Give your new puppy a few days in which to settle down making sure that if you have children they don’t overwhelm the puppy too much during the settling down period. Make sure the puppy knows where his/her bed is and should the puppy venture to its bed then try to refrain from disturbing it too much, just as all people like to be left alone sometimes then the same goes for a puppy. During the first week or so you should set out basic rules for the puppy and your puppy will soon settle down as one of the family.

Training should begin as soon as possible especially with regards to housetraining. Your puppy should know where to go to the toilet and as they are quick to learn it shouldn’t be too long before it catches on, of course as puppies have small bladders the odd accident can happen from time to time.

Your children and your new puppy

As mentioned before children should be taught to respect the puppy and to leave it alone if it wants to go and take a nap, encourage your children not to pick up the puppy all the time as sometimes children can inadvertently hurt a very young puppy. If your children are very young then make sure they are sat down and you place the puppy to stop accidents from happening.

Children can also become a little over powering to a puppy and you should make sure your children aren’t always screaming and running about around the puppy. It is also wise to stop children from feeding the puppy as this can lead to problems later in life and worse still could make your puppy ill if they give it something it shouldn’t eat.

Obedience training

Retrievers as the name suggests love to retrieve things and you can work this to your advantage when training them, start off with simple things like asking the puppy to fetch a ball you have thrown. The puppy will be quick to learn as they are very intelligent; one of the first things you should teach your puppy is to come to you when they are called. Simple commands such as sit stay and lay down will be very easy to pick up, you should always be firm but kind when chastising.

Grooming

You should spend some time each day with your puppy on grooming, at first your puppy will probably put up a struggle or think it’s a game but firmly bring the puppy back if they should try to wander off.

Due to the long feathered coat daily grooming is essential and the younger you start the less problems you will have when the dog is older. You should never actually bathe your dog using shampoo unless it is absolutely necessary as shampoo can take the oils out of the coat.