Buzz
At 8 weeks old, puppies are ready to leave their mother and littermates to integrate into your family. This is when you need to focus on their fundamental needs such as eating, sleeping, playing, and potty training. During this period, puppies become more curious and start paying more attention to their surroundings, making it the perfect time to begin teaching your new puppy everything it needs to know!
Steps
Keep the Puppy Safe and Healthy
Prepare your home for safety before bringing the puppy home. Your puppy will inevitably explore things it shouldn’t touch. At this stage, telling your puppy ‘no’ is not effective since it’s too early, and you can’t watch it all day long. Before bringing your puppy home, ensure there is nothing hazardous to them inside. Some steps to take include:
- Store cleaning products and chemicals on high shelves or in a locked cabinet.
- Keep small objects that could be dangerous to the puppy, such as coins, paper clips, push pins, marbles, and rubber bands, out of reach.
- Use baby gates to block off rooms and areas where you don’t want the puppy to go.
Buy a bed for your puppy. Your puppy will need a cozy sleeping spot at night. Make sure to buy a bed large enough for it now and as it grows, such as a bed measuring 1.2m x 1.2m or bigger if you have a larger breed. Place the bed in a wind-free area inside your home to ensure your puppy stays warm while sleeping. You could also put the bed in a crate; just remember to measure the crate first to ensure the bed fits properly.
- If you don’t want to buy a bed, you can use a few blankets to make a comfortable nest for your puppy. Fold and arrange the blankets to create a soft space for it to sleep.
Tip: You can place your puppy's bed inside a crate if you plan to buy one. The crate also serves as a comfortable shelter for your puppy. Make sure to buy a crate large enough for it to stand, lie down, and turn around.
Select appropriate chew toys for your puppy. At 8 weeks old, your puppy still has baby teeth and will need to chew during the teething phase as its baby teeth fall out and adult ones come in. Buy several simple toys and rawhide chews that are the right size for your puppy. Keep these toys in every room it has access to.
- If your puppy chews on something it shouldn’t, take the bone or toy to it, take away the item it’s chewing on, and firmly say “No,” then give it the toy. Praise your puppy when it starts chewing on the toy.
- If you don’t provide your puppy with toys, it will find something else to chew. Puppies need to chew to help relieve teething pain.
Schedule your puppy's vaccination and deworming appointments. Your puppy will need vaccinations every 2-3 weeks until it reaches 4 months of age. This is also when it should be dewormed. Call your vet to schedule an early appointment for your puppy.
- Reputable breeders often begin vaccinating puppies very early, before they are old enough to go home with their new owners. Be sure to ask for the vaccination records to show to the vet. If you adopt a puppy from a rescue shelter, it may already be vaccinated, but always double-check!
- Puppies are often born with worms and may need to visit the vet for deworming. The breeder or rescue shelter may have already dewormed the puppy, but it’s always good to confirm.
Buy heartworm prevention medication for your puppy. Heartworm prevention is crucial for puppies as well as dogs of all ages and should begin when they are still young. Schedule a visit to the vet to get heartworm prevention medication for your puppy. Dogs of any age can contract heartworms from mosquito bites, which can be fatal, so prevention is essential!
- Treating heartworm infection is possible, but it’s very expensive, and up to 50% of cases may result in death due to complications from the treatment.
Microchip your puppy to prevent it from getting lost. Even with a tag, your puppy could still go missing. You should ask your vet about microchipping your puppy. That way, if your puppy gets lost and is brought to a rescue shelter, they can contact you using the information stored in the chip.
- Keep in mind that a microchip is not a GPS tracking device. It only helps identify your pet when it's brought to an animal shelter.
- In some countries, like the UK, it’s required to microchip puppies when they are 8 weeks old. Be sure to check the laws and regulations in your country to see if it's mandatory.
Feeding your puppy
Buy puppy-formulated food. Regular dog food isn’t suitable for puppies. Puppies need special food designed just for them. This type of food provides the necessary nutrients to help them grow, and the smaller kibble size makes it easier for puppies to chew. It's a good idea to buy a bag before bringing your puppy home.
