Finally it’s time to bring home your new Dreamydoodle puppy! Here are a few preperations and things to remember that’ll help get you ready for that new baby and hopefully help to make the first week home as enjoyable as possible for everyone.

• Food and Water dishes, or a water bottle to hang in the crate door.
• Their Puppy Food – We feed Life’s Abundance, here and I’ll let you know which formula at least 1-2 weeks before they go home – Order your food online at Mypuppyfood.com
•  Collar and a leash (Dreamydoodle’s come home with a Red martengale collar and matching 6ft leash)
• Grooming Supplies – Pin brush for fluffing, and a nice comb for knots.  Brushes are great for surface brushing Doodles but you really need a good comb for getting the mats out and getting all the way down to the root of the hair.
• Toys, Balls, Small Stuffed Animals, Lots of Chew Toys!! *not too small, bigger then their mouth.
• Crate – X-Pen or both for potty training (read my page on how to potty train your puppy in 7 days)
• Baby gate(s) to create boundaries or going up/down stairs.I love the Carlson Gates with the handles, I do not recommend the cheap accordion style wooden ones.
• Puppy Bed and Blankets, if puppy is peeing on their bed or blankets then replace them with a Stuffed Animals to cuddle
• Whelping Pads. Your puppy has been trained from birth using these so if you absolutely can not let them outside, I think these work better then the disposal potty pads they chew and drag around. Basically they’re just really absorbant cloth pads not for long term use.
• Dewormer – I recommend using Safeguard dewormer, an over the counter dewormer that kills all 4 types of intestinal worms and also treats giardia which is a very common parasite transmitted via infected feces in water or soil and the #1 cause of diarrhea in young puppies. Dreamydoodles puppies are dewormed 4x before they go home and should be wormed again at home with Safe-guard at 12 wks and then every 6 months.

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Consistency is the key.  Feed you puppy the same food at the same time every day.  Puppies should be fed 3-4 times a day on a strict set schedule.

 

Don’t overfeed your puppy.  Growing too rabidly can cause hip, joint problems.

 

Appetite changes.  The first few days home the stress of a new environment and everything and everyone they’ve ever known can sometimes cause low appetite and even loose stools in some puppies. Do not worry too much just continue your feeding routine and pull up leftovers after 15-20 mins and try again their next scheduled mealtime. If the upset becomes severe, like they won’t eat at all and its lasting for more than a day, and/or they also have loose stools, contact your vet! Puppies should be drinking even when stressed.

Decide on a name and use it as much as possible, when you praise them, put them in & out of their crate, after they go potty for example “Yes! GOOD POTTY MAX!”.

Let sleeping puppies lie.

Growing Puppies need lots of sleep, so if your puppy is sleeping, just let them sleep. ALSO some puppies may sleep even more then normal the first few days home, as a coping mechanism to the stress of a new environment. Do not worry, they’ll come out of their shell very quickly just continue to engage and reassure them with lots of praise and attention when they’re awake.

The first few days home just take it slow this should be a time for your puppy to get acquainted with you and your family and adjust to their new environment and also to get them on their new feeding/sleeping and eliminating schedule.

Avoid taking them “out and about” the first few days home and introducing them to all your neighbors and friends right away.. as much as you’ll want to. Take this (very short) period of time to just let them settle in and start to feel at home with you and your family and THEN you can show them off to the world, in fact I encourage you too!

Supervise young children with your puppy until you’re confident how well they do. Kids love to carry around their new puppies but most puppies..don’t actually enjoy being carried around alot… it can make them feel very vulnerable and rightly so!

Show the kids how to properly hold and carry a puppy but then let them know unless the puppy needs to be picked up and moved, it’s best we let them walk by themselves.

Talk to young children about how important it is to stay calm, Not to fight over them with each other or get super loud or scare the puppy.

You don’t want to over stimulate or overwhelm the puppy the first few day home. BEFORE you know it your kids and your puppy will be the best of friends but try to take it slow especially the first week. You wouldnt leave your infant with your 3 year old right? You gotta be just as logical with your kids and your puppy.

Don’t leave your puppy unsupervised with your other dog(s) the first week home! Wait until after everyone’s been properly introduced, spent some significant time together and you’re 100% confident in how your older dog reacts to the puppy in all kinds of different moods and situations….

All the situations listed below should be observed at least a couple times without a negative reaction from your adult dog… before considering leaving them alone together.

For example… How well does your adult dog handle the puppy jumping on them or invading their space, bugging them while their asleep? How do they react to puppy trying to eat out of their bowl, or sleeping or playing in their bed, playing with their toys etc?

Once Puppies Settled in it’s time to show them off!

Introducing puppy to new people! After the first few days and once their settled in and adjusted then I recommend you start introducing them to LOTS of new people, every age, size and type of person you can find willing to meet them. You should also start introducing them to lots of new environments and new situations.

Just stay away from high dog traffic areas until after 16 wks and their last set of vaccinations. The first 4 months of a puppies life is the most important stage for socialization, training and development so do not hide them away waiting for vaccines, just be smart about where you’re taking them.

READ MORE:  The Importance of Early Puppy Socialization and the Differt Stages of Development

Some puppies are just shyer around new people and new environments, don’t worry it does NOT mean they’ll always be shy. MOST puppies will grow out of this, with early puppy socialization. 

Puppy Training Sessions

Most puppies love to cuddle but this isn’t always the fastest way to a puppies heart… I’d say alot more puppies will want to play with you more then just cuddle and puppies also love to learn and think and they’re little sponges at this age so you gotta engage them!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS STAGE!

Take some time out every day to have a short training session with your puppy. Prepare by getting out your treats, treat bag, a few toys and chews.

Bonding with you puppy! The best way to bond with your puppy is through training, games and getting down to their eye level and playing with them.

Throw a toy and see if you can get them bring it back to you for a treat, use their name!

Remember to keep puppy training session short. 10-15 mins at a time. Always end by asking them to perform a command or task that they know well so you can end with a big win and lots of praise.

Recommended Puppy Training Books

Puppy Training Videos On YouTube

There are so many great puppy training videos you can watch for free on YouTube! Zak George, has a ton of helpful and positive puppy training videos! Check out the rest of his videos on his channel!