The first week with a puppy: a calm start and solid foundations

Bringing a puppy home is an exciting and defining moment. The goal of the first week is not rapid training but creating a sense of security and building trust. A confident, calm puppy grows into a well-balanced adult dog — so a patient, gentle start is, in itself, the best investment you can make.

Prepare your home before it arrives: have a quiet resting place of its own where it can retreat, water and food, a few safe chew and enrichment toys, and a harness and lead in the right size. Remove or hide away every dangerous object, cable and poisonous plant — a puppy explores everything with its mouth.

On the day of arrival, give it peace. Let it explore its new surroundings at its own pace, and do not immediately overwhelm it with excited visitors. A quiet, predictable first day is worth far more than a big welcome party.

Begin house-training from day one, with patience. Take the puppy outside frequently — after waking, after eating, after playing and before bed without fail — and the moment it does its business outside, praise it enthusiastically and reward it. Accidents are inevitable; when they happen, never punish, simply clean up with an odour remover and watch more closely for the signs.

Start on the name and basic familiarisation playfully. In short, few-minute “sessions”, pair its name with a reward, get it used to the harness and lead at home, and begin the gradual process of getting it accustomed to being alone from the very first week — with absences of just a few seconds, so that anxiety does not develop.

The window for socialisation is now at its widest. After the appropriate vaccinations (or, in a safe, controlled way, even before), introduce it to all kinds of people, sounds, surfaces and calm, vaccinated dogs — always alongside a positive experience. What it experiences now will shape it for the rest of its life.

Do not forget the vet either: within the first week it is worth taking the puppy in for a general health check and to discuss the vaccination plan. This is also when you can talk through worming, microchipping and the next steps.

MEDOX accompanies you on this journey: the AI Dog Trainer is always ready with positive, practical advice, the search feature helps you find a nearby vet and dog school, and the reminders mean not a single vaccination or worming treatment is missed. Start your life together on solid foundations — with MEDOX.