Bringing your puppy Home

You have found your perfect pet and are now ready for perhaps the most exciting step: bringing new puppy home! Pause first -- Are you prepared with both the equipment and knowledge of the requirements for successful introduction of your puppy into the home, for puppy care and puppy training?

While entire books can be written on these subjects, we will touch here on a few major issues and warnings. It is quite true that "you never have a second chance to make a first impression!"

First consider the date and time for bringing your puppy home. Given the option, you should avoid hectic and confusing times, such a birthday celebration or holiday. You want to select a time when everyone in the family can be present and the atmosphere can be as calm as this joyous occasion permits.

When you reach your home, be sure NOT to carry the pup in. You want to encourage and teach him to follow you inside. You do this with encouraging words and actions, but NOT with food. It is important that he or she sees you as a confident pack leader, not a food dispenser! Affection is the best reward.

Be sure the pup has done his business outside BEFORE coming in. Also, consider the spot you put him down, because puppies like to use the same area each time. So choose where you want him to go, and place him there to begin with. As his business is done, tell him "good wee wee" and "good potty" (or whatever words you choose).

Understand, too, that dogs tend to urinate to show insecurity or submission. This is very likely if you have another dog who is not thrilled with the new pup. Also, if the other dog is over-excited, the puppy is bound to wee!

BEFORE coming in is also the time to introduce any other household pets, especially other dogs. Always introduce dogs on neutral territory, especially if the dogs are the same sex. Introduce them OUTSIDE and not in the house, which the older dog would consider its territory.

You will want to BATHE the pup and dry him with your dog's towel or a towel you rub over your dog first. When the pup smells like the others, they will be more receptive to him.

Make sure your children understand well in advance that dogs are NOT toys, but are live creatures that deserve respect and feel pain the same as any person or animal. The children need to be taken around dogs to see how they react and for them to learn the proper way to treat dogs. Otherwise, children and dogs DO NOT MIX. Most dog bites occur on children - and for a reason!

So your children have been acclimated to dogs and instructed about the new puppy prior to your bringing it home. Now what?

Two keys: (1) So the dog sees the child as a superior, have the child feed the dog, and teach the child how to make the dog wait. (2) Have the child involved in the training and do whatever the child is capable of doing. For example, even a two-year-old can tell the dog to leave the ball. We're talking simple stuff.

Where to keep the pup? Be sure that you have an established, confined area for your puppy. Here he will feel secure and will begin to understand boundaries. He needs to stay in a confined, safe space always -- until he learns to respect boundaries, and unless you are actively working with him at the time. Your belongings would thank you if they could, and you will love yourself for it!

Allow the puppy to be with other dogs and children only under supervision until it is clear that everybody is acclimated, comfortable with one another, and acting properly. Do not panic if the pup is nipped or even pinned to the ground by your other dog, for this is a normal dog pack ritual in response to the pup's cheeky behavior. It is part of establishing the pack pecking order and letting the pup know what the rules are.

Do not discipline the puppy for growling. Puppies growl in play, they growl protectively, and they growl at children when they have had enough. It is instinctive and is a valuable warning. Without the growl, they could bite without notice. You do not want to discourage the warning!

For the first week the pup is home, you will want to feed his first few pieces of food by hand. This builds respect and lets him know that YOU own the food. This helps avoid the development of food aggression.

Unless you want a persistent, annoying beggar, do NOT feed the puppy from the table. If you wish to give him a scrap, wait until no activity is in the kitchen and put it in his dish. If you feed him while cooking (which is tempting to most chefs), he will beg every time you go in, and may get underfoot and trip you. It's both an annoyance and a safety issue.

On the pup's first nights, take him outside to go potty, then place him in a narrowly confined space. (Kennels are great for this.) Be sure he has water, and do NOT give in to his whining! The pup is like a new baby. He will try to get your attention to get his way. But he will learn, and after about three nights, the whining should essentially stop. Only take him out for bathroom purposes.

Know that young puppies, like babies, urinate frequently. An eight-week-old puppy will need to be whisked outside about every two hours. Otherwise, the puppy will learn to urinate in the house and make puppy house training more difficult. Instinctively, he will not want to mess where he sleeps, so a small sleeping space with towel, blanket, cushion, or dog bedding is most desirable.

Rather than mess there, he will learn to cry when he has a need, and you need to respond immediately by whisking him outside. If you delay or put him down to walk out by himself, his little bladder will leak (or flood).

It also helps to use kennel training from the beginning. Cover the kennel with a cloth of some sort (all but the door) so that it is more like a den. That both decreases distractions and increases the puppy's sense of security, while also making the cage more attractive in your home. Also leave two or three toys in with him, but no more. He will then learn to love his private space, to respect it and not to mess it unless he is in dire straits, and will generally be quiet except when notifying you that he has a bathroom need.

So - Now you have achieved step one with your new guy, bringing puppy home. If you chose right and introduce him correctly, you will have a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. Congratulations!

Expert Author and Dog Behaviorist, Rena Murray, shares in her Puppy Pointers web site and in her Blog, self-help Articles, and free e-mail Newsletter, PAW PERSUASION POINTERS, insightful guidance and real-world examples to help you select, train, understand, communicate with, and control your new puppy and mature dog. Daring to be politically incorrect, this highly effective Dog Trainer debunks dog training myths as she explores the best training techniques for specific situations, shares her years of experience with the dog whisper technique and dog behavior modification, and addresses avoidance or correction of destructive dog behavior, excessive and obsessive dog behavior, dog dominance, aggressive dog behavior, shelter dogs, and other canine issues. Visit her web site, subscribe to the free ezine, and get the information and dog products you need to establish and maintain your focus and authority as Master and Pack Leader for the fullest enjoyment of your dog!