an introduction

WE CAN ONLY guess at how a new puppy feels when he leaves behind everything he has ever known and arrives in a brand new world. Although most new puppies are about eight weeks old when they leave home and still quite trusting of strangers, it is reasonable to assume that your puppy will miss his mother and his brothers and sisters for a while. Everything in your home must seem strange. All around him are new sights, new smells and new sounds. Without doubt, there is great potential for this little dog to feel very lost and lonely. The aim of this chapter is to help you settle your puppy in, and make him feel at home as quickly as possible.


There are two ways to make any tiny puppy feel safe and secure. One is to keep him very close to you; the other is to place him in his home den. Your problem, for the first few days, is that your puppy’s home den is far away.

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Arriving home

At last. You have made it home with your precious new bundle. You pull into the drive and switch off the engine.  What now? The very first thing you need to do is take the puppy straight to his outdoor toilet area so that he can have a wee. Offer him a drink of water and make yourself comfortable. It may take him a while to decide that it’s okay to wee in this new place. Puppies vary in how they react to being placed on the ground in a strange place. Some are like little clockwork toys – you put them on the ground and off they go. Others will be more hesitant, and a few will freeze with fear. If your puppy seems worried, get right down on the ground with him, let him know that you are there for him and let him climb on your lap if he wants to, while he surveys this new world. He will want to stay near you but he will soon begin to sniff about and hopefully will decide to do a wee. Once he has emptied his bladder, you can take him indoors, but it is a good idea to set an alarm ...
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SUMMARY

• Prepare your puppy’s den, and put up baby gates and a playpen in the garden. • Take someone with you to collect your puppy. • Take a travel kit in case of carsickness. • Check numbers match on registration and pedigree certificates. • Take your puppy home travelling in the footwell of the car, pressed up against your passenger’s legs. • Put him in his toilet area as soon as you arrive home and every half-hour afterwards.
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What to expect on the journey home

The chances are that your puppy has never been in a car before. He has also never been away from the home where he was born and where he feels safe. If you put your puppy in a crate in the back of your car and drive home with him shut in there, one or all of the following three things may happen. He will scream very loudly most of the way. He will be sick. He will empty his bowels.  This reinforces your position as pack leader and is just good manners! This is simply because the puppy is stressed and feels abandoned. He may be perfectly safe in the crate in the event of an accident, but your driving is likely to be adversely affected by the noise and the smell. All in all, it is not a very good start to his new life. For this reason, when I collect a puppy, I always take an adult passenger with me, or get someone else to drive. Then the puppy can sit in the footwell on the passenger side of the car. Pressed up against someone’s legs, he will feel safe and won’t scream with fear. I...
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