- If you’re unsure which food to buy, ask your vet or a breeder for recommendations on puppy food.
Feed your puppy 4 meals a day on a set schedule. At 8 weeks old, your puppy needs to eat regularly to maintain its energy levels. Before reaching 12 weeks, your puppy should have 4 meals per day. It’s important to establish a feeding schedule to ensure it receives all the nutrients it needs.
- For example, you could feed your puppy at 7 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, and 5 PM.
- Continue with this schedule until your puppy is 14 weeks old, then transition to feeding twice a day.
Always provide your puppy with fresh, clean water. Keeping your puppy hydrated is crucial, and puppies drink a lot of water! Your puppy might drink up to 120ml of water every two hours. Be sure to always offer fresh and clean water. Place the water bowl in an easily accessible spot for your puppy and check it several times a day.
- For instance, you could place the water bowl in the corner of the room where your puppy spends most of its time.
- If you take your puppy outside to play, don’t forget to bring a water bowl with you.
Tip: Occasionally treat your puppy to its favorite food as a reward for good behavior, but make sure to keep it moderate to prevent it from gaining excess weight!
Training and teaching your puppy to communicate
Take your puppy outside regularly to the same spot for potty breaks. Teaching your puppy to potty train requires patience. Puppies need to relieve themselves frequently, as they can’t hold it in for long periods. Take your puppy to the same spot consistently to help it associate that area with the need to go potty. You should take your puppy out to potty at these times:
- In the morning when it wakes up
- After eating
- After waking up from a short nap
- After playtime
- Before bedtime
- Every 20-30 minutes during waking hours
Tip: Crate training is also an effective way to teach your puppy to potty train, while keeping it safe when you need to leave for a few hours.
Teach your puppy basic commands. At 8 weeks old, your puppy is ready to start learning new things. This is the perfect time to teach your puppy a few basic commands like sit, stay, and lie down. Use positive reinforcement methods to teach these commands, such as praise or treats when your puppy behaves well. You can train your puppy yourself or enroll it in a training course.
- For example, when teaching your puppy to sit, use a treat to lure it upward. When its bottom touches the ground, praise it and give it the treat. Then, repeat the action while saying 'sit' as you raise the treat. After a few training sessions, your puppy will begin to understand that 'sit' means to sit, and it will be rewarded for doing so.
Introduce your puppy to a variety of different sights and sounds. Puppies need to be exposed to various images and sounds so that they can gradually get used to them and not become frightened later on. Take your puppy outside and show it the surroundings. Remember to keep the leash on for its safety while exploring.
- The breeder or animal shelter may have already started socializing the puppy by picking it up and allowing it to familiarize itself with different scents and toys. Ask them how they have been socializing your puppy so you can know what your pup has already experienced.
Beverly Ulbrich
Trainer & Dog Behavior Specialist
Trainer & Dog Behavior Specialist
Expert advice: Socialization is a crucial aspect for puppies, so make sure to take them to dog parks or outdoor walks as often as possible. By the time your puppy reaches 12 weeks, it should have met around 100 different people to ensure they are well-adjusted when they go outside.
Provide plenty of opportunities for your puppy to interact with people. Ensure your puppy has positive experiences with a variety of different people. This will help it avoid fear or aversion towards certain groups, such as children, men, or tall individuals. Invite friends over and take your puppy to places where it can interact with many people, like a park.
- Every experience during this time will leave a lasting impression on your puppy’s memory. For instance, if a man with a goatee does something that scares your puppy, it will not be a positive experience. You can expose your puppy to friendly men with goatees so your puppy doesn’t grow up fearful or aggressive towards men with facial hair.
Allow your puppy to interact with other dogs in a safe, controlled environment. Playing with other dogs is a great way to teach your puppy social skills. Enroll your puppy in a socialization program where it can meet other dogs in a safe, supervised setting. You can ask pet shops or dog kennels about available puppy training programs.
- Be sure to only let your puppy play with vaccinated animals.
Warning
- Before bringing your puppy home, make sure you know how big it will get when fully grown and understand the personality of its breed. Ensure that you are capable of caring for it for its entire life.
