have not taken enough time and are probably judging their puppy unfairly… best thing you can do is start from scratch.
The more challenging parts are usually quickly forgotten and before you know it the family is starting to talk about getting another new puppy! *smile*
Recommended Reading List: