Remember, your new puppy only has you to depend upon and cannot fend for him/herself. The care love and attention that you provide for your new puppy will play a part in the puppy's life for years to come.

1. Very important -- keep your puppy on a feeding schedule, feeding him the same meals at the same time everyday. Let's say you feed him at 7:00 AM, then again at 12:00 noon and again at 4:00 PM, make sure he has fresh water all day and after each meal. As your puppy gets older, you can reduce the meals to twice a day; and please keep in mind, no snacks. Also, make sure the puppy does not have any vigorous exercise before or after meals (never over-exercise him). Allow the food to digest before playtime begins.
2. Remember that he's only a baby and although play is important, sleep is just as important. Never startle a dog while they are sleeping.
3. A puppy relieves himself when he wakes up, after he plays and after he eats so be sure to keep his area clean (whether paper-training or outdoor training), this prevents parasites and disease and ensures a happy, healthy puppy. He probably relieves himself away from his bed, so make sure there is paper in that spot. If you are consistent in your training, then everything will go smoothly.
4. Never allow canned dog food (and it should be puppy food) to stand more than five minutes as it gets rancid, it's unhealthy and creates bad eating habits.
5. If your puppy cries excessively all night or day and you can't soothe him, call your vet or breeder for assistance.Usually toys and a comfy area will settle the puppy. If his temperature has to be taken, the normal range is 101 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Make sure he doesn't get near wires or anything laying around that he could chew on or swallow. The only items that should be "left around" are his toys and they should only be dog toys made of Nylabone, hard rubber or tough rawhide (Kongs are very good). A ball should be bigger than his mouth so he can't choke on it. Teething is a vital part of puppy growth so prevent mishaps and there will be no need to reprimand the dog.
7. When the puppy relieves himself, check his stool -- it should not be loose. If it is, it might be due to diet, parasites, worms, the nervousness of a new home or something else. Have the veterinarian check it. You should also bring a stool specimen when you take the puppy for his inoculations. The stool is a good indication of a puppy's health.
8. Keep his eyes clean of discharge by wiping them with a soft, clean cloth. Some breeds are prone to a discharge. Eye cleansers can be purchased also.
9. Until he has his proper shots, do not expose him to the outside or to any other animal. Talk to your vet about this. Usually after his second shot, it is okay to take him out and have him around other animals.
10. When petting your puppy, speak gently and never yell in his ears. Build a close bond with your dog and you will have a happy, healthy dog and a friend for life. Let him know he can trust you by knowing who you are and depending on you to take care of him.
11. Never pick your puppy up by his neck or legs. Put your palm under his chest and be sure his backside is supported with your other hand. If you are not sure how to do this, ask us or your vet to show you the proper way.
12. Until your puppy is fully paper-trained or trained to relieve himself outside, keep him confined to a small area. Only upon your total supervision, should he be allowed the run of the house.
13. When you begin taking him outside, don't take him where all the other dogs go, always take him to the same spot in your yard (or on the street) and then clean it up. This will help keep him (as well as other animals) free of parasites.
14. If you're consistent in any training, the dog learns quicker and becomes more of a pleasure to live with.
15. If you are going to be out of the house for many hours at some point during the day or evening, you may want to consider crate-training your puppy.
16. Important ingredients for a happy, healthy dog - Love, Understanding, Proper Nutrition, Exercise and Obedience Training. If you are not sure of anything, ask your vet.

Initial Settling in period - Puppy training basics during the first week the puppy is home is critical. It is obvious that you need certain physical items such as a dog bed or crate, food and water bowls, puppy chow, collar,harness, leash, toys, etc. Equally as important, all family members must decide and agree on routine, responsibility and rules.

The first few days are extremely important. Enthusiasm and emotions are up. Everyone wants to feed the puppy, play with the puppy and hold the puppy. Pre-established rules are easily broken. Everyone agreed that puppy will sleep in her crate but as soon as she's home, someone melts and insists that puppy will sleep in bed. Everyone previously agreed not to let puppy jump up on them, but in the excitement, no one even notices that puppy is jumping up. No one sleeps the first night. Puppy wins and gets to sleep in bed. The next morning we find puppy has eliminated all over the bed. So the following night puppy is banned to her crate and screams all night. No one sleeps tonight either.
Grouchiness sets in; enthusiasm is down. No one wants to get up at the pre-agreed upon early morning feeding time. How are we going to housetrain puppy? How are we going to sleep with her constant whining?
Your new puppy has just been taken away from her mom and littermates. She is vulnerable and impressionable. What she needs now is security and routine. Set up a small room to be her very own special haven for the next couple of months. Paper the entire floor and put her food/water bowls and bed in one corner. Scatter her toys everywhere. Play with her quietly and gently. Don't flood her with attention and activity. If she looks like she wants to sleep, leave her alone. Puppies need lots of sleep.

