Your Puppy’s First Night Home
Take a deep breath. I have super simple tips for you, which really work!
Many dog enthusiasts provide “hard and fast” rules, which create frustrated pet parents. Following too many rules, especially during your puppy’s first night home, is like filling a 5-lb sack with 10 lbs of sugar. It’s too much and it causes confusion for both puppies and pet parents.
Dive into these mistake-proof tips, which make the first night home with your puppy a seamless experience while still teaching good manners. I promise the dog training gods will not pull your toes during the night if you allow your puppy to sleep in your bed, especially during the first night. (Wink!)
Shake off all that stress. Your goal is to make your puppy’s first night at home happy!
Prepare Before Your Puppy Arrives
Take the extra time and prepare. This will make it much easier when bringing your new puppy home.
Set up a crate in your bedroom
Place the crate right next to your side of the bed. Instead of a shiny new bed, add old cozy towels and blankets in your puppy’s crate. Save the new bed for later like when your puppy is 6-months-old or so or you’ll be purchasing lots of new and shiny beds until the teething process halts. It’s probably a good time to review (and print if needed) potty training tips too.
RELATED: Crate Training
Invest in a sound machine
Or, better yet, download classical music. Music and sound will prevent your puppy from becoming frightened around strange sounds while soothing her to sleep. Plus, turning on music becomes a cue to sleep, which is a blessing.
Prepare for a few sleepless nights
Plan on it. You’ll probably get little sleep so pick up your puppy on a Friday so you have plenty of time to catch up on sleep during the weekend.
If your puppy whines during the night, bring her outside to potty. Bring her back inside and put her back in her crate with a food stuffed toy. This will give her something else to do instead of whine and she’ll likely drift off to sleep. I’m not too concerned about whining meaning going outside right now. This is a tough time for puppies and you so keep it simple. There’s plenty of potty training time to come!
Tired Puppies Sleep Woohoo!
Once your puppy is home, she’s probably pretty tired already. Just in case, spend 30 minutes playing with her, introducing her to new family members and showing the array of her new toys. Provide free access to water until an hour before bedtime. Plus, this is usually a good time to feed her too. Bring her potty immediately after eating and drinking and again before bedtime.
You can do this. Don’t stress. Have fun — you have a new puppy! There’s plenty of time for training. 🙂
READ ALSO: Complete New Puppy Checklist