Your New Puppy - The First Three Weeks

Getting a new puppy is a huge step, we have two dogs already and moving to three feels like a big change.

Getting a puppy

I gave up work at the end of February to start my dog training business.

I was already musing about getting a puppy thinking it would be great for the business to record the puppy’s training and working through puppy struggles and would help me be more in tune with my puppy clients.

It became more of a reality when I found out that the breeder who provided one of our older dogs happened to have a litter due.

Choose a good breeder

It was lovely to watch the pups grow in the updates that the breeder sent.

We didn’t meet our puppy until the day we collected him as we already knew the breeder, but of you are dealing with a breeder for the first time it is recommended you visit at least once before deciding on having a pup.

We met our puppy’s mother and siblings, and his father visited, so we have lovely photos of the family group.

It is recommended that you always see your pup with Mum and litter mates but this was the first time I was lucky enough to meet Dad too.

After some paperwork, we officially welcomed little Flash to our family.

Taking our puppy home

On the journey home, Flash was in a crate on the back seat.

He was very settled, we travelled the three and a half hours home in one go and when we got home he went straight out into the garden and did a wee!

That night, he settled and slept well, he was in a small dog crate by my bed, and when he woke, I took him outside and he did a wee and settled straight back to sleep.

Over the next two weeks, he woke up twice at night to wee, night time trips to the garden are accompanied by at least one of my other dogs but we keep it low key and it hasn’t developed into night time antics.

Early puppy training

There have been many things that I wanted to get right with Flash, one of the most important was having a puppy that could settle but I think he has already read the instruction manual!

When popping a puppy into a dog crate or puppy pen, it is important to consider whether all their needs have been met; could they be hungry, thirsty, need the toilet?

If these needs haven’t been met, we are not setting them up for success and it is unlikely they will settle.

Sometimes it can be difficult to be sure; there are a couple of pointers which have helped me with Flash.

The first has been, that if he is whining, to observe him for a few moments, whining seems to be part of his settling process and does not mean he needs anything, if he looks calm and comfortable, I give him time to fall asleep.

This has helped me to not bring him out of the crate unnecessarily.

If the whining is accompanied by agitation and restlessness, then he may need something, a trip to the  toilet or a drink, for example, in which case, I would bring him out of the crate.

I have tried hard to get this right because a puppy will soon pair whining with getting let out of the crate which can lead to more whining. 

I also try to initiate releasing him from the crate, i.e. not waiting for him to whine or ask to come out.

Puppy Play

Flash likes his toys and will play happily in his pen or crate.

He remains settled with all the comings and goings of deliveries and visitors, he is fine with the vacuum cleaner, and even if he does get disturbed usually manages to settle himself.

This is a really useful skill and helps puppies realise that they do not need to be involved in every activity, some things that happen are none of their business!

If puppy understands this and is content to spend time sleeping or awake playing in a crate or pen, this is an important step in preventing struggles related to being left alone.

Introducing a Puppy to other Dogs in the Home

We are a multi-dog household and we already have gates on internal doors and stairs, and dog crates, so it is easy to create a safe space for each individual dog.

Puppies can be annoying to older dogs, play fighting and biting ears, and they have to learn how  to interact appropriately, so it is important that access is supervised.

It is not fair on an older dog to expect them to put up with a puppy.

If this behaviour is allowed to continue unchecked, one of the older dogs could get cross and make a bad decision leading to harm.

Puppy Biting

On occasion, Flash has been prone to biting and nipping, more so than any previous puppy I have had, there may be several factors contributing to this, possibly hunger, teething, and over-stimulation.

Activities which cause him to become excited seem to trigger biting, I have made a point of keeping these interactions very short, maybe just a couple of minutes and then settling him again.

He has a variety of chew toys, such as a rope toy and some teething toys, occasionally he has also had a small carrot from the fridge to chew, this helps soothe the gums, as would a Puppy Kong stuffed with boiled mashed vegetables.

I have selected puppy toys which are appropriate for his size, and he is supervised when playing.  

Toilet Training the Puppy

Toilet training is going well, Flash gets the opportunity to toilet at least every hour and more frequently if he is showing signs he may need to go.

We don’t wake him up to toilet - we encourage him to be happy toileting on different surfaces which is really useful if you are away from home.

We have a verbal cue to toilet which is useful if you need to go on a journey and you want your dog to toilet before they get in the car or attend a training group.

Toilet training your puppy

Puppies don’t know about toilet training - we have to show them what we want.

How to toilet train your puppy

The good news is that if you go all in on toilet training you can, in most cases, achieve really good results in 3 weeks.

Remember that very young puppies may not have the neurological ability to control their bladder and bowel until about 12 weeks.

I’m not suggesting that we leave toilet training until then, it just might help understand why some puppies take a little longer to get the idea.

It’s also worth knowing, that in some cases, smaller dogs can take longer to be fully house trained.

What do I have to do to toilet train my puppy?

Probably the single most important factor in achieving a pup who is toilet trained in a short space of time, is for the owner to be really vigilant.

The goal is that our puppy will alert us to when they need to go to the toilet, but to start with, we need to be very observant and offer the pup the opportunity to toilet frequently.

A toilet break is needed after any change of activity, for example, after eating or drinking, after play, and when the pup wakes up from sleeping.

Aside from these times, you might notice little signs that they need to toilet, such as sniffing, spinning and agitation.

When puppy needs to toilet

It is my preference to take my puppy outside in the garden to toilet; I choose a specific area where they can sniff and toilet comfortably.

This is a calm interaction, we don’t want to make it exciting because this will distract the pup from what they need to do.

Likewise, if your pup is running around and playing, it might be good idea to put them on a lead, so they are less distracted.

I add in a verbal cue, I say ‘quickly, quickly’, adding a cue can be really useful later on.

Once they toilet, I reward calmly with a small treat and verbal praise. I wait a few moments before taking pup back inside.

Some clever pups will realise that if you take them straight back inside after toileting, their exploration ends and this may lead them to delay toileting!

Consider where your puppy is when they need to toilet

It’s important to consider where your pup is in the house, as this relates to their activity and the amount of supervision they need and will ultimately effect their success.

If your pup spends time in a crate, they will not need much supervision - they are unlikely to toilet in the crate -you will just need to take pup out after eating or drinking and when they wake from sleeping.

If they are in a puppy pen, they will need more supervision as they have more room to move around and therefore more choice in what they do - they are more likely to toilet in a pen than in a crate.

If the pup has free range in a room or larger part of the house, they will need close supervision as they have more choice about where to go and what to do.

Puppy toilet accidents will happen

There will be accidents, the best thing to do is to soak up the puddle with disposable towels and clean the area with an enzyme cleaner to remove all traces, otherwise the pup is likely to return to the area and soil there again.

There is no benefit to getting upset about accidents, the pup did not do it to upset you, they are not being naughty, they are learning, and with your guidance they will soon be fully toilet trained.