Episode #227 Survival Tips for The First Week Home with Your New Puppy

Today we're diving into one of the most exciting—and sometimes overwhelming—chapters of puppy parenthood: the first week at home.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to lay the foundation for a trusting, loving bond with your new dog. We’ll cover:

🐾 Building a Bond – Simple ways to help your puppy feel safe, secure, and connected to you from day one.
🛏️ Crate Training 101 – How to make the crate a calm, comforting place your puppy will love.
🚶‍♂️ Teaching Independence – Step-by-step tips to ease your puppy into being alone without fear.
🧸 Keeping Them Engaged – Toys, routines, and smart strategies to channel that puppy energy.
😴 Managing Expectations – Why patience, flexibility, and a sense of humor go a long way.

Whether you’re a first-time puppy parent or just need a refresher, this episode is packed with practical, professional advice to help you and your pup start off on the right paw.

💡 Bonus: Here's a link to our in-depth Crate Training class and THE FIRST WEEK TOGETHER learning module.

https://www.baxterandbella.com/the-crate-class

https://www.baxterandbella.com/step-by-step-programs

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I know when you bring that new puppy home, it's a
little stressful, it's a littleoverwhelming and your schedule
drastically changes.
But I promise you can do this.
Today we're talking all aboutthose first few days home with
your new puppy.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter Bella, the online puppy
school.

(00:20):
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey, you guys, thanks forlistening.

(00:46):
I appreciate you being here.
We help a lot of people withtheir brand new puppies, and so
we hear everything that's goingon and we do it ourselves as
well.
So we understand those firstfew days.
Yes, they're exciting.
Yes, it's super fun to havethis cute little puppy at your
house, but we get it.
It can be overwhelming andstressful.

(01:08):
So today we have tips for youto help you through it.
The first week is all aboutcreating a safe and loving
environment for your new puppy.
That's it really.
Yes, we have to do housetraining because we need this
puppy to go potty somewhere, butwe really want you to focus
just on creating safety.
This puppy is going to feel alittle stressed, a little

(01:28):
anxious.
They just left their mother,they just left their litter,
mates and everything that'sfamiliar to them.
So it's really natural for themto feel nervous and because of
that we need to help them feelsafe and to relax.
They'll sleep better, they'lllisten better, they'll want to
do things with you once they arerelaxed.

(01:48):
So to achieve this, we foundthese three things really
helpful.
First, stay close to them.
Keep your puppy near you asmuch as possible for the first
few days.
If this means sitting on thefloor with them, being in their
exercise pen with them maybeyou're sitting on the sofa and
their crate is right next to youor they're cuddling with you in
your lap Let them come to you.

(02:09):
Don't force yourself on them.
Let them come to you and offerthem gentle pets and soothing
words.
This helps them associate youwith safety and comfort.
Okay, next, use familiar scents.
So, if possible, bring home ablanket or a toy that smells
like their litter.
I'm a huge fan of snugglepuppies.
If you don't know what that is,check out my website Baxter and

(02:31):
Bellacom, go to the productspage and there's a snuggle puppy
there.
This is a stuffed dog that youcan put a heart inside that
beats, and a heating pack so itfeels warm.
This can be a huge comfort to abrand new puppy, because when
you get up and walk away for asecond, they still have
something warm with a heartbeatnext to it.

(02:52):
Have you guys ever seen a puppypile?
It's when all the puppies youknow they get on each other and
they fall asleep, but they'reall touching and they're
literally piled on one another.
That's what they're used to.
And now they're in our home,where maybe they're the only
puppy.
Maybe we have an older dog, butthat's not the same as a puppy,
right, and everything smellsnew, everything looks new.

(03:13):
They don't really have anysource of comfort.
So if you can bring somethingfrom their home into your home
that smells like their home,that will be a great sense of
comfort.
So whether it's a snuggle puppyor a blanket, something that
smells like mom and litter matescan be helpful.
Third is establish a routine.
Puppies love consistency.
They like patterns.

(03:33):
So we want to feed, walk andplay with your puppy at the same
times each day, just to createa predictable environment.
I like to create a very simpleon the hour schedule.
The top of the hour we get thepuppy out, they go potty, we
play, they get drinks.
Maybe they have a little bit ofa meal time or I use that food
as a little mini trainingsession, if they're up for it.

(03:54):
They might not be, that's okayand then they can have some
maybe time in the one room areawhere we have them.
Maybe they can chew a littletoo or play with some toys, and
then it's back in their pen ortheir crate for nap time.
And then at the top of the houryou just repeat that.
That can create a really nicesimple routine for both you and
the puppy that first week home.

