Home / Puppy / First year / First week at home
The first week is about trust, not training. Your puppy has just left everything it has ever known, its mother, its littermates and the only home it has had. Keep the week calm, keep the routine the same every day, get the first vet visit booked, and let the puppy sleep. Do that, and by day seven you will have a puppy that knows where to sleep, where to eat and where to go to the toilet, and that is a very good first week.
Have the basics ready before pickup day, so the first hours are about the puppy and not about shopping. The AKC's new puppy list covers the same ground, and it is short on purpose.
Puppies are unbelievably curious, and just like toddlers, they do not understand what is safe and what is off limits. If a puppy can get something in its mouth, it will eat it or chew it. The AKC's advice is to look at your house from your new puppy's point of view, by getting on your hands and knees so you do not miss anything at ground level. The ASPCA gives the same advice and adds the small things people forget: old game pieces under the couch, hair ties, rubber bands, coins and plastic bags, all of which a puppy can swallow.
Day one is decompression, not introduction day. Take your puppy straight to the potty spot before it even sees the inside of the house, so house training starts from minute one. Praise quietly if it goes. Then bring it into one prepared area, offer water, and let it explore one or two rooms at its own pace. Do not give it the run of the whole house on day one: freedom is earned as the puppy learns the rules.
Keep the welcome small. The AKC advises a calm, low-traffic introduction with no more than one or two family members present at a time, and no visitors at all on day one. Everybody will want to meet the puppy, but too many cuddles all at once can be stressful. Show the puppy where the crate is, where the food and water bowls are, and where the bathroom spot is, then let it rest. Feed the same food at the same time as the breeder or shelter did, and do not bathe the puppy unless it is medically necessary.
Night one will probably be noisy. Crying in the crate on the first night is close to universal: the puppy misses its littermates and is sleeping alone for the first time. Keep the crate in or near your bedroom so it can hear and smell you, and put a worn shirt of yours in the crate. Expect one or two overnight potty breaks, and take the puppy out quietly, with no play, then straight back to the crate. Do not move the puppy into your bed to stop the crying, since that starts a habit that is hard to break later.
By day two, layer in structure without adding stimulation. A young puppy of 8 to 10 weeks needs the toilet roughly every one to two hours while awake, immediately after waking from any nap, and within 10 to 15 minutes of eating or drinking. That works out at roughly 12 to 15 potty trips a day in the first week, so the routine is the same loop, repeated all day: wake, potty, eat, short play, nap, repeat.
A realistic day two looks like this: wake at about 6:30, straight outside to potty, praise and a small treat for success; breakfast, then 10 to 15 minutes of calm exploration; potty again, then a nap of one to two hours; wake, potty immediately, a short play session of five to ten minutes; nap again. Repeat the loop every two to three hours through the day, with a last potty trip right before bed and the crate for the night. Same feeding times, same potty spot, same bedtime, every day. Puppies pick up routines fast, and within a week your puppy will start anticipating meal times and potty trips, which makes house training go faster too.
Start gentle handling on day two as well. Touch the ears, paws and belly briefly, with a treat after each touch, so the puppy learns that hands are safe. Keep introductions to other household pets short and supervised, and do not let the puppy annoy an older dog. Cats need an escape route at all times. Let the puppy decompress for 24 to 48 hours before meeting resident dogs properly, rather than forcing a meeting on arrival day.
Book the first vet visit for days three to five, not week two. Most vets like to see a new puppy within the first few days, and many breeders and rescues ask for a visit within 48 to 72 hours of arrival. This visit is not just about vaccines. The vet does a nose-to-tail health check, weighs the puppy, checks teeth and ears, looks for parasites, confirms the microchip and diet, and sets the vaccine and deworming plan. Bring the breeder or shelter paperwork, the food details, and a list of your questions, about feeding, identification, behaviour and safe socialization in your area.
The core puppy vaccine is DHPP, which covers distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and parainfluenza, and it is usually given as a series of doses every three to four weeks, starting around 6 to 8 weeks and finishing around 16 weeks. Rabies follows the schedule your vet sets for your area. Puppies are commonly wormed on a schedule too, often every two weeks until around 12 weeks, then monthly for a while, and flea and tick prevention usually starts in the first weeks as well. Your vet confirms the products and the timing, so write the dates down before you leave the clinic.
While you are there, ask about pet insurance. Sorting cover early, ideally before the first vet visit, means new conditions found later are covered rather than counted as pre-existing. Our first-year cost guide shows what year one typically costs, and the cost calculator lets you run your own numbers.
Simple training can start from the first day at home, and by day four you can add two or three very short sessions a day, two to three minutes each, on name recognition and sit, with small treats. The AKC suggests teaching watch me, sit and down with positive reinforcement, which works even with very young puppies. Keep sessions short and stop while the puppy is still keen. Never punish a puppy for an accident or a mistake: it teaches fear, not the lesson, and it damages the trust the first week is meant to build.
Socialization starts now too, and it means far more than meeting other dogs. It means introducing your puppy to as many new people, dogs, places, situations, sounds and surfaces as possible, at the puppy's pace, and never forced. In the first week that means calm visitors, one or two at a time, household sounds like the vacuum and the washing machine heard from a safe distance, different floor surfaces, and being carried outside to watch the world go by. The socialization window runs roughly from 3 to 14 weeks, so gentle, positive experiences in the first week count for a lot.
What to skip in the first week: dog parks, busy pavements and places unknown dogs use, until about one to two weeks after the final puppy vaccine, often around 16 weeks, because of diseases such as parvovirus. Long walks, obedience drills and punishment of any kind. And do not free-feed: scheduled meals make potty training predictable, and treats should stay under 10 percent of daily calories.
