Puppy

Congratulations on your new puppy! You can look forward to hard work, time investments and rewarding, fun times. To have the best success with your new pup you will want to commit yourself to training and housebreaking your new companion. This is the ideal time for training your youngster so you have an adult dog that you can live with.

Buying a puppy
When buying your puppy, you should ask to see the parents -- or at the very least, the mother. This will give you an idea of the temperament and size of your new housemate. This is probably more important if your dog is a mixed breed so you can have a shot at predicting what you are getting. Your puppy should not be taken away from its mother and littermates before it is at least seven weeks and preferably eight weeks old.

House Training
Your new puppy will need to go outside frequently until he is house trained. You will have accidents until pup is trained so be sure to keep him in a place where this won't matter.

Puppy Proof
Pups love to chew on things -- some appropriate and many inappropriate. Be sure to pick up suitable puppy chew toys and put any items you find valuable out of pup's path.

Routine is Good
Having a routine in place for your pup will help him feel more confident and secure. Try to feed, play, exercise and train at similar times every day. Make sure to work on crate training now too so pup will acclimate to being alone too.