The First Few Days with a New Puppy

Puppies should not leave their mother until they are six-weeks of age at the least, eight weeks is even better, especially for smaller breeds. Never take home a puppy that is under five weeks of age. Ideally your puppy should be vaccinated, veterinarian checked, and dewormed, before you take it home – this is rarely done to “free puppies” and the puppy would always come with proof in the form of veterinarian papers, if these were done. Note: Never pay for a puppy that has not been checked by a veterinarian. If you are bringing home a registered puppy – it should come with registration papers the day you take it home.

Before Bringing the Puppy Home

Decide where the puppy will sleep and how you will house train it – often you need to buy a crate – which needs to be just big enough for the puppy to stand up and turn around in.

Your puppy will need a water bowl, and food dish (ideally the water and food bowls will be ceramic or stainless steel), as well as several chew toys. It is always best to continue with the same kind of food the puppy is currently eating, so if you know where you are to be getting the puppy from – inquire what food it is eating and purchase the same.

Puppy proof your home – childrens toys will be chewed, or even swallowed, as such they are risk factors, and should be put away, as should anything you do not want chewed.

photo source - would you spank this puppy? It’s not his fault you left the shoe out.

Bringing the puppy Home

The puppy should be transported home in a dog crate. Having a puppy loose in the car is generally not safe. In an accident a puppy could go right through the window, or become stuck, or squished.

If the puppy is not Vaccinated etc.

An appointment should be made immediately to visit the veterinarian, where it can be checked, wormed, and vaccinated. The veterinarian will listen to the puppy’s heart, and lungs, they will also check the body for fleas, or other problems. You do not want to take home a sick puppy, especially if you have other dogs at home.  Nor do you want to bring home a healthy puppy, only to have it get sick.

The First Day

Do not expect a puppy to be house trained. Even if you were told it is fully housebroken, unless your house is the same design, and your routine is the same as the sellers, the puppy will have accidents unless you watch it all the time.

You will want to take it easy with the puppy, hold it, pat it, but also be careful not to smother it, or overwhelm it. If you have children make sure they understand that the puppy will be frightened by too much attention, and should be put down gently if it squirms, children should be told to allow the puppy to come to them and to never chase it. Too much excitement may make a puppy sick, it needs time to sleep too.

Note: Sometimes older dogs, who have been raised with children, are better with young kids than a puppy is. Puppies jump up and chew, and can hurt a small child even when playing, as well small children can easily hurt a puppy, particularly a smaller one. A parent who has young children will have a very hard time house training a new pup.

Provide the puppy with many chew toys, soft ones, medium ones, and harder ones. Pups love to chew things and often need to for teething reasons.

The puppy can be in your house, and in your yard only – not off your property – the risk of parvovirus in young puppies is high, as such until the pup is fully vaccinated it should not be in an area where other dogs can go (even vaccinated dogs can spread parvo).

Puppies under 3 months of age need to be fed three times a day, but some will be too upset to eat on their first day. Smaller breed puppies may need as much as five feedings per day.

You need to go out with the puppy every time you put it outside and reward it instantly for going bathroom outside.

Day Two – Seven

If the pup has not been vaccinated, wormed, and checked, this should be taken care of as soon as possible.

Your puppy should be fitted with a collar, which will need to be checked regularly as the puppy grows.

Do not give the puppy too many treats (except tiny ones when taking it out for the bathroom), or anything other than its proper food, until it has been in your home at least 1 week, and its stools are well formed. Introduce treats slowly (not too many in one day).

Again remember that it may take several weeks for your pup to be fully house trained, most cannot control their bladder well until 12 weeks of age.

Your puppy is not safe to be off your property until 3 days after its final vaccination booster shot.

photo source

Warning Signs

If your puppy has blood in its poop, or has bloody diarrhea, this can be a sign of a health concern, such as worms or coccidiosis, or parvo, diarrhea can dehydrate a puppy quickly and can lead to death.

If the puppy is vomiting, and you have not switched the brand of food it is on, this can be a cause for alarm, especially if you find blood in the vomit.

If your puppy has any symptoms of health problems contact the seller immediately. If they are reputable they will have given you a health guarantee (generally for 7 to 14 days) and will honor it by paying the veterinarian bills. Either way – get the pup to a veterinarian.

If the puppy is not eating after 24 hours, contact the seller. Because so many things can go wrong in the first few days – this is a good reason why people should not get very young puppies (who are most vulnerable) and why it is good to get a puppy from a reputable shelter, or breeder – (not free from a stranger), and why pups should visit a veterinarian before leaving their original home.

Further Reading

Selection and Purchase of a New Puppy

How to House Train a Puppy