——-

Food recommendations: Keep your puppy on a kibble nutritionally formulated for puppies until they are 1 year old. The best food (in our opinion) for your puppy is grain-inclusive food. Purina Pro Plan, Costco Kirkland, and Hill’s Science Diet are excellent brands that are grain inclusive.

Your puppy is eating Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain Puppy Formula Chicken & Pea Dog Food, available at Costco or on Amazon. Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Small Bites has a similar recipe, and we have seen puppies transition well between the two brands. Hill’s Science Diet Puppy is available in-store at Petco and Petsmart locations. For more information on Puppy Nutrition and the amounts you should adjust as they grow, please see Dog Food Advisor. It is essential to feed your puppy appropriately (do not under-feed or over-feed) to maintain a healthy weight and joints throughout their life!

You will receive a large portion of your puppy’s current dry kibble food that should last about 1 week. With this dry kibble, you can mix it into any brand of dog food you wish to transition your puppy to (if you decide to purchase another brand of dog food.)

You will also receive wet food trays (Ceasar’s brand) to feed your puppy as a treat, and aid in orienting them to the new environment.

Helpful Articles for Raising

• Creating a Safe Environment For a Puppy
• Confinement
• Crate Introduction
• Food Containing Toys
• New Home, Unsure Puppy
• Recommended Dog Chews & Guidelines
  

The importance of a puppy playpen!

Your puppy may be excited to be in a new home, with lots of sniffing, playing, and exploring. That is great! However, we want to keep an eye on their energy level during all this excitement and be sure they are keeping themselves adequately fueled and hydrated!! We also want to ensure the puppy knows where their new feeding/water area will be! Some puppies are so excited and busy exploring that they may ‘forget’ to fuel up with food after or before an intensive exploration or play session. A playpen will aid in getting your puppy adjusted to the new environment. With food and water access close by in the playpen, and limited access to the environment, your puppy will know where their bowls are and be focused on eating and drinking appropriately before or after a play or exploration session in the new home! A playpen will also keep your puppy safe. Optionally, you can use a baby gate and allow your puppy access to a small room of the house such as a laundry room, dining area, etc. Be sure the room is puppy proofed.

Refer to this video when creating your puppy’s playpen area!

Puppy Schedule

**NOTE: I have documented my personal schedule in this post. Please do not rely on this schedule step by step, you will need to tweak it to your unique daily routine and anticipate your puppy’s needs as they adjust to the new environment and change and grow! Closely monitor your puppy’s energy levels and food intake. Use the wet puppy food in your Puppy Pack to stimulate appetite (if needed). For small breed doodle puppies, we want to watch out for signs of hypoglycemia, which is written about in-depth in the Puppy Raising Guide PDF as well.

My puppy schedule is based on this amazing youtube video!!

I rely heavily on using a crate, baby gates, an indoor playpen, and an outdoor playpen! Control your puppy’s environment as much as you can to prevent them from making mistakes or developing secret bad habits. (Such as pottying in a secret area behind furniture, or chewing furniture, etc.) If you use regular confinement and supervision your first year of raising, you will have a great adult dog that knows boundaries once puppyhood is over!

Confinement is essential to supervision, and supervision is the key to instilling great habits in your puppy early on. When a puppy has achieved the desired behavior (such as calmness or has used the potty promptly), then the puppy is allowed access to more freedom and fun stuff around the house and yard!! It builds their ability to self regulate their impulses. You must offer outlets for their impulses, with appropriate chewing toys, exercise, engaged play, training, and socialization.

Example: if you catch the puppy chewing on an item they are not suppose to, such as furniture. Interrupt the chewing with a clap, or a word such as “Come!” or “No”. Then exchange the item they were chewing for an appropriate item to chew, such as a nylabone or edible chew. Place the puppy in a confined area away from object they may inappropriately chew if necessary.

Your puppy is impressionable, and I cannot stress how important it is to be wise about the impressions made during the first 6-12 months of their life! A well trained dog takes patience and supervision the first year… but it pays off over and over again for years to come!!

—-

Puppy Schedule Guidelines:

General rule of thumb is to always offer your puppy an opportunity to go potty …

• after waking up from a nap
• before and after entering their crate
• after playing
• after eating
• after drinking
• before they go to sleep
• first thing when they wake up

An easy way to predict when your puppy will go pee and poo, is to feed and water them on a schedule, and to supervise when they are eating/drinking/playing/sleeping.

Puppies who are 8 weeks old cannot hold their bladders very long! If you hear crying in the kennel… take them potty! The best results for potty training, comes from PRO-ACTIVE potty training, which means you take your puppy outside BEFORE they exhibit signs of needing to go. Every 1.5  to 2 hours is a good marker. Use your smartwatch (if you have one) to aid in reminders! Or download a puppy potty app for your phone.

