So you got a puppy - now what?
Bringing home a puppy is magical, and sometimes a little overwhelming. While your pup may feel like a blank canvas, they come with their own instincts, breed traits, and emotional history for you to understand. From inherited behaviours to early-life experiences, your puppy is counting on you to understand what makes them tick. This guide will help you uncover who they are and give you the tools to support their emotional, physical, and nutritional wellbeing - so you can raise a confident, healthy pup and enjoy an amazingly joyful life together. (Reading time 10 mins)
Close up of 12 week old Dachshund puppy looking very cute
Your Puppy Prep Checklist
Start with the basics to make your home safe, calm, and puppy-ready:
🛏 A bed in a quiet place for proper, deep rest
🦴 Soft chews for teething (yak chews, soft pates - try JR Pet Products’ single protein range)
🧸 Soft toys (washed charity shop teddies are great!) for sinking mini shark teeth into
🔔 A string of bells on the door - yes, they can learn to ring them when they need to go out
🍽 Clean bowls - daily! Dirty bowls form biofilm, allowing bacteria to compete with your pup for nutrients
📚 Your Bible and a great book - Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy is an excellent £5 investment
Puppies are adorable
Who is this?
Genetics and early life can influence so much. This first intro helps you understand what your puppy brings with them, to give you both a great start at connecting.
Puppies might feel like a blank canvas in as much as you’ll need to teach them how to navigate the world, but they also arrive with genetic pre-programming shaped by:
Their breed or mix
Their parents’ behavioural traits and breed tendencies
Their mother’s pregnancy and early-life experiences
This is why meeting the parents and learning about their behaviour can offer helpful insight. Are they sniffy, bitey, vocal, herdy, or chasey? Or a complex mix you’ll need to understand to support them well?
While genetics play a part in breed standards, the new science of epigenetics - how genes are expressed based on environment - also matters. For example, if the mother had a stressful experience with doorways or tended to be vocal, those behaviours can come pre programmed in to their young. Hello, epigenetics and generational trauma, we see you! So, you're not just teaching your puppy what you'd like them to do , you're also helping them feel secure, based on who they are and where they’ve come from.
Here are other inherited or early-life factors that can shape behaviour:
Stress hormones during pregnancy
The mother’s nutrition
Early handling and socialisation
Litter size and competition
Weaning age
Exposure to noise, chemicals, or stress early on
Every puppy brings a mix of nature and nurture. The more you know, the more compassionate and effective your care will be at giving you a great shot at a wonderful life together.
Understanding Your Puppy’s Mind
Your puppy arrives knowing very little about the world and what you expect of it. They need gentle, consistent teaching all day, every day. Every moment - play, food, toilet breaks - is an opportunity to shape the behaviour you’d like to live with.
N.B. What’s cute at 12 weeks can become a problem later. It’s easy to let things slide early on, but those cute habits can become more challenging later. Puppies don’t grow out of behaviours, they grow into them.
Body language is their first language. Be mindful of your tone, posture, and energy around them. Staying calm quiet and attentive when needed is best. Let them also be comfortable with their own company, show them what you'd like them to do and mark and reward that.
And remember:
Routine, Feeding & Toilet Training
Routine builds trust and confidence. Here's what your day might look like:
Wake up → Toilet time (use cues like ‘toilet’ or ‘be clean’)
Toilet → Feed
Feed → Toilet again
Gentle play → Nap time
Wake up → Toilet → Repeat
*Puppies need up to 20 hours of sleep a day.
A crate or pen can help manage rest and overstimulation. Sleep is vital for emotional regulation and healthy development. Witching hour - that evening burst of energy - is when your pup needs some enrichment and rest. A nice safe chew in the crate is perfect.
Toilet training tip:
Pop them outside every 20 minutes at first, especially after sleep, food, or play. Wait. When they go, cue it (‘toilet!’), praise like mad, and throw a little love party! 🎉
And ‘Bedtime toilet’ is a real game changer. Make sure they go. Patience is key.
Baby Dachshund cross playing a sniffing game for mental enrichment
Getting to Know Your Puppy
This is your bonding window. Observe:
How do they play?
Where do they like to rest or eat?
What’s their tired/hungry/“need-to-wee” body language?
How do they show affection? And how do they ask for affection?
What kind of play do they enjoy; chasing, biting, dissecting, tugging?
Write it down. This will help future caregivers and keep you tuned into your pup’s needs.
Exploring the World Safely
Let them see the world - but s l o w l y.
Puppies have a fear period and need emotional support. Be there for them, you are their caregiver. Don’t let them ‘cry it out’. You are their caregiver and they need you to comfort them for a strong and secure attachment.
Sling or bag outings are great for small pups before they’re fully immunised. Let them observe from the safety of your arms. Avoid overstimulation, and make sure to set up positive experiences. Nothing too scary.
Lockdown pups often react to wheels (scooters, prams, travel cases) and public transport. Introduce them early and calmly. Men in hats and with beards are another common fear. If you have a friend or neighbour or know someone who can visit and be kind, this can help provide positive experiences to help your baby feel comfortable going forward.
