Puppy Care

Most breeders will ask that you wait until your new puppy is eight weeks old before they’ll let you pick them up – which might feel like an eternity! This is a great opportunity to start dog proofing your home and preparing for your new arrival, so that when you bring your puppy or new dog home, your house will be a safe and welcoming environment.

New puppies are exciting, but there’s lots you need to do to prepare! Get ready for the excitement (and hard work) of puppy ownership with our guide. Preparing for your new puppy is such an exciting time. Pretty soon you’re going to have a small ball of fur (and joy) running around the house and you’re thinking already about all the fun times ahead. But are you also prepared for the hard work and the time-consuming, sleep-depriving part of welcoming a puppy into the family? Very few puppy owners realise just how much their life is about to change. This might all sound a bit scary – but don’t panic! There are also plenty of amazing moments only a dog owner can experience. Here are some of the things no one tells you before preparing for a new puppy, plus a few things to look forward to.

New puppies are full of mischievous energy, and their endless curiosity means they get their little noses into everything. That’s how they learn but it’s also how they get into trouble! An expandable dog pen can be a great help. You get peace of mind knowing exactly where your furry friend is, and what they’re playing with, and they have lots of room to play safely. A dog playpen will also help your puppy feel more secure in their new surroundings and give them an area they can proudly call their own! Follow our helpful tips for everything that you’ll need to give your playful puppy their perfect dog pen. The basics of playpens You should be able to find a puppy playpen at most good pet shops or you can buy them online. Look for an expandable pen with high enough sides to stop your adventurous pup escaping! Most come in small, medium or large, so choose the right one for your puppy’s breed or type.

Find out everything you need to know about puppies and their grooming needs.

Puppy diarrhoea can be unpleasant to deal with, especially when you’re already working on house-training your puppy. Aside from the difficulty for you, no owner wants to see their puppy suffer. It can also be tricky to recognise when puppy diarrhoea is a sign of something serious, and when it can be easily dealt with. This article gives you some information about puppy diarrhoea, plus practical advice on treating it. What gives a puppy diarrhoea? There are a number of different triggers for diarrhoea in puppies. The majority of these triggers are not serious and can be easily addressed in order to stop your puppy suffering.

Bringing home a new puppy is such an exciting moment and one you’ll never forget! Although there’s a lot to learn, one thing you’ll want to teach them as soon as they step paws into your home is house training. You won’t have to wait long to discover that puppies pee a lot – sometimes up to 12 times a day! It’s your job to work out when they need to go outside, and teach them what to do once they get there. Keep reading to discover how to house train a puppy and learn how to notice the warning signs of when nature calls. How long does it take to toilet train a puppy? It will take between four to six months for your puppy to be fully house trained, but it will depend on their size, age and ability to learn. Some puppies can be toilet trained really quickly in a few weeks, whereas for some dogs it may take longer and could be up to a year. How to tell when your puppy needs to go to the toilet

In all the excitement of bringing your new puppy home, it’s important to remember to start their training right away. The sooner you introduce good habits, the better it will be for both of you as your puppy beings to understand basic commands and gets to grips with your house rules. Puppy training doesn’t just improve their manners; it’s a fun and rewarding way for you to spend quality time together and really helps you strengthen your bond. Most dogs love training – it’s a chance for them to challenge their brains, earn rewards and get lots of praise and attention! Teach your puppy their name Puppy training should begin the day they arrive in your new home. Start by helping them to get to know their name. Use it every time you play with them, feed them or cuddle them and they’ll soon recognise it and respond when called. Once they know their name, you can use it to communicate with them and start training your puppy.

Turn your new puppy into an excellent travel companion. You’ve got a new pup and you can’t wait to show them the world. We know the feeling! But before you start planning that amazing road trip together (or even getting ready to drive to the vet’s), you have to remember that a car can be a very strange thing to a puppy. The closed space, the car movement and even the engine sound can trigger alarm bells for a puppy not used to travelling. But there are a few things you can do to make car trips easier to bear for your pup. Who knows, maybe they will even start looking forward to them! Here are the basics of car travelling for puppies.

