The First Days at Home 

The ideal time to bring home a new puppy is when the house is quiet; Discourage friends from stopping by and don't allow overnight guests; First establish a daily routine and follow these steps:  

Step 1: Before bringing him in the house, take him to the area in your yard that will serve as his "bathroom" and spend a few minutes there. If he goes, praise him. If not, proceed into the house but be sure to take him to this spot each time he needs to use the bathroom.   

Step 2: Take him to the room that accommodates your crate and/ or playpen—this restricted area will serve as his new "den" for several days. Put bedding and chew toys in the crate, leave the door open and line the area outside of the crate with newspaper or what you intend to use for soaking up, in case of an accident. Let him investigate the crate and the room. If he chews or urinates on his bedding, permanently remove it from the crate.  

Step 3: Observe and interact with your puppy while he's acclimating to his new den, this will help forge a sense of pack and establish you as the pack leader.  

Special Puppy Concerns 

1-Don't treat a puppy as young as 8 to 12-weeks old like an adult dog. Treat him the same way you would your own infant: with patience, constant supervision, and a gentle touch. The way you interact with your puppy at this age is critical to his socialization. Use these tips:   

2--Always supervise your puppy and interact with him regularly.   

3-Be alert for signs of sniffing and circling indicating he needs to go to the bathroom, then take him outside immediately.   

4-A young puppy has no bladder control and may need to urinate immediately after eating, drinking, sleeping, or playing. At night, he may need to relieve himself every few hours.   

Don't punish an accident. Never push his nose in the waste or scold him. He won't understand and may learn to go to the bathroom when you're out of sight.   

5-Praise your puppy every time he goes to the bathroom outside.   

6-Feed your puppy a food formula designed for puppies or all stages. Like a baby, he needs nutritious, highly digestible food.

7-Collars are cute but not a great idea to have them always on as it is not good for their safety if in the crate as some puppies have had accidents that cause death so best to be cautious.

Other helpful information

People often ask me what my method of potty training is, and my answer to that is to take them out consistently in the same area. We start the puppies on a routine before they go home which is before and after meals, after naps, after play, and before bed. They do need to be taken when they wake in middle of night as well. Some prefer to only use potty pads or washable pee pads while they are young. We have found that washable pee pads, old blankets, and towels work best when we have the litter together because they will chew up potty pads. Remember, they are like newborn babies and can’t control their bladder. There are plenty of online resources, literature, and even books regarding crate training if you go that route.

Before your puppy arrives, I do strongly suggest you read up on bringing home a new puppy, and the joys, and the challenges of bringing home a new puppy to your family. Think of it like bringing home a newborn baby. This will be the most exciting time, as nothing is cuter than a sweet little puppy. As the puppy comes into your home, he/she has so much to learn very quickly. There are joys and challenges that come with training a puppy. You'll also want to learn some behaviors that your puppy may exhibit, both good and the bad, that way you can nip those naughty puppy behaviors in the bud rather quickly. 

I don't suggest giving a young puppy human food, as they aren't mature enough to process and digest many human foods. Your puppy has only received milk from their momma, puppy food, and water. Also be aware of foods and items that are poisonous or harmful to a dog. Grapes and raisins can be toxic to a puppy, and many people are unaware of this.

There is no such thing as a bad dog, only a dog with poor training from his human caretakers.

Dog

Training:

These are the training guidelines for every dog owner:

New Puppy:

Basic Obedience

Good Manners

Young Adult:

Obedience

Good Manners

Tricks

Agility

Advanced Training:

Public Behavior

Tricks

Agility

Service Dog Training

DOG TRAINING VIDEOS:

"It's Me Or The Dog" TV Show with Victoria Stilwell

Short videos addressing common behavior issues.

 http://bit.ly/ItsMeOrTheDogYT

THE DOG TRAINING SECRET

http://www.TheDogTrainingSecret.com

This is a very good, inexpensive training tool and essential for every home dog trainer. I have used many Dog Trainers' methods and programs; for the money, this one is the best. Some trainers charge up to $1200 for the same (or less quality) training. For a mere $65, this video series will help you with everything you need for producing a wonderfully trained and obedient dog - even if it is an older dog. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!