Settling Your Puppy at Home

It is crucial for Pawrents to understand that your puppy may possibly find the new environment of your home to be unsettling when they first arrive.

It can be stressful for your puppy, given that he or she had left his or her mother and littermates. This is not forgetting that your puppy has to get accustomed to the new noises and smells around your home. Your puppy will therefore, will have a lot to deal with in its early days at home.

Before your puppy's arrival, you should prepare a cosy bed or crate placed in a warm, quiet area of your home. Crates should never be used for punishment. If your puppy is not used to one yet, you will need to give your puppy time to ensure that such a crate is a desirable and calm place for relaxing, sleeping or enjoying a snack, chew or meal in peace, and definitely not a jail.

If your puppy displays any anxious behaviours such as pacing and crying, quiet reassurance is generally what is required, and it can take several months rather than days or weeks for a puppy to properly feel at home, so do not expect too much too soon.

Eating helps your puppy stimulate digestion, and most puppies like to defecate within 5 to 30 minutes following a meal to clear the digestive tract ready for the incoming food. Excitable playtime or exercise is not recommended straight after a meal. Make sure fresh water is always available.