Make your home puppy-safe before your little friend moves in. Puppies are very inquisitive and your little one will try to climb everywhere and chew on a lot of things. It is best to place your favourite things out of reach for a few weeks. Power cables and other sources of danger should be kept out of the puppy’s reach, too. The bitter-tasting chew stop spray can help to reduce the drive to chew on things. In the long run, however, there is no way past a clear ‘no’ at the right time. Stairs can be secured with a barrier. Think about whether certain rooms, e.g. the
kitchen or children’s rooms should be dogfree zones right from the start. Barriers are the right way to ensure this.

One of the most important requirements for a harmonious co-existence with a puppy is house training it. For this training, you need a place where your dog is allowed to pee and poo and that you can reach almost instantly. This can be a garden or the grass verge outside your door. If nothing of the kind is available, you can use a puppy toilet in your home. The basic rule is: Take your puppy there after sleeping, feeding and playing, and wait patiently until it has relieved itself. Do not forget to praise the little guy for this. That way, your puppy learns in a much betterway than if you punish it for peeing or pooing in places where this is not wanted. Should things go wrong, a urine stain remover comes in handy. Stains and smells are removed biologically and vanish completely.

Your puppy will be very enthusiastic if you play together at eye level. Particularly at the beginning, there is nothing more important than extensive playing. Take time for this, as it gives you the chance to get to know each other and strengthen the bond between you. In addition, it is useful to train future behaviour in games. A small rule is particularly important at this point: If the dog’s teeth get into contact with your skin, interrupt the game. This allows your dog to develop a reliable bite inhibition, and it will treat humans equally carefully in the future. The right puppy toy should be robust but not too hard. Particularly suitable materials are TPR and natural rubber as well as ropes made of cotton. You can do without squeakers or similar things. These sounds are much too exciting for most puppies. Make sure the toy is large enough, so that the puppy cannot swallow it. Do not leave your puppy unattended with a toy. As soon as the puppy starts to destroy the toy, take it away and offer a chewing bone instead. At the end of each game, the toys are tidied away. That way, the toys remain special and the excitement lasts longer.

Education is necessary, for it sets the rules for your future life together. At least equally important, however, is a bond full of trust between you and your dog. Therefore, refrain from punishment if possible. There are sufficient educational approaches that do without it. You need to understand that a puppy wants to repeat behaviour that has been rewarded. For you this means that you reward your puppy with feed or a game as soon as it does something right. Dog schools or a dog sports club will support you in educating your dog. Training with a clicker is one option to achieve learning success with positive confirmation alone. This scientifically based learning method does not work with punishment. A soft clicker with an extra soft sound is particularly suitable for puppies.
Dog activity strategy games provide exciting alternatives and offer your little friend the first challenges in memory sport and dexterity training. There are many different options where to hide treats that the dog has to get by pulling, pushing or lifting some part of the game. To avoid frustration, make it as easy as possible for your puppy at the start and only increase the level of difficulty slowly.

Your puppy is particularly inquisitive and willing to learn up to its 16th week. Use this time to explore as many things as possible together. It would be ideal if, already in this early embossing phase, your dog could have positive experiences with everything it should be able to cope with later. Try to find the right amount of new experiences, for too many new impressions will overstress the little one at first. A general rule: a five-minute walk per month of age. Give your puppy time to explore everything at its own pace. For example, a stroller is ideal for short periods of rest during longer walks. For transporting the puppy in a car, you will need a suitable box, a car grid or car seat. A dog that has not been attached can be thrown forward uncontrollably in case of an accident and this is extremely dangerous for the dog as well as for everyone else in the car. With large breeds, it is important to be gentle on the joints during growth. So,  jumps from a car should be avoided. If you often go by car, it is advisable to buy a ramp or pet stair.