What To Expect When House Training - Unless you can monitor your puppy 24 hours a day, don't expect the house training process to be completed until your puppy is at least 6 months old. It's normal for a young puppy to be a little 'input-output' machine. Since puppies are growing and developing rapidly at this stage, they eat more food, burn up more energy and seem to need to eliminate constantly! They also have not yet developed bowel and bladder control, so they can't 'hold it' as long as adult dogs.

House Training When You Are NOT Home - Confine your puppy to a small, 'puppy-proofed' room and paper the entire floor. Put his bed, toys and food/water bowls there. At first there will be no rhyme or reason to where your pup eliminates. He will go every where and any where. He will also probably play with the papers, chew on them, and drag them around his little den. Most puppies do this and you just have to live with it. Don't get upset; just accept it as life with a young puppy. The important thing is that when you get home, clean up the mess and lay down fresh papers.

Passive House Training or Paper Training - While your puppy is confined, he is developing a habit of eliminating on paper because no matter where he goes, it will be on paper. As time goes on, he will start to show a preferred place to do his business. When this place is well established and the rest of the papers remain clean all day, then gradually reduce the area that is papered. Start removing the paper that is furthest away from his chosen location. Eventually you will only need to leave a few sheets down in that area only. If he ever misses the paper, then you've reduced the area too soon. Go back to papering a larger area or even the entire room. Once your puppy is reliably going only on the papers you've left, then you can slowly and gradually move his papers to a location of your choice. Move the papers only an inch a day. If puppy misses the paper again, then you're moving too fast. Go back a few steps and start over. Don't be discouraged if your puppy seems to be making remarkable progress and then suddenly you have to return to papering the entire room. This is normal. There will always be minor set-backs. If you stick with this procedure, your puppy will be paper trained.

Tips for your New Puppy - Establishing good habits early on in housetraining your puppy is critical. If you allow your puppy to eliminate every where and any where he wants in your home, you will end up with an adult dog who will always have a tendency to want to eliminate in your home. You will have to live with it forever, or go through some time-consuming, tedious retraining later on. A dog is either housetrained or not. There is no such thing as weekly 'accidents.' A truly housetrained dog will NEVER eliminate in your house unless forced to do so or because of illness or excessively long confinement. Don't expect your puppy to be fully house trained until it is at least 6 months old.

Puppy Housetraining Do's - Provide constant access to the toilet area. If you are home, take your puppy there every 45 minutes or less.
If you are not home or cannot tend to the puppy, then you must make sure he cannot make a mistake. It's actually not really a mistake because he doesn't know any better. With young puppies, when the urge comes, they go - it usually doesn't matter where they are or what they are doing. If we didn't put diapers on human babies, they too would soil our carpets and floors. Confine your puppy to a dog-proofed area and line the entire floor with papers. If the weather is nice, the area safe, etc, you can confine the pup to a small pen outside. Don't leave your pup out in the sun, wind, heat or cold. Be sure to provide shelter and water in the confinement area. It's ideal if the pen is set up on dirt, grass, gravel or concrete. The idea is that no matter where the puppy eliminates while confined, it is on something that resembles his toilet area. Your goal is to never allow your puppy to eliminate on carpet, tile, hardwood, or anything that resembles the flooring in your home. Once a habit is established, it is difficult to break, therefore, do not let your pup form bad habits in the first place.

-Praise and reward your puppy each and every time possible for eliminating in his toilet area.

-Feed your puppy at regular times. What goes in on schedule will come out on schedule.

-Use a crate to help your puppy develop self control. Confine him for gradually increasing periods of time when you are home to monitor him.

-Be patient. It can take until the dog is 6 months old for him to be housetrained.

Biting is most common in young puppies and new dogs - Biting can occour in the household especially in play and while teething. It's up to you to teach your puppy or dog what is acceptable and what is not. Most dogs and puppies are generally loving, sweet, adorable, affectionate and wonderful 99% of the time. Only 1% of the time does something specific happen that makes the dog bite.

Dogs and Puppies Must Learn to Inhibit Biting - First of all, dogs must learn to inhibit their bite before they are 4 months old. Normally, they would learn this from their mother, their litter mates and other members of the pack. But, because we take them away from this environment before this learning is completed, we must take over the training.

Socialization Prevents Biting - By allowing your puppy to socialise with other puppies and socialized dogs they can pick up where they left off. Puppies need to roll, tumble and play with each other. When they play, they bite each other everywhere and anywhere. This is where they learn to inhibit their biting. This is where they learn to control themselves. If they are too rough or rambunctious, they will find out because of how the other dogs and puppies react and interact with them. This is something that happens naturally and it is something we cannot accomplish. It can only be learned from trial and error. There is nothing you can say or do to educate them in this realm. They must learn from their own experience.

I hope some of the above will help you and your new puppies settling in process, in some way!