There are only certain times during the development of your puppy’s brain when you can help them become a friendly and outgoing companion. This is how to manage their first encounters with adults, kids, dogs and anything else life throws at them. Puppy socialisation is just one of the many things to think about when you get your puppy. You suddenly find you have a huge shopping list, you have to ensure your house and garden are ‘puppy safe’, and of course you will be thinking about how to ensure your new arrival grows up to be a happy, healthy, well-behaved dog. Too often however people forget about helping their puppy learn the most important thing – how to fit into our crazy lives. This is where puppy socialisation comes in – and while most people know that puppies need to be socialised, few understand what that really means, when to do it and how to do it properly. However, with the state of the world at the moment, puppy owners are facing a new challenge when it comes to socialising their puppy – lockdown. Of course, despite the social distancing rules and limited exercise restrictions, we still want to ensure that our puppies emerge from the other side of this happy and ready for the world. That’s why at Purina, we’ve enlisted our in-house behaviourist to give us some essential tips on socialising your puppy during lockdown too. What is puppy socialisation? Puppy socialisation is a training process that helps puppies learn how to behave properly when they interact with humans, other dogs and other animals. Puppy socialisation can also help puppies have a better relationship with their owners and become used to being in a range of environments and scenarios. Puppy socialisation is one of the best tools we have to prevent future behaviour problems in dogs, and it’s also how we can ensure we have a dog who we can take everywhere with us and share the bond that we dream of having when we bring our puppy home. Puppy socialisation in lockdown Between the ages of 3 – 14 weeks puppies are at a critical stage in their development when they learn to get used to people, other animals and objects (socialisation and habituation). This is so they can be more at ease with the world around them. It means that we have be to creative for puppies under lockdown to ensure they are having as many opportunities as possible to experience new things.

Playing with your puppy is a huge part of your relationship, and it has loads of benefits too! Games help keep your playful puppy active and healthy, and it gives you the chance to get to know one another better.

Exercising isn't just about daily walks. Discover puppy games that help improve concentration and engage their brain. We can get into the habit of thinking that exercising our puppies is just about regular daily walks – and there is no doubt that our dogs benefit from these, but exercise isn’t just about stimulating the body. The opportunity to exercise your puppy’s brain can help in their development and make it easier to teach them tricks and puppy commands. It’s also a fun and interactive way to bond with your puppy and improve your relationship. Keep reading to find out what games for dogs you could try! Brain games for your puppy Problem solving and mental stimulation are all about using your puppy’s natural enthusiasm for play and games, along with their hardwired behaviours and often-underestimated intelligence, to work out puzzles and learn new skills. For most puppies, using their brains in this way can stimulate them and tire them out. Puppies are full of energy but their bodies aren’t yet fully developed, so it can be hard to give them the exercise they need to burn off all the excess energy without straining still-growing muscles, joints and bones. Playing games and puzzles will give them more exercise and prevent them from chewing on your furniture. There are different types of games for dogs to play, including dog puzzles to stimulate their brains and keep them active. Some will be able to turn their paw to all of them, while others will have very clear favourites. It’s up to you to discover what you and your puppy enjoy. Hide and seek puppy games These can be played anywhere in the house or garden and even during your regular walks. To start this dog game, have someone to help you who can hold your puppy. Show your puppy that you have some treats, then go off and hide somewhere, ideally in a spot that’s fairly easy to find at first.

Puppies should be at least 8 weeks old when they leave their breeder to start their new life (and smaller breeds often leave their mums later). At this age they are still too young to be fully vaccinated, but there is no doubt there are some really nasty and sometimes life-threatening diseases out there that a puppy needs to be protected from. A new owner’s priority is keeping their new arrival safe and healthy - but most people also know that in these early weeks, their puppy is in an important (and short) developmental phase where socialisation and habituation are also vitally important to help them grow up confident, friendly, without fears and phobias, and to reduce occurrence of future behaviour problems.