According to the AKC, puppies between 8 and 12 weeks old need 18 to 20 hours of sleep per day. That is most of the day, and it surprises most new owners. A puppy that cannot rest gets cranky, nippy and harder to live with, so protect the naps. Let the puppy sleep where it falls, do not wake it for play or visitors, and keep the crate in a quiet spot during the day. Broken sleep at night is normal early on: one or two quiet potty breaks, then back to the crate. Within a few weeks the nights stretch out and the routine you built in week one starts to pay off.
Feed a complete puppy diet made for growth, and follow the label for your puppy's age and expected adult weight. Puppies under six months usually eat three to four small meals a day; from about six months most move to two meals a day. A sample first-week day is breakfast at around 7, lunch at midday, dinner at around 5, and a last potty trip before bed. Keep the same food the breeder or shelter was using for at least the first week, and spread any change over about seven days, mixing a little more of the new food in each day. Fresh water should always be available, and the bowls should be washed daily.
Never feed a puppy grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, chocolate, xylitol, macadamia nuts or avocado. All of these are toxic to dogs. Our can dogs eat guides cover the everyday foods owners ask about, one food at a time, with the verdict and the sources.
The crate works because it is a den, not a punishment. Introduce it with the door open and a treat inside, and let the puppy explore it alone. Never force a puppy into a crate. Feed meals in the crate with the door open, so the puppy walks in willingly, and make it comfortable with a washable bed and a safe chew toy. Short, happy crate time during the day, with the door closed for a few minutes at a time, builds up to overnight sleeping. If the puppy cries, wait for a pause before opening the door, so you reward quiet, not noise. A crate-trained puppy is a puppy that can rest safely whenever you cannot supervise it, and that safety is the whole point of the first week.
Most first-week problems are normal, a few accidents, some crying, a tired puppy. But some signs should never wait. Call your vet the same day if your puppy will not eat or drink for more than a few hours, vomits repeatedly or has watery diarrhea, is limp, listless or unusually sleepy, has trouble breathing, coughs or gags persistently, or has a swollen belly. Go now, or call on the way, if your puppy collapses, has a seizure, cannot stand, is bleeding, or has swallowed something toxic. A phone call costs nothing and a vet can judge the urgency from what you describe, so when in doubt, call. Our training guides cover what comes next once the first week is behind you, including the separation anxiety steps that help a puppy learn to be alone.
By the end of day seven, a realistic picture is this: at least half of the toilet trips happen outside, though accidents are still expected; the puppy enters the crate willingly for meals and naps; it knows its name and will look at you when you say it; it has had its first vet visit, with the vaccine dates written down; and it has met a few calm people without fear. Not every puppy hits every mark, and small breeds often take longer to house train, which is normal. What matters is the direction: a puppy that is eating, sleeping, playing and settling a little more easily each day is a puppy whose first week went well.
The shortest version of this page is a simple rule. Keep it calm, keep it the same every day, and let the puppy sleep. The training, the walks and the adventures all come later, and they go far better when the first week built trust first.
More puppy help: the first year guide, what a puppy costs in year one, cost calculator and dog name ideas.
Take your puppy straight to the potty spot before going inside, then show it the crate, the food and water bowls, and one or two quiet rooms. Keep the day calm: no visitors, no bath, no introductions to other pets in the first few hours. Feed the same food the breeder or shelter was using, and let the puppy nap as much as it wants. The first day is about settling in, not training.
A puppy between 8 and 12 weeks old needs 18 to 20 hours of sleep a day, according to the AKC. That means most of the day is naps, with short bursts of eating, playing and potty trips in between. Never wake a sleeping puppy for play or visitors. A tired puppy that cannot rest gets cranky, nippy and harder to live with.
Book the first vet visit within the first few days, ideally within 48 to 72 hours of bringing your puppy home, even if it looks perfectly healthy. The vet does a nose-to-tail exam, checks for parasites, confirms the microchip, and sets the vaccine and deworming plan. Bring the breeder or shelter paperwork, the food details, and a list of your questions.
Puppies under six months usually eat three to four small meals a day at set times. Feed the same food the breeder or shelter was using for at least the first week, since a new home plus a new diet is a common cause of upset stomachs. If you plan to switch foods, spread the change over about seven days, mixing a little more of the new food in each day.
Yes, for potty trips in your own garden or yard, which is how house training starts. Avoid public pavements, parks and places unknown dogs use until about one to two weeks after the final puppy vaccine, often around 16 weeks, because of diseases such as parvovirus. Carry your puppy for short outings instead, so it can see and hear the world safely.
Night crying in the first few days is normal. Your puppy has just left its mother and littermates and is sleeping alone for the first time. Keep the crate in or near your bedroom so it can hear and smell you, put a worn shirt of yours in the crate, and expect one or two overnight potty breaks. Do not move the puppy into your bed to stop the crying, since that starts a habit that is hard to break later.
Short, calm meetings with healthy, vaccinated dogs you know are fine in the first week, at your puppy's pace and never forced. Save dog parks and busy public places until about one to two weeks after the final vaccine. The socialization window runs roughly from 3 to 14 weeks, so gentle, positive experiences with new people, sounds and surfaces in the first week count for a lot.
This page is general information drawn from the published guidance of the organisations listed under Sources below. It is not veterinary advice, and it does not replace your own veterinarian, who knows your puppy. If your puppy is unwell, in pain, or has suddenly changed how it behaves, contact your veterinarian straight away. If you think your puppy swallowed something toxic, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 immediately.
Last updated: November 2026. How we work: our methodology.