Congratulations on your newest addition to the family! Bringing home a new puppy is a huge responsibility, but when you go into it with patience and organization, it can be the greatest decision you’ve ever made. Success depends a lot on how you prepare, and with the best practices below, you can do your best introducing the puppy to your family, new home and most likely, puppy pee pads.
#1 Introducing Other Family Members
Everyone loves puppies, I mean, come on - they’re just so fluffy and adorable, you can’t blame passers-by with shrieking in delight when they see one waddle past. But, when a new puppy has just left his mother, and you’re trying to introduce him into his new home it’s important to do so in a calm manner, meaning that the other family members in the house have to stay calm and collected.
Here are just a few of our top tips to ensure a stress-free family introduction:
Step One - Introduce your puppy on neutral ground
Your home will smell strongly of all members of the family. This means that it’s your territory and your pup’s instinct will be to behave nervously since he’s invaded your space.
Step Two - Keep Puppy on a Leash
Especially where young children are concerned, puppies don’t know their own strength nor do they know how sharp their little teeth and claws are.
Step Three - One at a Time
Don’t let everyone rush up to him all at once as this might frighten him. Instead allow everyone to come up to him one at a time and calmly stroke him.
Introducing other Pets
If you happen to be the lucky owner of a multi-pet household, it’s important to introduce the furry, feathery, or scaly members of your family even slower than you would with the humans in your family. Your other pets may have a tendency to get over excited, but, of course, it’s difficult to tell them to stay calm so as not to frighten your new puppy. A great solution for this is to follow the same three steps as above firstly, but for the last off the leash introduction, there is a final step.
Step Four - Through a Barrier
When your pup is off leash, there is always the worry that your larger pets will get a little too rough when they’re overexcited. If you have a baby gate or fenced off area in your yard, one of the best ways to overcome this and avoid accidents is to pop them both in separate areas and allow them to get used to one another through this safety barrier.
#2 Getting Settled
The settling in period for a new puppy is six to eight weeks. During this time, it’s important to set some clear boundaries, but also give him the time he needs to get used to his new surroundings and family members.
By having set rules from the get-go, it will make your life so much easier. Many owners mistakenly let their fluff balls do whatever they want, and then, as soon as they’re nearing their first birthday, and becoming too big for the bad behavior to be cute, they realize that they should have started training them sooner.
Introducing Your Home
When you’re welcoming your new puppy into your home, and his new home, it’s important to show him around without other humans and animals. Keep him on a leash and allow him to explore each room with you so that he can become accustomed to the layout of the house.
If any of the rooms are off limits, be sure to keep these doors closed, or have a baby gate in the way so that from the get-go, he understands that he is not able to go in that room.
Safe Zone
Just like us, puppies need their own space that they can go to have a rest and feel comfortable. Before you bring your pup home, you’ll need to have a “Safe Zone” already set up for him.
This can be anything from an entire room, crate or a doggie pen. Be sure to have the necessities to make his area comfortable, including a bed to lie on and dog pads as a safe area that he can relieve himself.
His safe zone should be his alone, meaning that the kids can’t go and visit him there, nor can your other pets go and play with him inside of the zone.
#3 Introducing the Potty Pad
Potty pads are a genius invention that allow your puppy or dog to calmly relieve himself in a designated zone without a big mess to clean up. They’re essentially a diaper pad that cannot only soak up over eight cups of liquid, but they also feature a smart scent that actually attracts your dog to relieve himself on the pad.
This little wonder item is a lifesaver for new puppy parents! Especially with the stay put tabs that attach to the floor, it means that when you wake up in the morning and your puppy had to go in the night, you can simply roll up the pad and throw it away - it really is that easy!
Getting Started With Potty Pad Training
You can teach any dog, of any age to use a potty pad, but they are definitely the most popular with owners of new puppies, after all, those tiny cute pups have tiny bladders and really need the assistance of the pad.
Getting started is as easy as pie, and follows seven quick and easy steps. We recommend reiterating these lessons over a couple of weeks to let it really sink in.
Introducing the Puppy Pad
From the very first day that you bring your puppy home, you should introduce him to the potty pad. The natural scent that is on the pad should make his instinct kick in, and with any luck, he will pee on it of his own accord.
However, if that isn’t the case, you can simply carry one around in your pocket, and as soon as you see him starting to go, go and place the pad underneath him to allow him to pee on it. Leaving the used pad down for a few hours should begin to teach him that is where he should go next time.
Accepting the Puppy Pad
The goal is to have your dog comfortable enough with the pad that he runs over to it as soon as he needs to go. This takes patience, but the reward is worth it.
Puppies’ bladders are pretty easy to time, so after he has had a drink of water, we know that usually he’ll need to pee within twenty or so minutes. For the best results, spend that time keeping a close eye on your pup, and for best results keep him on a leash for that time.
As soon as you notice that he’s looking for somewhere to relieve himself you can walk him over to the pad, and then it’s a waiting game - you should stand there with him until he relieves himself.
Rewarding Behavior
Positive reinforcement is one of the best tools you have when it comes to training your pooch. So, as soon as he completed the desired behavior, in this instance, peeing on the pad. You’re going to want to reward him by telling him that he’s a good boy, giving him a little stroke, and maybe even playing with him and his favorite toy for a few minutes!
Repeat and Reward
At first, you’ll need to be there to place your pup on the pad, but very quickly he’ll be going over to the pad all by himself. It’s important that even though he’s going over by himself, you’re in the room so that you can be ready to reward his good behavior.
Dealing with Accidents
As a puppy owner, accidents do happen, and it doesn’t matter how organized you are, or how many pads you have down in your home, at some point, an accident will happen.
It’s vitally important that you don’t tell your puppy off for an accident, after all, it was an “accident.” All you need to do is clean up the area thoroughly with a disinfecting spray so that the scent doesn’t attract him to pee on that spot again, and for the next couple of days, keep a closer eye on him, and be ready to take him to the pad.
Rewarding good behavior and ignoring bad behavior is your recipe for an incredible dog, one that you’ll love having as part of your family for the long haul!
When bringing home a new puppy, consider what you’ll need when he comes home and how you will handle potty pad training. Try a free sample of WizSmart dog pads and see the difference the right pad can make!
