Making the transition home easy…
Decide on a name and use it as much as possible, when you praise them. Put them in & out of their crate, after they go potty. for example, say “Yes! GOOD POTTY TAMBO!”.
Let sleeping puppies lie…
Growing Puppies need lots of sleep, so if your puppy is sleeping, just let them sleep. Some puppies may sleep even more than normal the first few days home as a coping mechanism to the stress of a new environment. Do not worry, they will come out of their shell very quickly just continue to engage and reassure them with lots of praise and attention when they are awake.
The first few days home just take it slow this should be a time for your puppy to get acquainted with you and your family and adjust to their new environment, as well as get them on their new feeding, sleeping and potty schedule.
Avoid taking them “out and about” the first few days home and introducing them to all your neighbors & friends right now… as much as you want to. Take this period to just let them settle in and start to feel at home with you & your family and THEN you can show them off to the world, in fact we encourage you too!
Supervise young children with your puppy until you are confident how well they do. Kids love to carry around their new puppy, however most puppies don’t actually enjoy being carried around a lot… it can make them feel very vulnerable.
Show the kids how to properly hold and carry a puppy, let them know only unless the puppy needs to be picked up and moved, it’s best we let them walk by themselves.
Talk to young children about how important it is to stay calm, not to fight over them with each other or get super loud or scare the puppy.
You don’t want to over stimulate or overwhelm the puppy the first few days home. BEFORE you know it your kids and your puppy will be the best of friends but try to take it slow especially the first week. You wouldn’t leave your infant with your 3-year-old, right? You got to be just as logical with your kids and your puppy.
Don’t leave your puppy unsupervised with your other dog(s) the first week home! Wait until after everyone has been properly introduced and has spent some significant time together and you are 100% confident in how your older dog reacts to the puppy in all kinds of different moods and situations.
ADULT DOGS AND PUPPIES CAN DO GREAT TOGETHER! JUST GIVE IT TIME!
All the situations listed below should be observed at least a couple times without a negative reaction from your adult dog… before considering leaving them alone together.
for example… How well does your adult dog handle the puppy jumping on them or invading their space, bugging them while their asleep? How do they react to the puppy trying to eat out of their bowl, or sleeping or playing in their bed, playing with their toys etc.?
WOW… YOUR BIG! – YEAH. MAYBE. OR YOU’RE JUST REALLY SMALL!!
Once Puppies Settled in it’s time to show them off!
Introducing puppy to new people! After the first few days and once they are settled in and adjusted then we recommend you start introducing them to LOTS of new people, every age, size and type of person you can find willing to meet them. You should also start introducing them to lots of new environments and new situations.
Just stay away from high dog traffic areas until after 16 weeks and they had their last set of vaccinations. The first 4 months of a puppy’s life is the most important stage for socialization, training and development so do not hide your puppy away waiting for vaccines, just be smart about where you are taking them.
Some puppies are just shyer around new people and new environments, don’t worry it does NOT mean they will always be shy. MOST puppies will grow out of this with early puppy socialization.
