Your puppy’s daily schedule should look something like this:
1. First thing in the morning: Take your puppy out of his crate, picking him up and CARRYING him out of the house. Take him to an area where you would like him to “relieve” himself. Put him down and tell him to “poop” and “pee.” Since he is a baby and has been in his crate all night, this process should take 5-10 minutes maximum. After the 5-10 minutes, or after he/she goes, you may pick him back up or let him follow you back inside the house. BUT, if time permits, both of you should take a good walk. This will do wonders for you and your dog’s mental and physical health.
2. Monitor your puppy’s playtime: You can do this by confining him to the immediate area that you are in while you are preparing his breakfast.
3. Prepare your puppy’s food in a small bowl: Do not use a large dish. You can increase the bowl size in the future, as you increase the amount of food as your puppy gets bigger.
4. Potty time again. Carry your puppy back outside to the same area that you have established as the “potty place.” Carrying your puppy in and out of the house right now will insure that your puppy doesn’t make any mistakes on the way. He will learn that the house is NOT the place to relieve himself. Carrying him will make him successful in learning this. Once again, tell him to “pee” and “poop” giving him 10-15 minutes to comply. Bring him back into the house after the allotted time.
5. Play time again. This time you can bring out the puppy-safe toys (i.e. rope or jute toys, soft squeaky toys, etc.) When you cannot monitor your puppy, you must crate him for his own safety. It doesn’t take very long for an inquisitive puppy to get himself in trouble . . . or in danger.
6. Repeat the above schedule both at noon and evening. Puppies will very quickly learn to follow your schedule if you are consistent in your methods.
7. A long walk. When possible, substitute a good long walk instead of play time. Don’t limit this quality time spent with your puppy to just the “primary care giver.” The whole family will enjoy taking the puppy for a walk and all should participate.


It is important to teach your puppy good eating habits. For the first six months of your puppy’s life, if at all possible, you should feed your puppy three times a day providing the amount of food that he will eat in 10 minutes or less. After 10 minutes, pick up any left over food and throw it away. In the beginning you will probably have to experiment with the amount of food that your puppy will eat in this period of time. If you cannot feed your puppy three times a day, you can eliminate the noon meal. The noon meal is your puppy’s “light” meal. But if at all possible, try to continue the three meals until the puppy is at least 4-5 months old.
While everyone’s lifestyle is different, try to put together a consistent schedule for you and your puppy to follow. Consistency and routine will work in your favor AND your puppy’s when it comes to reliable housebreaking, nap times and play times.

Things You Should Do Daily 

1. Try to take your puppy on daily field trips (after he/she has had all their shots) to local parks, to neighbors’ houses, shopping centers, to visit your neighbors’ kids, etc. Controlled new experiences are essential for good mental development.
2. You should have a buckle collar for your puppy to wear when “traveling” on his field trips. You can walk your puppy on a flexi-lead being very careful to NOT give him a correction. It is most important to NEVER allow any bad experiences to take place.
3. Establish proper pack order early on in the relationship with your puppy. You can do this through various methods. Feed your puppy AFTER the family eats. Your family should go out of the door FIRST; THEN your puppy goes outside. Hold your puppy back until all of the family members have exited the doorway.
4. Take your puppy around animals of all types making sure that you keep him a safe, comfortable distance from potential danger or harm. (i.e. staying on the “other” side of the fence when cattle is involved)
5. Remember your puppy is still a baby with no experience or fears. Be careful to imprint positive experiences only! If a bad experience occurs or your puppy becomes frightened, try to redirect your puppy to something different and possibly exciting. DO NOT pick your puppy up. You will be reinforcing his fears. Redirect his attention in order to get his mind off the bad situation. Never make a big deal out of a mistake. Brush it off and go on to the next thing.
6. If possible, and you have a friend that is dog savvy, allow your puppy to spend overnight or up to a few days with them. This experience must be a positive one and it will allow your puppy to realize that life can also be good away from home. If you fail to do this, your puppy may develop separation anxiety and feel that “without you, I’m nothing!” An ideal situation would be to trade puppies with someone 3-4 times within the first six months of your puppies’ life. This experience will insure a well-founded, socialized puppy.