Socializing your dog is one of most important things you can do to influence your dog’s future behavior. As soon as you bring your new puppy home, you should start letting him interact with other puppies, dogs and humans. Take your dog to parks where there will be other pets and people. Ask your friends if it is okay for your dog to visit their dog at their home or yours. Puppies will learn how to get along with other puppies and dogs if they are allowed to play with them when they are young. Introduce your dog to new experiences. Give him rides in car, walk him on a leash around park, let him hear vacuum cleaner running. Help your puppy get used to a regular routine of baths, brushing , and healthy meals.

Housebreaking your puppy takes a lot of patience. Fix up a nice little space or room for your puppy. Place his food and water bowl there along with some favorite toys. Be sure to put newspapers all over floor and replace them often. When you are at home with puppy, let him out of his room for a short period of time to roam around and play. Return your puppy to his room and newspapers after about 30-45 minutes to help with his housebreaking. Do not punish your puppy for having an accident. It could take up to six months before he is fully housebroken. Remember, most puppies can’t control their bladder overnight until they are about four months old.

More than five million puppies are born every year in United States. In fact, one in every three families owns one or more dogs. A female dog carries her puppies for a term of approximately 60 days before they are born. Puppies are born blind, deaf, and with very little sense of smell. Their eyes stay closed for about 10-15 days. By four weeks old they have complete vision. A puppy’s sense of smell and hearing develops quickly. Puppies have 28 temporary teeth, which start to appear around 3-4 weeks. Their 42 permanent teeth begin to emerge around four months. Be sure to have plenty of chew toys for your puppy. Puppies need to chew to stimulate loss of their baby teeth and to help place their permanent teeth.

Puppies like to stay cuddled up close to their mother and siblings to stay warm and feel secure. Because puppies are somewhat dependent on their mother and need to learn to get along with other dogs, they should stay with their mother for at least eight weeks.