What We Did During Our Puppy's First Week Home (And Why)

Meet Pebbles

Two and a half weeks ago, we welcomed Pebbles, our Rottweiler puppy, into the family. At the time

f writing, she is 11 weeks old and settling into life remarkably well.

As a professional dog trainer, one of the questions I'm often asked is, "What would you do if you had a puppy?" Now that I have one of my own, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the things we're doing with Pebbles as she grows up.

Over the coming months, I'll be sharing the training choices we're making, the experiences we're introducing and the lessons we're learning along the way. My aim is to give puppy owners an honest look at the reality of raising a puppy and show that building a confident, well-adjusted dog isn't about rushing through a checklist of training exercises.

Welcoming Pebbles Home

Before Pebbles arrived, we spent some time preparing the house so she would have everything she needed from day one.

Like any puppy coming into a new home, she had a lot to process. She had left everything familiar behind and suddenly found herself living with new people, a new dog, new smells and a completely different routine.

Because of that, my focus during the first week wasn't on training. It was on helping her feel safe.

We made sure she had a quiet area where she could rest without being disturbed, along with her crate, bedding, toys and everything else she needed to settle in comfortably.

One thing I often tell puppy owners is that the first few days don't need to be exciting. In fact, they're usually better when they're not. For the first four or five days, we kept things very quiet with no visitors at all. That gave Pebbles the chance to decompress, get used to her new surroundings and start building relationships with us and Buddy.

Establishing a Routine

One of the first things we focused on was creating a predictable daily routine.

Feeding times were kept consistent, toilet trips were scheduled throughout the day and we made sure there was plenty of time for sleep in between periods of activity.

Puppies need a surprising amount of rest, often around 16-18 hours a day. A well-rested puppy is generally better able to cope with new experiences, learn effectively and make good choices.

Play sessions were kept short and balanced with periods of calm and rest. While routine is important, I also found myself being flexible and adjusting things based on how Pebbles was coping on any given day.

For me, the goal wasn't sticking rigidly to a schedule. It was creating enough predictability that she could begin to understand her new world and feel secure within it.

Building Trust First

As a trainer, it's tempting to jump straight into teaching skills, but relationship building was far more important during this first week.

We spent a lot of time simply letting Pebbles explore at her own pace. Rather than overwhelming her with new experiences, we introduced things gradually and allowed her to process them in her own time.

Interactions were kept calm and positive. Gentle handling, quiet voices and plenty of rewards helped create positive associations from the very beginning.

I've also spent a lot of time simply watching her. Puppies tell us a huge amount through their body language, and learning to recognise when they're feeling confident, unsure, tired or overwhelmed helps us adjust our approach before things become stressful.

Building trust isn't something that happens through a single training session. It happens through lots of small, positive experiences repeated over time.

Socialisation Without the Pressure

One thing I see a lot as a trainer is people feeling pressure to introduce their puppy to absolutely everything as quickly as possible.

That wasn't my goal with Pebbles.

For me, socialisation is less about the number of things a puppy experiences and more about how they feel about those experiences.

After a few quiet days at home, Pebbles gradually met a small number of close friends and family members. These introductions were spread out over several days rather than happening all at once.

Whenever people interacted with her, they were encouraged to do so calmly and allow her the choice to engage or move away if she wanted to.

Many dogs aren't particularly comfortable with hands reaching over their head, especially when meeting someone new, so people were encouraged to gently interact under her chin or on her chest instead.

We also introduced her to a few new environments, including a trip to the vets for a weight check and a visit to a local pet shop.

At the vets, she wasn't interested in taking treats, which was completely fine. Rather than trying to persuade her, I simply allowed her to sit on my lap and watch the world go by.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is give puppies the space to observe.

The First Skills We Started Teaching

Although formal training wasn't the priority, there were a few foundation skills we started introducing.

Her name was paired with rewards whenever she looked towards me, helping it become something positive and meaningful.

I also introduced a verbal marker, "yep", which tells her a reward is on the way. Over time, this helps create clear communication and lets her know when she's made a good choice.

We started working on a hand target, or "touch", where she moves her nose towards my hand. This is one of my favourite early exercises because it creates cooperation and becomes useful in so many situations later on.

Eye contact was introduced using the cue "look", and we also began some simple cooperative care exercises involving gentle handling of her ears, paws, eyes and mouth.

At this stage, I'm not worried about perfection. The goal is simply to build positive associations and help her learn that training is fun.

We also started guiding appropriate play and bite inhibition. Like all puppies, Pebbles enjoys using her mouth, so the focus has been on teaching her what is appropriate rather than expecting her to get everything right immediately.

What I'm Not Worrying About Yet

I think one of the biggest pressures on new puppy owners is the feeling that they should be doing everything at once.

The reality is that Pebbles is still settling into a completely new life.

Right now, I'm not worried about advanced obedience training or teaching lots of complex behaviours.

I'm not expecting perfect toilet training, and I'm certainly not stressing over the occasional accident indoors.

I'm also being careful not to over-exercise her. As a growing Rottweiler puppy, protecting her developing joints is far more important than trying to tire her out.

This first week is all about building trust, confidence and security. The more advanced training can come later.

Learning About Buddy

A big part of this week has been helping Pebbles and Buddy get to know one another.

All interactions are supervised, and both dogs are given plenty of opportunities to move away or take a break if they want to.

Buddy has been incredibly patient with her and has done a lovely job of communicating when he's happy to interact and when he'd prefer some space.

Watching their relationship start to develop has probably been one of the most rewarding parts of bringing Pebbles home.

Lessons From Week One

One of my favourite parts of this first week has been seeing little bits of Pebbles' personality begin to appear.

She's thoughtful, curious and takes a lot of time to observe what's going on around her before jumping in.

Even with my experience as a trainer, every puppy is different. While my professional knowledge helped me prepare for many of the challenges that come with raising a puppy, I've also been reminded how important it is to stay flexible and pay attention to the individual dog in front of you.

If there's one thing this week has reinforced, it's that good puppy raising isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things at the right time.

For now, our focus remains simple: helping Pebbles feel safe, building trust and showing her that the world is a pretty great place to be.

I'm looking forward to sharing the next stage of her journey with you.