Bringing your puppy home and the first week

What should be ready before go-home day?

What to do before go-home day, from NuVet Plus and your puppy's food to booking pickup and the vet, is in step 3 of how it works, along with everything that comes home with your puppy. Beyond that, have the crate ready for the drive and the first night. A crate should be big enough for a dog to stand up, lie down and turn around in. Buy for your dog's grown size and use a divider to shrink the space while your puppy is small, which for a Lab, a Golden or a Berner means a big crate from the start. Baby gates let you close off rooms, and the rest of the list is a collar and leash, food and water bowls, a bed, chew toys and a cleaner made for pet accidents.

Put an ID tag with your phone number on the collar, since a tag and a microchip both help a lost dog find its way home.

A large-breed puppy that grows too fast puts stress on its growing bones and joints, so weigh out each meal rather than leaving the bowl full, and let your vet track your puppy's growth on a chart.

How should you handle the drive home and the first day?

Bring your puppy home in a crate. A crate with good airflow is the safest place for a dog to ride if there's an accident, so secure it so it can't slide or shift when you brake. Without a crate, put your puppy in the back seat in a harness clipped to a fastened seatbelt, and never let it ride with its head out the window. On any stop, keep your puppy away from other dogs, because a puppy without all its shots shouldn't meet strange dogs or even walk where they go.

Once you're home, carry your puppy straight to the spot outside where you want it to go potty. Let a new puppy explore one area with you before opening up the rest of the house a room at a time, introduce the family one person at a time, and save visits from friends and neighbors for later. Play and a run in the yard are fine, though long runs and jumping are hard on a puppy, so check with your vet before any high-impact activity that could strain growing bones and joints.

What is normal in the first week?

Moving to a new home is stressful on a puppy's body, even when it acts happy and playful. Puppies don't show stress the way people do, so families often take a low appetite or soft stools for a health problem when it is really the stress of the move. In the first week, each of these is normal.

• Your puppy may not eat or drink much for the first few days.
• Stools may be softer for the first week or two.
• Your puppy may cry in the crate, because it isn't used to being without its littermates.

Keep the first week calm. Extra changes of place and travel add to the stress, so hold off on them for now, apart from the vet exam our health guarantee requires.

Call or text us at (574) 275-3531 with any question, in the first week or long after it. We provide lifetime support for our puppies.

What helps on the first night with a new puppy?

Put the crate in your bedroom, where your puppy can feel you close by, with a blanket or toy inside that carries its mother's scent, and take your puppy out to potty right before bed. Offer a small treat when it walks into the crate on its own, and keep bedtime at the same hour each night.

If your puppy whines in the night, carry it out for a quick and boring potty break and then put it straight back in the crate. With the crate beside your bed you can rest a hand inside to comfort your puppy, and don't bring it into your bed unless that's where you want it to sleep for good. The middle of the night trip outside usually ends by 4 to 5 months of age.

When should a new puppy see the vet, and which shots come next?

Book the first vet exam before go-home day, because our health guarantee says, “The puppy MUST be examined by a veterinarian within three (3) business days for this guarantee to be valid.” Ask us what your puppy has had so far and share it with your vet, and go over the shots with both of us before your puppy arrives. Puppy shots start at 6 to 8 weeks and repeat every 2 to 4 weeks until a puppy is older than 16 weeks, so a puppy that comes home at 8 weeks still has boosters ahead of it.

The shots every dog should have cover distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, leptospirosis and rabies. Indiana requires a rabies shot for every dog 3 months of age and older, given by or under the direct supervision of a licensed and accredited veterinarian. Until the puppy series is done, keep your puppy away from unfamiliar dogs and the places they walk, but don't put off meeting people, because 7 weeks to 4 months is the time to gently introduce a puppy to new people, places and situations.

How do you start house training a puppy?

Start on the day your puppy comes home. Most puppies move to new homes at about 8 weeks, just when bladder control is at its weakest, and a puppy can generally hold it for about as many hours as it is months old. Take your puppy out first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and after every nap, meal, drink, play session and stretch in the crate, which can add up to a dozen trips or more a day.

Watch for sniffing, circling or a sudden stop in play, which are all signs a puppy needs to go. Say a short cue such as "go potty" as your puppy starts, then praise and reward it the moment it finishes. After an accident, skip the scolding and clean the spot with a cleaner that removes the smell, so the smell doesn't draw your puppy back. The crate helps here too, since dogs generally avoid soiling where they sleep, as long as the divider keeps the space too small for one end to become a bathroom.

How old should a puppy be when it comes home?

Our puppies come home at 8 weeks old. Families choose their puppy at 4 to 5 weeks, which our guide on how to pick a puppy explains, and you can collect yours from us in Syracuse, Indiana. Shipping can be arranged for a fee. Our how it works page sets out go-home day from deposit to pickup, and every puppy is covered by our health guarantee.

Federal and Indiana rules both set 8 weeks as the youngest a puppy can be moved for sale. Under federal law a dog can't be shipped for sale until it is at least 8 weeks old and weaned, and Indiana law bars bringing a dog under 8 weeks into or out of the state for sale unless it travels with its mother. Our Labrador, Golden Retriever and Bernese pages list the puppies we have now, and our FAQ covers deposits and pickup.