A puppy goes through a particularly important learning period between the age of three and 16 weeks. During this time, new experiences will leave a lasting impression. When the new puppy arrices at your home, the puppy will have lost the company and comfort of its mother and littermates, and it is in a strange environment. It is important that you begin the process of socialisation, gently integrating your new pet into your family and teaching it to relate to people and other animals through interaction and having pleasant encounters with your family members, friends and pets. To give the puppy free from stress, avoid sudden loud noises such as slamming the doors or children's screams. Initially, limit the number of people with whom the puppy comes into contact, gradually allowing it to get used to more and more strange faces. Don't allow children to handle the puppy too much, or disturb it when it is resting or sleeping.

Provide a warm, comfortable bed for your dog. If you can't afford a proper dog bed or basket, use a large cardboard and line the bottom with a thick layer of newspaper and top this with a washable blanket. Make sure that the dog bed or basket is large enough to accommodate your puppy as it grows. Place the puppy's bed where you want it to sleep as an adult. Choose a quiet, pivate corner for your dog. For the first few nights a big cuuddly toy and a warm (not hot) water bottle beneath the bedding will help the puppy to settle. The puppy may be noisy and distressed at night immediately after separation from its littermates. A low radio or ticking clock can help soothe it.
During its waking hours, give the puppy plenty of body contact. Talk to your puppy, using a soft voice to express friendship and a gruff voice to express disapproval of any of its unwanted actions.

When preparing for your new puppy's arrival, consider safety at home, just as you would for a young child.

• Lock away household chemicals or poisons and remove car and garden toxins such as windshield washer and ant traps.
• Keep electrical cords out of bitting reach
• Don't leave medications or food wrapped in plastic, foil or paper packaging where your puppy can reach it
• Make sure your puppy can't get into garbage cans
• Be aware of the risks associated with some common house and garden plants, such as azaleas and crocus.
• Remember that sparks from an open fire or hot cigarette ash can damage the eyes or skin.
• Anyone using mowers, bicycle, skateboards, roller blades and similar articles must be extra vigilant.
• Check where the puppy is before moving a car.
• Make sure that your puppy cannot get through fencing around a swimming pool.

Your puppy is a member of your family, and you must teach it that you are the house leader. Once it recognizes the family hierarchy, it will be more contented and more easily trained to obey commands. The puppy will look to its leader to protect it and make decisions for it. You will need to start teaching your new puppy house rules before training your dogs with basic commands.

It is best to adopt your puppy when it is seven or eight weeks old, as it is around this time that it is beginning to develop what is known as a 'substrate preference'. Substrate preference refers to the selection of a specific substance and area on which to eliminate. This means that it will very quickly become accustomed to using grass or soil as a toilet area if given ready access and encouraged to do so.
Anticipate toilet needs. Take your puppy outside as soon as it wakes up, as well as before and after every meal, after a period of vigorous play or exercise or whenever you see it looking distracted, walking in circles and sniffing the ground. It is very important to go right outside with the puppy, take it to a specific area of the garden and wait until it has eliminated. Always praise it afterwards. Never stand at the door and wait for the puppy to take itself outside. The chances are it will wander off a little way and then come straight back to find you - without relieving itself.
If you wish, you can use a word command such as 'peepee' when you take the puppy outside. It will soon learn to associate the word with the action. Once that is taught, you can train it to eliminate at home rather than in a public place. Always clean up the faeces and dispose it properly.
Young puppies have small bladders and poor bladder control. Don't expect a young puppy to manage without urinating from 8pm to 8am. Take it out late at night. 11pm is a good time, and get up at 5am to let it out once more. If your puppy eliminates in the house, do not become angry and punish it. If you have not seen the puppy make the mistake, just clean it up and forget it. If you catch the puppy in the act, say 'no' firmly. Then pick up the puppy, take it outside and praise it while it is on the grass. If possible, take the 'mistake' out with you on a paper towel so that the puppy associates the waste product with the outdoor surface. A puppy has an attention span of only a few seconds, so you cannot demonstrate that something is wrong some time after it was done.

Your puppy will need to learn to socialise with any other animals in your household. If you own a cat, ask you vet to trim its claws to avoid it damaging the puppy's eyes. Do not allow the puppy to chase the cat, and if necessary, keep it on a lead when the cat is around. Distract it whenever it wants to chase the cat and gradually encourage close contact in a controlled manner.
If you own anothe dog, introduce the dog and puppy outside the house. Give the older dog plenty of attention and supervise all play. Feed the two dogs separately, and do not leave them alone together until the puppy is well settled in. It is wise to provide the puppy with an area into which it can escape from the other dog. Try something such as a wooden box or a kennel with a door too small for the larger dog. Don't allow your puppy to meet neighbourhood dogs until it has completed its vaccination programme.

Confine your puppy to a small area of your home until it is properly toilet-trained. Once it is toilet-trained, your puppy can be given as much freedom around the house as you choose. Make sure that your garden is properly fenced. Because dogs are naturally territorial, it won't be long before your puppy learns to recognise the boundaries of its own property. You must limit contact with other dogs until it has completed a course of vaccinations, usually at the age of 12 or 16 weeks. If local laws permit, it is safe to take your puppy for early morning walks on beach below the high-tide mark. The sand will have been washed overnight by the high tide and it is unlikely to have been contaminated since.