(04:14):
I know I said training, don'tstress about that.
If you don't want to do anytraining other than just
building that bond and housetraining that first week, you're
totally good.
But they might be willing to doa simple sit to say please for
you, just saying you might wantto hand them a little piece of
kibble for that, all right.
My next tip would be to create asafe haven for them.
So they just came most likely,if they're a brand new puppy

(04:41):
from a pen area where they slepton one side and they pottied on
the other side and they hadtoys to play with and choose to
play with.
So I would create somethingsimilar at my house.
I call it a Zen Den.
So I set up an exercise pen.
Their crate is attached to itor it's inside of it that the
door opens, so they can come inand out of that as they please.
I could put a little soft bedor blanket in there, if we want.
If your puppy's scratching atit and trying to get it out of
the way, you don't need that.
But some really do appreciate anice soft place to rest and

(05:04):
then that's where they play,that's where they get their chew
toys, that's where we leavethem alone.
Okay, and when I say alone,they're in that space by
themselves for part of the day.
But I could be sitting rightoutside of it reading a book,
doing an email, prepping dinner,doing homework with my children
, and that pen is close by.
Again, I want to be close by.
Proximity is important, but thatpuppy is going to have some

(05:27):
barriers in place that they'regoing to start to get used to.
So we call it the puppy'sbedroom.
You're making them a nice areawhere they can't get into any
trouble.
That means that you don't haveto scold them or get after them
because, remember, we're tryingto create that you're the safe
person.
So by putting them in a pen orusing that crate throughout the
day, they can't get into anysort of trouble and they have
good chews to chew on and toysto play with if they want.

(05:49):
And we are close by.
A lot of the puppy crying thathappens in the first week is
because they don't know how tobe alone.
So you'll find that if somebodyjust sits next to the pen and
reads a book so we're notnecessarily paying attention to
the puppy, but we are close byit'll alleviate a lot of puppy
crying as they start to feelsafe in our home.
Things you can do to help yourpuppy start to like their crate

(06:09):
would be giving them daytimenaps in there.
When you know they're tired andthey need a little break, sit
next to them.
Again, they're tired so they'remore likely to fall asleep and
you can just comfort them untilthey fall asleep in there.
At nighttime I like to keepthem next to my bed so they're
in their crate, but it's rightnext to my bed.
That way again, that proximityis close, they can smell me and
hear me breathing and that cancomfort them.

(06:30):
And then throughout that firstweek I'm going to start some
coming and going.
So days one to three, I stayreally close and provide almost
constant companionship bysomebody in my family.
Days four to six, we begin tocome and go, come and go, come
and go, step out of the room forshort periods and come back,
not making big deals about thecoming or the going, it's just
going about my business as usual.

(06:51):
And the puppy starts to learnoh, I don't see her.
Oh, she came back.
Oh, I don't see her, she cameback.
And that trust begins to build.
And then, day seven, I'mleaving the house for at least
an hour.
I'm making sure my puppy's in asafe space with toys and
they've just had a potty break,and I go to the grocery store
and then I get back and we letthe puppy out all as well.
And they start to learn okay,sometimes she leaves, but guess

(07:11):
what, she always comes back.
That trust is important.
Now recognize your puppy's alsogoing to have some energy.
They're going to need to moveand play.
Exercise pens are great forthis.
They can move around in thatspace.
It's a little bigger than theircrate, but then they can also
go outside and explore if youhave a private backyard, or just
block off a one room area inyour house to be kind of the

(07:32):
play area when they're not intheir crate or pen.
I love using some interactivetoys.
You can find the products thatI like on my website, on my
products page, and then rotatethe toys.
So don't just leave all thetoys out, pull a couple toys out
and then put those away andpull out two or three more toys
later and just keep rotatingthem.
It keeps it a little moreexciting for your puppy.
Now recognize they're not goingto love toys at first.

(07:53):
They're going to ignoreprobably everything at first
because they are stressed.
So don't worry if your puppydoesn't seem to like toys and
they won't take food from yourhand.
That's just your sign that theyare stressed from the
transition.
That will ease away doing thethings that we've talked about
today.
So don't get rid of any of thetoys yet.
I promise you one day they willlike them, but you can try them

(08:17):
at first and if they're notinterested, just don't panic.
Okay, all right.
My last tip for you is to manageyour expectations.
We want to be patient andflexible.
Okay, things are not alwaysgoing to go as planned.
You're going to be prepared.
Hopefully you know what to do,you know what to expect, but we
want to make sure that we areflexible and be able to help our
puppy as they need help,because every puppy is unique.

(08:37):
So I know it's going to beexciting, but it's also going to
be somewhat exhausting and wewant to expect disruptions.
Right, our sleep's not going tobe normal.
It's going to be disturbed.
This week.
Accidents are probably going tohappen.
Yes, we want to minimize them,but if there's one or two or
several, it's okay.
We're going to get it underwraps.
Just keep being consistent.
Take them out often, give themlots of potty breaks.

(08:59):
Puppies potty a lot whenthey're up and moving.
So every 20 minutes, set atimer.
Take them to their potty area.
This is going to requirepatience, right?
Remember your puppy's learningand adjusting.
Lots of new things arehappening that first week
adjusting.
Lots of new things arehappening that first week.
Celebrate the small wins and beforgiving of any setbacks that
happen and then finally, seeksupport.
Don't hesitate to ask us forhelp.

(09:19):
Our entire program is built fornew puppy parents.
We want you to be successful atthis.
Join our program, get into ourfirst week together learning
module and then schedule acoaching call if you need
additional help.
All right, you guys have agreat week.
Thanks for listening and happytraining.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.

(09:40):
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.

(10:03):
Until next time, happy training.