New Puppy! 4 Things To Teach Your Puppy Right Away

Congratulations on welcoming your newest member of the family!

We’re excited for you and for the life you’re about to build together. Puppies bring lots of cuteness mixed in with a little bit of chaos, but most of all, they offer the chance to raise a dog that you can truly enjoy for years and years to come.

Bringing home a new puppy is exciting, but it can also be very overwhelming. With all the puppy videos and conflicting advice from influencers, it’s easy to get caught up in the little tricks and commands before your puppy is even ready.

Don't lose the forest for the trees.

At Sit and Stay, we’ve found that the most important lessons for a new puppy don’t even start with “sit” or “stay.” Instead, they begin with lifestyle skills — the things that help your puppy grow into a well-adjusted, confident, adult dog.

Here are four of the most important things to teach your puppy from the very beginning:

1. 🚽 Potty Training: Where to Pee and Poop

Potty training is one of the first things new puppy parents want to master- and understandably so!

Puppies (and dogs of all ages!) thrive on routine and consistency. But they’re not born knowing where to go potty. It’s our job to set them up for success by guiding them gently, reinforcing good habits, and avoiding punishment-based methods that can create fear and confusion.

🚫 Never ever punish or hit a puppy for pooping or peeing in the wrong place. This damages your bond and chips away at the little confidence your puppy is just starting to build.

✅ Our tip: Ask your breeder or rescue what your puppy's toilet habits were like- ideally, this process should have already begun before they came home to you. Pick one designated potty area and bring your pup there before they start sniffing or circling indoors. When they go in the right spot, throw a mini party! Reward them like they just won the lottery. Keep a log of their meals, naps, and potty times. Puppies are surprisingly predictable once you track their routine.

2. 🏠 Crate Training: A Tool for Calm, Not Just Containment

Crate training isn’t just about teaching your puppy where to sleep. It’s about helping them develop the ability to settle down, self-soothe, and manage their energy — skills that are essential for daily life.

When introduced positively, a crate becomes a puppy’s safe space — a place they can rest, recharge, and feel secure even when alone. It’s not punishment. It’s not “cruel.” It’s a tool that, when used well, gives both dogs and their humans more freedom and peace of mind.

Crate training also opens up so many possibilities as your puppy grows:

• Travel becomes safer and less stressful when your dog is comfortable in a crate

• Vet visits or emergencies are easier when your dog knows how to wait calmly in a confined space

• Fireworks? A sudden typhoon? Guests coming over or house cleaning in full swing? A crate gives your puppy a safe, quiet space to retreat from all the chaos

• Boarding or grooming stays are smoother when your dog already sees the crate as a familiar, relaxing space

  
  

✅ At Sit and Stay, we focus on crate training that builds trust and comfort- not fear. We help your puppy see the crate as their bedroom, not a jail cell.

Teaching your puppy to settle in a crate sets them up for calm, adaptable adulthood — and gives you the freedom to bring them to more places without stress.

3. 🎾 How to Engage With You: Discover What You Love Doing Together

Puppies are predisposed to seek social interaction and guidance from humans. This is a key difference between domestic dogs and their wild relatives! Puppies are born wired to seek connection with humans, but they still need our help to understand how to engage with us in a way that builds trust, communication, and is safe and fun.

This is one of the most valuable things you can teach early on: how to enjoy spending time with you, in a way that suits their age, energy, and natural instincts.

Learning what lights your puppy up and finding activities to do together helps form a strong bond that makes training easier down the line.

Here are some ideas to start exploring together:

• Walks in nature on a long line - great for confidence, socialization, and getting used to stepping on different textures under their feet

• Fetch over short distances - builds connection, introduces structure, and gives them a job to do

• Trick training - engages their brain and shows them learning is fun and rewarding

• Wobble discs or gentle balancing - helps them become body-aware and builds confidence

• Low agility obstacles - introduces novelty while keeping things safe and age-appropriate

  
  

✅ Important: Your puppy is still growing- physically and mentally. All activities should be fun, short, and developmentally appropriate.

We don’t push for perfection; we celebrate curiosity and progress.

Teaching your pup how to do things with you- not just for you- sets the tone for a happy, connected life together.

4. 💪 Resilience: Teaching Your Puppy to Conquer Life’s Little Challenges

Just like when we’re raising kids, we can’t protect our puppies from everything- and we shouldn’t try to!

Instead, we want to teach them how to face small challenges, work through frustration, and recover from stress. This builds confidence and resiliency- the secret sauce to raising a dog who isn’t afraid of new places, people, or experiences.

✅ What this looks like: Let your puppy try things on their own (with guidance), cheer them on when they’re unsure, and give them the space to figure out tricky situations without stepping in too quickly or forcing them. This builds confidence and problem-solving skills, which are especially helpful when your puppy encounters new or overwhelming things like crashing waves, highway traffic, or loud noises from construction or passersby.

The result? A dog who’s not only cute, but capable and ready for the world.

The First Few Weeks Matter Most

These four lessons may seem simple, but they lay the foundation for everything else: trust, communication, and obedience.

Once your puppy learns these four things, everything else becomes easier: vet visits, grooming, walks in new places, and more.

Whether you're raising a future family dog, hiking buddy, or even a little celebrity-dog-star-in-the-making, your puppy's development starts now.

Looking for support with your puppy? We offer personalized puppy and dog training in La Union through consults, one-on-one sessions, day training, or stay-in programs. Send us a message and we’ll help you set your puppy up for success from the very beginning. 🐾