A puppy at home: the first months, socialisation, house-training

A puppy is not a smaller dog. This is the period when its brain decides what counts as normal in the world and what counts as frightening. Things missed now are much harder to make up later, and some are nearly impossible.

Socialisation: the most important and shortest window

Until roughly 3–4 months a puppy meets new things with curiosity. After that window, novelty is increasingly read as a potential threat. So the task is not "teach commands" but show the world.

• Different surfaces underfoot: tiles, grating, grass, sand, metal, stairs.
• Different sounds: vacuum cleaner, lift, traffic, drill, a child shouting, thunder (a recording at low volume works).
• Different people: bearded men, people in hoods, in uniform, with umbrellas, on bicycles, children.
• Calm, well-behaved adult dogs — they are the ones who teach a puppy canine manners.
• Vet visits for no reason: walk in, get a treat, walk out.

House-training: mechanics, not discipline

A puppy physically cannot hold on for long. A rough guide: about as many hours as it has months, plus one. So the answer is taking it out often, not "teaching it to wait".

1. 1Go out immediately after sleeping, after eating, after playing — those are the three highest-probability moments.
2. 2Then every 1.5–2 hours, and always before bed.
3. 3Praise the moment the job is done, outside. Not a minute later indoors.
4. 4Clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner. Ordinary cleaners do not remove the smell for a dog, so it returns to the same spot.
5. 5Never rub its nose in it and never punish. The puppy will not understand what for, but will learn to go secretly — behind the sofa, when you are not looking.

Most puppies become reliable by 5–7 months. Occasional accidents up to a year are normal.

Chewing is not naughtiness

Between roughly 3 and 7 months a puppy is teething, and chewing relieves the discomfort. It also explores the world with its mouth, having no hands.

• Remove temptation: cables into trunking, shoes into the cupboard, small objects off the floor.
• Provide alternatives: several chew toys of different textures, rotated so they stay interesting.
• A chilled toy or a wet towel from the freezer soothes sore gums well.
• Caught with something? Do not tell off — calmly swap it for a toy and praise.

Mouthing hands

Puppies learn bite inhibition through play — a normal stage to work through, not to forbid. What works: the instant teeth touch skin, play stops, you stand up and turn away for 20–30 seconds. Puppies grasp very quickly that teeth = game over. Do not shout or snatch your hand away — a sudden movement looks like the game continuing.

Nights

A puppy almost always whines for the first nights: it is sleeping without its mother and littermates for the first time in its life. Put the bed next to yours rather than in another room, and move it gradually over weeks to where you want it. This is faster than "let it cry it out": the latter often creates anxiety that then takes months of work.

What not to do

• Over-exercise. Long runs and jumping harm growing joints. Short walks and mental games instead.
• Expect adult-level obedience. A puppy's concentration lasts minutes.
• Punish fear. It is the fastest route to an adult dog with phobias.
• Skip socialisation "while it is little, there is time". There is not — this is the window that does not open twice.