……

Schedule Summary:

Daily schedule fluctuates some depending on my tasks/errands, but my constant routine is 2 hour naps in the crate, then 2 hours in playpen with enrichment (either I give the individual puppy a new toy, a chew, frozen kong, or food puzzle.) then 2 hours with siblings, or time spent with me around the house (I keep toys and treats nearby to reward good behaviors like recall and eye-contact. I also provide a toy or chew to keep the puppy occupied with free time with me). I repeat that rotation until 10:30pm. Potty breaks before and after each rotation, every 2 hours.

For hanging out with me in the house, I always confine myself and the puppy(s) to 1 room with a baby gate OR I have the puppy tethered to me with a leash so the puppy doesn’t venture out of sight. I set timers on my smart watch to remind me after 2 hours have passed and we switch to a new task on the schedule with a potty break. If I leave the house for under 3 hours, the puppy is given a potty break then confined to a crate. If I plan to be away from the house any longer than 3 hours and cannot take the puppy with you in a carrier- the puppy should go in their own playpen they likely cannot hold their potty for longer than 3 hours at maximum during the daytime with food and water consumption, 2 hours intervals are even better. The schedule you create for yourself can be pretty dynamic.

What’s great to do in between potty breaks is to have a really active play session for 10 minutes or so (it almost always stimulates a potty if the puppy is at first unwilling or distracted to go. Consider using a flirt pole/cat toy). You can also practice some training for 5-10 minutes. Or you can flip on their back and have tummy and toe time for 5 or so minutes (hold like a baby) before going in the crate or in playpen. Which is great getting them comfortable for the groomer. You can even trim a couple toes with the trimmers and use an electric tooth brush, and treats for a quick desensitization session.

Mix it up! Make it your own. Take your puppy with you for short errands. Get them comfortable with many aspects of handling and traveling.

—-

Brief Schedule:

As mentioned before, my daily schedule fluctuates depending on my tasks/errands, but the constant rule for this routine is 1.5 hour naps in the crate, followed by a potty break, then 2 hours in playpen with enrichment (either I give the puppy a new toy, a chew, frozen kong, or food puzzle.), another potty break, then 2 hours free time with my, the family, and other dogs around the house (I keep toys and treats nearby by to reward good behaviors like recall and eye-contact. I have toys and chews around to keep the puppy occupied with this free time). I repeat this rotation until 10pm. Potty breaks should come before and after interval. Creating this habit will clearly send the message to
your puppy to potty.

Please be aware, you will likely need to make adjustments to this schedule as you and your puppy get oriented to each other in the new environment. You must supervise your puppy and intuit their needs at each stage in their puppyhood. This schedule will need to be adjusted to your unique needs and your puppies. This is a good starting point loosely based on my own routine with your puppy everyday. Remember to consult a veterinarian or dog behaviorist if your puppy has trouble adjusting to a schedule. This schedule is not meant to be taken as expert advice or as an exact model for your routine. It is meant as a guide to help you get started creating your own schedule.

Detailed Schedule:

5-8 AM (We start the day) Puppies sleep in an individual crate. They are taken out and immediately taken to the potty. They usually pee at this point. They are played with for 15-30 minutes (I like to use a cat toy pole). This get’s their energy out. Then each puppy is given a breakfast of dry kibble, 1/2 cup. The puppy is placed in their individual playpen to eat and spend time alone with their meal and water. I set a timer on my smartwatch to check on them after 10 minutes… at that point, they have eaten some breakfast, and pooped on a puppy pad. I clean that up. When I walk up to playpens, I always wait for the puppy to sit before petting them and getting them out. (This is a good manner to establish impulse control early in life). I do not pick them up if they bark at me. I wait for calmness.

They spend 2 hours alone in their individual playpen with breakfast. We call this structured ‘alone-time’, or downtime. It familiarizes each puppy with the concept of time away from siblings and people. It is always a rewarding time with either their meal or special treats such as Filled Kongs, puzzle toys, or tasty chews. If not all the food is eaten, the food is still taken up after 2 hours for predictable potty habits. You can set down the food again midday for them to finish.

8-10AM The puppies are taken for a potty break and then placed in their large exercise pen in the living room for playtime with siblings. Be sure to not leave toys or chews which can be ingested, broken off, or swallowed in the playpen. Only extra tough and strong toys that the puppy could not break or eat.

10AM-12PM  Puppies are taken outside for an opportunity to potty again and played with for (10-15 minutes) to burn off energy, then placed into individual crates for a 2 hour nap.

