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Home / Nutrition Advice / Puppy Guide / Kitten Guide / Puppy Guide

New Puppy Guide - Settling In

Bed Time Bliss

Make sure your puppies bedtime routine is peaceful by following these guidelines:

Make sure your puppy has a bed of his own. Place this in a quiet area and encourage him to use it during the day for naps - not just at night. Indoor crates or cages offer puppies wonderful security and can be made snug and cosy with bedding and blankets.
Your puppy may feel isolated and lonely without his littermates and mum on his first few nights in his new home. Some owners are happy to place the puppy's bed or cage close to them so that the puppy can have some reassurance that he's not alone. Others prefer to have their puppy sleep in the kitchen. Either way, try not to go to him if he cries or barks as this may inadvertently encourage the behaviour.
Make sure your puppy has had a chance to go to the loo before bed. Pups also need to go to the toilet as soon as they wake - so don't expect a lie-in for a while. Get up early and take your puppy into the garden straight away to encourage early house training.

Routine Harmony

Establishing a routine for your puppy is the best way
to ensure he settles into your new home as quickly as
possible. Feed him at the same times and in the same places to begin with and make sure that he spends a short time on his own each day, to prevent him from becoming over-dependent on you.

Play with your puppy using toys and get him out and about to see the world and meet new people as much as possible from day one. This will help to build his confidence and his relationship with you from the outset.

Protect, But Socialise!

Because of the risks of the various diseases that affect dogs, it is very important that your puppy is inoculated. This inevitably means a delay in being able to take your puppy out to mix freely with unknown dogs, as he will need to have completed his vaccination programme before you can do so. However, even before this time you can carry your puppy out and about, go for trips in the car and visit other people and their vaccinated pets in order to build on your puppy's social experiences. Think about all the elements which make up our modern world - such as traffic, other animals, the noises and smells of the town and countryside and the sight and touch of lots of different people. Try to make sure that your puppy has a chance to get used to as many different experiences as possible before he's 12 weeks old. Don't leave it too late!