First few days

When you bring your puppy home, give him/her a while and some leeway to familiarize himself/herself with the environment. Certainly, the puppy will be frightened and feel lost. The dog must sniff at every nook and cranny in order to feel safe. It may take up to a few days. Make sure that in the course of acquainting with the site the dog is not frightened by any sudden or loud sound, etc. Look after your puppy in a gentle and caring way so that s/he could stand this difficult time and avoid stress. If the dog does not want to tour all the rooms straight away, do not force him to it. Try to be close to the puppy all the time in order that he could see you and knows that you are nearby.

Until course of vaccination is completed (the breeder is supposed to provide you with the necessary information), the puppy should not go outside. Since the dog is not immune to diseases and parasites yet to the full, s/he could catch something very easily. If you do not have a garden, the puppy will have to relieve himself on a piece of paper. With this end in view you ought to f ix only one place where newspapers are spread all the time. The puppy is used to relieve itself right after waking and a few minutes after a meal. It will take the dog approximately six months to stand without relieving himself. For first few weeks he will relieve himself every 4 hours so get yourself ready to rise in the middle of the night (if you have a garden and want to accustom the dog straight off to going outside). If such a slip-up happen to your puppy and he does not relieve himself on the paper, on no account should you shout at him (or put his muzzle in the faeces). On the contrary, you ought to put the faeces on the paper and praise the dog.

It is the first night that is the worst one. It is probable that the puppy will be yelping and trying to climb your bed. It is hard to remain insensitive to such an imploring whine. If you do not want the dog sleeping with you, do approach him every now and again and just stroke him. However, do not put him to bed. The puppy should not be allowed to do it even once. Otherwise, unlearning the habit could be unfeasible. It is true that we take pleasure in sleeping with a small dog, however, sleeping with a big one is the opposite. Problems, e.g., concerning the size of your bed may arise. Do make a decision straight away and try not to change your mind. Any dog that had been sleeping with his/her master and has been devoid of it is unhappy.

Puppies have very sharp teeth and are as strong as Dobermans. It is probable that over at least first few weeks they will bite obstinately anything they will encounter with, especially shoes. If your puppy plays with some object he/she should not touch, do say NO, take the stuff away from the dog, and give him a toy instead. Remember not to give old boots to your dog because he is not able to distinguish new stuff from old stuff. Otherwise, after eating your old shoes the dog will destroy a pair of new ones.

Do not play at tug-of-war or snatching a toy from his muzzle or other activities which may cause aggression. Just to give you an example – you are playing at tug-of-war. Since you want to finish the activity, you let go of the rope. Your dog, however, thinks that he is the winner and his position may surpass yours. Finding a pair of old trousers would be a good idea as well. Take into consideration that the puppy, whose claws are very sharp, will be trying to jump and climb your legs. It takes the dog a few weeks to mend his ways, usually when the master considers the situation hopeless.

Developmental stages in short

Puppies from 8 – 11 weeks of age are susceptible to fear. If they have a bad experience at this time, they might become deeply apprehensive. It is necessary to treat puppies gently and protect them against an unpleasant experience at this stage of life. Do avoid sudden reactions or motions or loud sounds which may scare your dog (sometimes even closing the wardrobe door loudly or whistling sound made by a kettle may scare him).

Puppies from 12 - 16 weeks of age (4 th month) are teething. At this stage of life they tend to bite everything they can find. A puppy begins feeling confident and tries to establish himself/herself. It is time to start training by learning even simple commands such as ‘Sit!,' ‘Stay!,' ‘Come here!'

Puppies from 8 – 11 months of age may go through a period of ‘escaping.' Your dog who has been at the beck and call of you may become ‘deaf' suddenly and go in the opposite direction. Such a conduct may last from several days to several weeks. If you notice such a proneness, it is worth taking the dog for a walk and visiting the places he does not know. However, if the dog is familiar with the place, keep him on a longer leash. Besides, call him from time to time and if he comes, praise him and give some delicacy.

When bitches and dogs are between 6 and 14 months old, the hormonal changes occur in their bodies. Animals may react to these changes differently (like in case of adolescents). Well-known stuff may evoke atypical reactions, e.g., the dustbin which was passed by calmly may arouse anger and fear. Do not panic when you see your dog barking at a chair that was shifted to some other corner of the room, or if you notice that he/she is afraid of objects such as a rubbish bin. It is masters' reaction to irrational behaviour of the dog that may influence his/her psyche. One should neither encourage nor force the dog to approach and check objects which evoke fear. One should not calm him down as well. Otherwise, the dog may regard fear as a positive feeling he is praised for. It would be the best idea to ignore his behaviour and give him to understand that nothing special has happened.

An one-year-old dog may try to put you to the test and establish his dominant position. All you are supposed to do is give clear signals concerning your demands and be peculiarly consistent.