Puppy Basics: A Step-by-Step Plan for the First Two Weeks
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The first two weeks with a new puppy set the tone for a lot of what comes after. You do not need a long list of commands in that window. You need a handful of foundational habits, taught consistently, that make every future lesson easier to build on. Here is a simple plan for those first fourteen days.
Days One to Three: Build the Name Response
Before teaching any command, teach your puppy that their name means "look at me, good things follow." Say the name once in a happy voice, and the moment your puppy glances toward you, mark it and reward. Practice this often in short bursts throughout the day. This single habit becomes the foundation for almost every other cue, since a dog who cannot orient to you cannot really learn anything else yet.
Our tester dog, Ella, had a rock solid name response within the first few days simply because it was practiced constantly during normal moments around the house, not just in formal sessions.
Days Two to Five: Start the Potty Routine
Set a bathroom schedule from day one: after waking, after eating, after play, and every couple of hours in between. Take your puppy to the same outdoor spot each time and reward immediately after they go. This is more about your consistency than your puppy's understanding early on, and it pays off quickly once the pattern is established.
Days Three to Seven: Introduce the Crate as a Good Place
Start feeding meals near, then inside, the crate with the door open, so your puppy builds a positive association before the door is ever closed. Add short, calm periods with the door closed while you are in the room, gradually working up to leaving the room briefly. Never use the crate as punishment. A puppy who sees the crate as a safe, comfortable spot from the start will use it happily for years.
Days Five to Ten: Teach a Simple Sit
Hold a treat just above your puppy's nose and slowly move it back over their head. Most puppies will sit naturally as their head tilts up to follow the treat. Mark and reward the moment their rear touches the ground, then add the word "sit" once the physical motion is reliable. Keep sessions to a couple of minutes at a time, since young puppies have short attention spans.
Days Seven to Twelve: Start Gentle Handling
Briefly touch your puppy's paws, ears, mouth, and collar during calm moments, rewarding after each touch. This is not a formal cooperative care cue yet, just early exposure that pays off enormously at the first vet visit, first nail trim, and every grooming session after that. Keep sessions short and always end on a calm, successful note.
Days Ten to Fourteen: Layer in Safe Socialization
Expose your puppy to new sights, sounds, and surfaces in small, manageable doses, always pairing new experiences with treats and a calm tone. This might mean a car ride around the block, a walk past a quiet street, or meeting one calm, healthy adult dog. Ask your veterinarian about the right timing for socialization relative to your puppy's vaccination schedule, since this varies by individual dog and location.
Keep Expectations Realistic
Puppies are inconsistent by nature. A skill that looked solid yesterday might look shaky today, and that is normal rather than a sign anything has gone wrong. Short, frequent, low pressure sessions across these first two weeks build a foundation that pays off steadily over the following months.
Get Everyone in the Household on the Same Page
Puppies learn fastest when every person in the house uses the same words and the same rules. If one family member allows jumping on the couch and another does not, or one person calls the puppy over for baths while another only calls for treats, the puppy has to sort out contradictory information rather than learning a clear pattern. Before your puppy comes home, or as early as possible after, agree as a household on the specific cue words you will use for each behavior and the house rules everyone will follow, then write them down somewhere visible.
Consistency across caregivers matters just as much as consistency within a single session. A puppy raised with a shared plan across the whole household tends to reach reliable behavior faster than one navigating several different sets of expectations at once.
What Not to Worry About Yet
In these first two weeks, do not expect polished behavior, and do not worry if your puppy seems to "forget" something from one day to the next. Young puppies are absorbing an enormous amount of new information, about the world in general as well as your specific rules, and progress is rarely a straight line. The goal for this window is exposure and repetition, not mastery, and mastery of these basics will come with a few more months of ordinary, consistent living together.
Treats for This Work
A young puppy's stomach is still adjusting, so simple, single ingredient rewards matter. Our freeze-dried beef liver breaks into tiny, easy to digest pieces perfect for a puppy's first training sessions. Our cheddar cheese bites are a good second flavor to rotate in as your puppy grows.
Looking Ahead to Week Three and Beyond
Once these first two weeks are underway, the natural next steps are extending the duration of sit and down, introducing a loose leash walking habit, and beginning gentle exposure to new environments beyond the home. There is no need to rush into all of it at once. A puppy who has a solid name response, a starting potty routine, a positive relationship with the crate, and a first taste of gentle handling has already covered the most important ground, and everything after this point builds naturally on that foundation.
Books on This
Positive Puppy Training (paperback) offers a step-by-step beginner approach that pairs well with this two-week plan. How to Raise the Perfect Dog (paperback) covers the fuller arc from puppyhood through adolescence for when you are ready to look further ahead.
Once the potty routine from day two is underway, our full guide to keeping a consistent puppy schedule across caregivers is a helpful next read, especially in a multi-person household.
