When you being a new puppy home, most often
it will not already be housebroken. As with children, the only thing you need to house
break your puppy is patience, and a lot of it. As soon as the puppy has been fed, he
should be taken out - puppies often relieve themselves right after they eat, and so taking
them our right after eating reinforces the idea that they should only relieve
themselves outside.
Children and puppies should always be supervized. Never leave them alone with each other.
Children can be unknowingly cruel to dogs (pulling whiskers, tail, etc.) and puppies can
unwittingly retaliate by biting, which you certainly don't want.
Whatever behaviour you eventually want from your puppy, you must enforce from the start.
If you dont want the grown up dog to be allowed in the bedroom, or sit on your living room
couches, don't let them do so as puppies. On thier first few nights in your house, puppies
will be upset, and miss their littermates etc. Make sure they have a nice warm and safe
place to sleep in. If you want, you can sleep near that area for the first night. If you
don't want them to beg from the dining room table - don't feed them while you eat at the
table.
Above all, care for your puppy's health. Contact a local vet, and by all means, establish
a good relationship. Your dog does not need to be ill to see the vet. The vet should see
the dog while he is in good health, so he has something to compare the not well dog
against, when you bring him in at other times. Make sure you are up to date on the puppy's
shots. They can be expensive, but then, you decided to pay for them the day you decided to
get the puppy. And as any dog lover will tell you - puppies are worth every penny you
sepnd on them, and then some more.
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