Your puppy's first week
The first seven days set patterns that are much easier to build than to fix later.
Before collection
- Crate with divider, bed, and a blanket that can go to the breeder to collect litter scent
- Bowls, harness and lead (not a collar-only setup for walking)
- The same food the breeder has been using — change it later, gradually
- Enzymatic cleaner, poo bags, and a stair gate
- Vet appointment booked for a health check within the first few days
- Everything toxic moved out of reach: cables, houseplants, medication, cleaning products
Day one
Keep it quiet. No visitors, no party, no passing the puppy around. Show them the toilet spot first, then one room, then their crate. Let them explore at their own pace and sleep whenever they want — puppies need a great deal of sleep, and an overtired puppy bites.
The first night
Put the crate in your bedroom. A puppy that has just left its mother and littermates is genuinely distressed alone, and proximity settles most of them within a few nights. Expect at least one toilet trip: take them out, no talking, no play, straight back. Making night trips boring is what stops them becoming a habit.
House-training from hour one
Take them out after every sleep, every meal, every play session, and every twenty minutes in between at first. Stand still and wait. Reward the instant they finish, outside, not when you get back in — the timing is what teaches the association.
Accidents are inevitable and are never punished. Clean with an enzymatic cleaner, because ordinary detergent leaves a scent marker that draws the puppy back to the same spot.
The socialisation window
It closes around 12 to 16 weeks, and it does not reopen. This is the period that determines whether your adult dog finds the world ordinary or frightening. Before vaccinations are complete, carry your puppy outside to experience traffic, crowds, buses, umbrellas, hats, wheelchairs and children at a distance.
Quality beats quantity: one calm exposure where the puppy stays relaxed is worth more than ten overwhelming ones. A puppy that is frightened is not being socialised, it is being sensitised.
Biting
Needle-sharp puppy biting is normal and not aggression. Redirect onto a toy every time, and end the game calmly if it continues. Most escalation happens when a puppy is overtired — if biting is getting worse, the answer is usually sleep rather than correction.
What can wait
Long walks, off-lead freedom, dog parks, and changing the food. Formal exercise should stay short while growth plates are developing, and switching food in week one on top of everything else is how you get a week of diarrhoea.
Book the vaccination appointments in week one — the socialisation window closes at around 16 weeks and the schedule has to fit inside it. Puppy vaccination schedule →
Common questions
Where should a puppy sleep the first night?
In a crate in your bedroom. A puppy that has just left its littermates finds isolation genuinely distressing, and being nearby settles most within a few nights. You can move the crate gradually later.
How often should I take a puppy out to toilet?
After every sleep, meal and play session, and roughly every twenty minutes in between at first. Reward immediately outside, the moment they finish, rather than once you are back indoors.
When can I start socialising my puppy?
Immediately, but safely. Before vaccinations are complete, carry your puppy outdoors to experience traffic, crowds and everyday objects. The critical window closes around 12 to 16 weeks and does not reopen.