Safely expose them to livestock, buses, loud noises, dogs in parks - from a distance. Let them watch and feel safe with you. This builds your bond and grows their resilience. Your vet and groomers should also do a puppy intro session to give good experiences.
Training: What to Teach Early
Start with practical, connection-based training:
👀 Eye contact
🖐 Touch
🐭 The mouse game
🐥 Baby bird
🎲 Guess which hand
🦶 Heel and Side (left and right walking positions)
If you don’t know these games a qualified trainer, (like me) will be able to show you.
Avoid starting with sit, paw, roll over.
Instead, focus on handling skills useful at the vet or with groomers and when boarding.
Reinforce every positive interaction with praise and treats. These early “quick tricks” lay the foundation for a lifetime of communication and trust.
Puppy Classes & 1:1 Support
classes are great - but not enough to teach you and your dog all the helpful information you’ll need to navigate the world safely together.
I always recommend 1:1 sessions alongside classes. Ongoing, consistent training builds a calm, cooperative dog and makes your life easier long-term. This gives you the best help for consent based learning making your pup comfortable and able to trust you.
For example, many little dogs are given the title ‘little dog syndrome’ but are do they want to be picked up? Learn how to ask them to opt in for training or picking up. Training teaches you the cues and how to read their body language to be the guardian they need you to be.
Look for R+ trainers (positive reinforcement) only. Avoid anyone using lead yanks, prong collars, or shock (e) collars. These create fear, damage trust, and make behaviour worse in the long run. It is more difficult to undo behaviour than it is to train well in the first place.
Feeding Your Puppy Right
Nutrition is EVERYTHING. It affects their behaviour, development, digestion, and future health. Everything starts in the gut.
Choose a high-quality, balanced and complete puppy food suitable for their breed size.
Check out allaboutdogfood.co.uk or visit a local independent pet shop for information on quality and price.
Avoid:
Foods listing ‘meat meal’ or ‘cereals’
More than 3 ingredients unless clearly listed (e.g., lamb, sweet potato, blackberries)
Oats, barley, wheat, rye, glycerine, pea protein, and chickpeas (cheap fillers)
Supermarket “puppy treats” full of fillers - they can make pups ill and lead to undesirable behaviours
Look for:
Single protein chews and pates
Make your own treats or buy in bulk during sales
Use discount codes from reputable small brands
Teeth & Chews
Teething is tough - they’ve got 42 teeth coming through!
But Dentastix aren’t a great choice and don’t clean teeth, and rawhide isn’t safe for their insides.
Stick to soft, digestible chews and fresh food where possible. Proper dental care will save you significant amounts of money in vet bills later.
Vets, Vaccines, Worms & Parasites
Vets are great, we need vets, but there’s new science and ever evolving information coming out for the best ways to support your dog’s health and wellbeing to keep them out of the vets.
Vaccines:
Essential and life-saving. But once complete, they usually cover for life. You can titre test instead of over-vaccinating - ask your vet AND do your own research. If you’d like studies and info I’ll happily signpost you to the best resources.
Leptospirosis isn’t titre-testable, so you’ll need to discuss your area’s risk with your vet.
Fleas & Worms:
In the UK we medicate our pets more than any other country in Europe. There is currently a nationwide campaign to prevent vets from auto medicating - it’s harming our pets AND the environment. Some commonly prescribed treatments contain neonicotinoids—pesticides that have been banned in farming to protect bees. They’re now found in pet medications and can affect both your pup’s health and the environment. Many people use these monthly treatments without realising they impact our pup’s long-term health and the planet. There's a gentler, more informed approach, and I'm here to help you explore it.
Flea/worm meds don't prevent infestations - they treat them after. And there’s lots of things you can do to reduce the chances of infections and infestations. I can talk you through them.
Most puppies don’t need constant poison dosing if they’re healthy enough and their immune system is supported. Save your money unless there's a specific issue.
Suspect worms? Do a worm count before treating. Not sure what to look for? You can ask me.
If your vet suggests a monthly flea/worm plan, ask which medications they recommend giving and why. They may be offering a subscription by default that is costing you money and your puppy it’s long term health.
My boy who I’ve learnt everything from - if I could go back and do it all again with what I know now, this is what I’d do.
My fave subject… Poop Watching, Your Magic Tool
If you put good in, you’ll get good out. Also if your dog is pooping away from you, they’re too far away. Keep them with you. Pick it up - it’s quite harmful for the environment. More coming on that in another blog post.
Watching your puppy’s poop is the easiest way to monitor gut health, digestion, and emotional wellbeing.
Soft, slimy, gurgly, mucous, or bloody poops? Scooting or itchy bums? These can be parasite or diet-related. It can show leaky gut systematic inflammation and poor immunity.
Stay tuned - my upcoming blog will dive deep into dog poo. Yes, really. It’s my favourite topic. (Niche, I know.)
In Summary
What you allow, you enable. If you invest now in knowledge on how to support your dog you will be able to continue learning based on who they are and what they need.
How you treat, guide, and feed your puppy shapes who they become.
Consistency, kindness, good food, a calm and clean environment, and training support is the best chance at a joyful, connected, magical life together.
Because when you put good in, you’ll get good out.
Thanks for reading and being a caring pet parent.
