Help! I Got a Puppy

The First-Week Puppy Checklist

The first week feels like chaos. That is not a sign you did something wrong. It is a puppy adjusting to a world it does not understand yet. Most of it is completely normal. Here is the plan, one day at a time. You do not have to do it perfectly. You just have to start.

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Day 1

Get home. Keep the world small.

Everything is new and loud to them. Shrink it down.

Go to the potty spot first, before the front door even opens.
Show one room, not the whole house. A small world is a calm world.
Set the crate up as a den, never a punishment.
Let them sleep. A new puppy sleeps 18 to 20 hours a day.
Skip the parade of visitors. Calm beats exciting today.

Day 2

Start the potty rhythm.

Potty training is a rhythm you set, not a trick they learn.

Take them out after every nap, meal, and play session.
Use the same door and the same spot every single time.
Reward the moment they finish, outside, not back indoors.
When accidents happen, clean it and move on. No scolding.

Day 3

Teach the name. Make the crate pay.

The first lesson is simple: their name means good things.

Say their name. When they look, reward it. That is the whole drill.
Feed a meal or two inside the crate so it earns good associations.
Practice five-minute crate sessions while you sit nearby.
Give a safe chew for crate time so it feels like a break, not a cage.

Day 4

Lock in food and the first vet call.

Two boring things that prevent a rough week two.

Book the first wellness visit if you have not already.
Keep the food they came home on. Any switch comes later, slowly.
Watch their stools. Loose from stress is common. Persistent is a call to the vet.
Find your nearest emergency vet now, before you need it.

Day 5

Handle them. Expose them gently.

A few minutes now saves years of fighting at the vet and groomer.

Touch paws, ears, and mouth for a few seconds each. Reward calm.
Introduce one new sound or surface, quietly and once.
Keep sessions short. Evening crankiness is overstimulation, not bad behavior.

Day 6

Practice being alone.

You are teaching one thing: alone is safe. This is how you head off separation anxiety.

Step out of the room for one minute. Come back like it is nothing.
Build up to a few minutes over the day.
Leave without a big goodbye. Return without a big hello.

Day 7

Look back. Reset the bar.

You kept a living thing alive and started a routine. That is a full week.

Name the one thing that went worst. Make it tomorrow’s focus.
Keep the wins that worked. Drop the pressure to do it all.
Remember the effort is cumulative. Consistency beats intensity.

What you actually need

A crate sized for the adult dog, with a divider for now.
A flat collar, an ID tag, and a standard 6-foot leash.
The food they are already eating.
An enzyme cleaner (the only thing that truly kills accident odor).
Two or three safe chew toys.

What can wait

The $140 orthopedic bed. An old towel is fine while they chew everything.
The tiny raincoat and the designer bowls.
A drawer of gadgets. You need a routine, not more stuff.

This is the first week. The book is the whole blueprint.

Potty training, crate training, the first vet visits, picking the right food, and raising a calm, stable dog. It is all in Help! I Got a Puppy.

Get the book →

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