12PM-3PM Each puppy is taken potty immediately after getting out of the crate. We play with the puppy for 15-30 minutes to get excess energy out, and then an individual puppy is allowed free supervised roaming around my puppy-proofed office while I work. During this time the puppy is continually called back to my desk, and given different toys or a treat. I keep a basket of toys on my desk, and a cup of kibble by me, to reward the puppy for coming when called, making eye contact, or sitting and being calm. All good habits to establish early. Each day a different puppy has this privilege, and the others are allowed playtime in the large exercise pen in the living room with stuffed kongs as lunch. (I stuff the kongs with wet-kibble i puree in a blender, then freeze. This is considered their lunch!)

3-4PM mini nap in the crate.

4PM Dinner is 1/2 cup of kibble, sometimes the puppy doesn’t finish all this food, that’s ok. Food is taken up after 1 hour. No more food, 3 hours before bedtime. Remove access to water 3 hours before bedtime as well.

5-7PM puppies have free roam of the living room with family time. We play with the puppies or give each a puzzle game or chew to really wear them out before bed.

7-10 PM Potty break. Downtime in playpens with chews and toys.

10PM Bedtime! The puppy goes in their individual crate to sleep overnight. I wake up at 4AM for a potty break- and back in the crate for sleep until 6AM when my day starts.

Because your puppy will be in a new home it’s a good idea to prepare for 3-4 hour intervals overnight! After about 1 week of this routine AND schedule feeding- the puppy will be able to sleep longer in the kennel. But always be aware and intuit their needs to use the bathroom! If you make a puppy wait too long holding their bladder, they can get a UTI (bladder infection), and then they will need to pee VERY frequently, and not be able to hold their urine in a controlled manner until the UTI is treated and resolved with either antibiotics or the body naturally over comes the infection which can take 1+ week(s).

Right now the puppies will alert by crying if they need to use the restroom when in the crate. But it is sooo much better to set an alarm and wake them up for potty breaks! Being proactive is key.

When overnight crate training, Puppies should be in their own individual crate, just enough room to move around and stand up, but not enough room to potty. Consider purchasing a crate with a metal divider to section off an area just the right size, as your puppy grows.

——

**Potty Training:

Puppy should be offered an opportunity to potty outdoors (or on a puppy pad), every 2 hours, there are many Apps for puppy potty training which are very useful with reminders. Watch for signs of needing to potty, (like sniffing or pacing), interrupt any potty accidents with a clap and say “Come!”, and then immediately take them outside. Praise them each time they potty outside! “Good job!!”

Supervision is key, and any time which the puppy goes unsupervised they should go into their crate- or in their playpen w/ a puppy pad, until they are fully potty trained.

Puppies pick up routines quickly! So keep their life structured and supervised. A well supervised puppy will make less mistakes and will not develop bad habits!!!

——-

Puppy Essential list:

• Playpen: Vibrant Life 8-Panel Pet Exercise Play Pen with Door, 36″H is recommended. A Toddler Playpen can work well, too!!
• Flirt pole
• Water + Food bowls. Auto-water bowl is the best to prevent spilling!
• Soft Walking Harness, smaller breed puppies should not be walked on a collar and leash, because they have soft tracheas. A harness and leash is a much better option long-term.
• Dog bed(s), you may want one for the crate, and in other areas of the house.
• Chew toys (Nylabones and kongs are my favorite.) Remember to get the correct size for your puppy. Nothing too small.
• Odoban enzymatic spray cleaner for any accidents (available at Sam’s Club and on Amazon).
• A hairbrush & steel tooth comb (I will provide a plastic tooth comb in the puppy pack, many trimmer packs come with a steel-toothed comb by the way).
• Baby shampoo for bathing (best price for this item is at Walmart.)
• Crate with a divider to section off space as the puppy grows and continue potty training. (32″ inch crate for amble space as an adult.)
• Training treat pouch (generally attached to pocket or belt for quick rewards!) 
• Training treats, something small and bite sized. I really like soft cat treats as rewards for smaller dogs! You can make your own at home with wholesome ingredients. Search Dog Training Treat Recipes.
• A dog car hammock for car trips.
• Reusable puppy pads. For reusable puppy pads, you can order ‘waterproof Medical bed pads’ as an alternative, and are typically larger in size. (Do not order this item if you plan immediately to do strict outdoor potty training)
• Turf patch (Available locally at Home Depot, very large and can be used outdoors on a patio, or cut into squares and added to a plastic tray)
• Indoor turf potty patch. (optional) These can be pretty helpful for patios and even indoors, to continue building an association with grass and pottying. Available on Amazon.
• Trimmers: You may want to own a pair of electric trimmers to keep their paws, face, and fanny trimmed in between visits to the groomer. A simple beard trimmer does the job, and is perfect for in between toes, and around the eye area.
• Kasa Home Camera – (Available on amazon for $30! It is a motion activated video camera which you can use to supervise your puppy’s playpen area remotely!)
• Walkee Paws Dog Boot Leggings – Best feet accessories to keep them clean during walks and hikes