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Whilst bringing a new puppy into your home can be a really exciting experience, it’s okay to feel a little daunted.
As loveable as puppies are, they are a huge responsibility, and you’ll want to ensure that you have everything ready to welcome your puppy into your home and for the weeks and months that will follow.
Don’t worry; at Groomers, we’re experts in all things puppy-related, which is why we’ve pulled together our top tips on how to look after your puppy to make sure you’ve got all bases covered.
From the things to put in place before your puppy comes home to all the essentials you’ll need, your puppy will feel right at home from the start!
Table of contents:
How to look after an 8 week old puppy
How to look after a puppy between 8 and 12 weeks old
How to look after your puppy from 12 weeks
How to look after an 8 week old puppy
At 8 weeks old, your puppy should still be with its mother and breeder. However, there are some things you can put in place in preparation for bringing it home.
Your puppy's breeder should have put the following things in place:
- Your puppy’s first vaccination will be due at eight weeks, so the breeder should have either taken it for its first injection or booked it in, ready for you to do so. Vaccinations are super important to your puppy’s health, so ask if you are in doubt.
- The breeder may have also started toilet training your puppy to make the transition and training easier for you when you take it home. Don’t be afraid to ask what methods they have used so you can continue toilet training your puppy at home.
- Socialisation: although your puppy can’t socialise with other animals until it is fully vaccinated, it should have been exposed to new people and situations in the home, so the world doesn’t seem as scary when it finally leaves to come home with you.
Things that you can put in place for your 8-week-old puppy
Before bringing it home, your focus should be on puppy-proofing your home and making sure that you have the basics in place so your puppy will feel at home straight away and find it easier to settle.
Puppy proofing
Start by puppy proofing, removing anything that could be poisonous or potentially harmful to your new puppy; this includes wires or electricals that it could chew through. Move anything that shouldn’t be chewed out of reach or out of sight.
Establish some house rules before your puppy comes home to avoid confusion. Decide things like whether or not you’ll allow it on the sofa or bed and which areas of the house are out of bounds.
Once you’re sure the floor space is safe and you’ve decided where your puppy can’t go, create a dedicated puppy space, and add some puppy-friendly toys to keep it entertained.
Invest in a crate for crate training and a comfortable place for it to sleep undisturbed. Sleep is so important to a puppy’s early stages of development, so you’ll want to make sure it has somewhere to catch forty winks!
Choose a vet
It’s a good idea to find and register your new puppy with a vet before you bring it home; then, you won’t have to do this in an emergency, should anything go wrong.
Consider things like opening times and the distance and time it would take to travel to the vet in an emergency. If you’re unsure where to start, you can use a vet finder to highlight all of the best vets in your area.
When you first register your puppy, take the opportunity to book its second vaccination appointment, which is usually needed at 12 weeks, so that you don’t forget.
You should also think about having your puppy microchipped. In the UK, any dog over 8 weeks old should be microchipped by law, so ask your breeder whether this is something they have done already or whether you’ll need to book a vet appointment to do so. It’s a quick and easy process, meaning your puppy can be returned should it go missing.
Finally, now is also the best time to register your puppy for pet insurance. Puppies are prone to accidents, so make sure yours is registered before you bring it home, just in case any accidents occur.
Puppy Checklist
Before you collect your puppy, we want to ensure you have all bases covered, so we've compiled this handy checklist so you won't forget any of the necessities when shopping for your new addition!
Bringing your puppy home
When you go to collect your puppy, there are some other important things that you can do to make its transition into your home a lot more comfortable.
First, ask the breeder if you can leave a blanket with the litter a few days before you collect your puppy. This means they will have a familiar-smelling item to snuggle with in their new home, which will help them to settle.
Secondly, invest in a collar and ID tag to put straight on them when you collect them, so they can get used to wearing it from the off.
You might also want to invest in a car harness or a crate that will fit easily into your car to keep your new puppy safe whilst you travel. Most crates can be used both in the car and at home and come with dividers, so if you're crate training, you can section off the crate while your puppy is small.
Once you've brought your puppy home, have patience when introducing it to your other pets and any other members of the family. Ensure all of your other pets are fully vaccinated so they can't pass on anything to your new puppy, who won't be fully vaccinated yet.
How to look after a puppy between 8 and 12 weeks old
The time between 8 and 12 weeks is really important for your puppy, as what they learn now will shape their future behaviour. Although it isn't fully vaccinated, you can introduce your puppy to new experiences in a safe environment.
- Carrying your puppy outside helps expose it to new sights and sounds without risking its health.
- Taking it out in the car at this early stage gets it used to travelling, so this doesn't become an issue when it's older.
- Handling your puppy by touching its paws and ears and looking at its teeth gets it used to being examined, which will make the process so much easier when it has to visit the vet. You might want to invest in some home grooming equipment during this time, such as puppy-friendly brushes and combs, puppy-friendly shampoo and conditioner and dental products to get your puppy used to grooming from a young age and to establish a good dental routine.
- Crate training your puppy and leaving it for short periods gets it used to being left alone, preventing serious issues such as severe separation anxiety from developing.
- Continue with your puppy's toilet training, rewarding them for going outside.
During this time, it's important to reward your puppy for its good behaviour and ignore the bad to help it in its journey to learning right from wrong. Training your puppy will help shape how it behaves as an older dog, so these early stages are crucial to its development.
Keep training sessions short and fun to not tire your puppy out too much. By keeping experiences positive from day one will help your puppy grow into a confident adult dog, making life more enjoyable for you both.
How to look over your puppy from 12 weeks onwards
So, your puppy is now twelve weeks old and is fully vaccinated. Now what?
Now is a good time to ask your vet about worming, flea treatment and neutering, should this be something you are considering for your puppy, as the correct age to neuter a dog can differ from breed to breed.
As your puppy is now fully vaccinated, it can now be socialised outside, so use this time to introduce it slowly to other dogs and people. This is also a great time to enrol it into a puppy class to learn basic training and boost its confidence in new situations while getting used to other dogs.
Remember to allow plenty of time for your puppy to rest during this period as it continues to grow and develop. This stage of a puppy's life is also great as by this point, you should have learned what motivates your puppy, for example, toys or food, so that you can implement these motivators in training.
From 6 months; adolescence into adulthood
As your puppy grows, it's important to remember that it's still learning, so you should continue to implement reward-based training and try to keep all of its experiences positive.
At this time, you might want to consider more advanced training for your puppy if it's at a stage where it can cope with it and is ready to progress.
You should also consider changing your dog's food at this stage, moving it on from puppy food to adult food as its dietary requirements change.
By following these stages throughout your puppy's life, it should grow confidently into adulthood with the reassurance that it is loved and cared for and should continue to live a happy life.
Creating positive experiences, rewarding good behaviour and supporting your puppy's development are the keys to caring for your puppy successfully as it develops into adulthood.
Shop for puppy's essentials at Groomers
Whatever your puppy's grooming needs, you'll find them by shopping the links above. Or, explore our MyPet Puppy Coat collection for all the essentials for keeping your puppy's coat fresh.
