Your puppy's
first week at home.

The short version: set the routine before anything else — sleep spot, feed times, and house rules the whole family agrees on. Pick one potty spot and don't change it. Start training indoors on day one, including a first leash lesson in the living room. Don't wait for the vaccinations, and don't wait for something to go wrong. The first six months shape the next ten years.

The wiring starts the week your puppy comes home. You don't need to wait for a problem to appear before you begin.

I'm Shawn — DOGPAPA, in-home dog training across Singapore, and before this a handler with the Singapore Police K-9 Unit working Narcotic Detector Dogs. Here's what to get right in week one, in your own flat, starting day one.

If your puppy hasn't arrived yet, start with the pre-arrival checklist instead.

Pick the sleep spot and start crate work on night one. A puppy that settles in the crate sleeps better, travels better, and is calmer at the vet.

Fix the schedule — feeds, sleep and play at the same times daily. A routine they can rely on is one of the things that turns a puppy into a dog who listens later.

Agree the house rules as a family, before they get tested. Most puppy problems come down to clear leadership and consistency. If the sofa is off-limits for you but fine with your partner, your puppy learns neither.

One thing worth knowing early: dogs are very associative. A puppy associates a room, a spot. Change the bed to somewhere else and they won't simply follow it over — dogs aren't like humans, who walk into someone's house and know where the kitchen is. Pick the spot, then keep it.

Choose ONE spot — balcony tray, bathroom mat, or the void-deck routine once they're vaccinated. Changing the spot mid-week restarts the clock.

Learn their schedule and their signs. Take them out right after every nap, meal and play, and go to the same place each time. Schedule, signs and consistency are what make it stick — not luck.

Accidents are just part of week one — the routine isn't built yet and the bladder is tiny. Clean it quietly, no telling-off, and tighten the schedule.

Don't wait for vaccinations to start training. Indoor foundation work can begin as soon as your puppy is home. Outdoor work — corridor, lift, void deck, parks — begins once they're fully vaccinated.

Do the first leash lesson in your living room. Small, quiet exercises: gentle leash pressure to the left, then to the right. When your puppy gives to the leash and it goes slack, release and a calm "good dog." That's it — no walk required.

Stay quiet during the exercise. Don't talk to them while they work it out. Let the leash do the communicating.

Keep it small. It may look very small and minute — like, what is this going to do with my dog? To a puppy, these are very big things they're learning. Dogs are not like humans; you have to teach them every single thing.

It's the same groundwork behind loose-leash walking later on — you're just starting it before your puppy is big enough to pull.

Socialisation isn't the same as meeting other dogs. It's exposure — and a first-week puppy can start learning that the world is safe from inside your flat, on your schedule.

Watch for biting and mouthing. Normal at this age — but the way you respond now sets whether it stops at five months or carries on into adolescence. This is the first thing worth getting right with a trainer, because the wrong response rehearses the habit. It's covered in session one.

1. Pick the potty spot — and don't change it.
2. Set the sleep spot and the schedule — tonight, not next week.
3. Five quiet minutes of leash pressure in the living room.