Slowing down or in pain? Reading an older dog
Seven signs that are not just age, and what helps.
The first night is the one owners remember. Your puppy has just left its mother and littermates, so some crying is normal, and a little planning makes it much shorter.
Ask for a piece of bedding or a toy that smells of the litter, and the name and amount of food your puppy is eating now. Changing food on day one is the most common cause of a sore tummy in the first week.
Set up the crate in your bedroom before you bring your puppy home, with a blanket over three sides and water in a clip-on bowl.
Last meal by 7 pm, a quiet play and a trip outside at 10. Into the crate with the litter blanket, lights out. Expect a wake-up around 2 am: carry your puppy outside, praise the pee, and straight back to bed with no play.
Short play, long sleep. Puppies need 18 hours a day.
If the crying goes on, put your fingers by the crate door and stay quiet. You are telling your puppy it is not alone, without teaching it that crying brings a party.
"The first week is not for training. It is for sleep, routine and lots of short trips outside."
Dr. Daniel Okafor
Book the first check within a week of bringing your puppy home.
Keep visitors few and calm until the first vaccines are done.
Feed at the same times every day so toilet times become predictable.
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