VinnyGuide
First week with a puppy
Week one is not a syllabus. It is a small world, a door you always use, and one focused win a day. Vinny names that plan for this puppy.
Keep the map tiny
New home, new guts, new sleep. A hallway, a pen or crate, one outdoor spot. Novelty is training whether you meant it or not — grade it. Flooding a nine-week-old at the park is not socialization.
Potty is a schedule, then a log
A starting rule: about one hour per month of age, capped around four hours, plus after sleep, meals, and play. Mark outdoor success. Clean indoor misses without a lecture. Log both so the next-out timer belongs to this dog.
Three to five minutes, then rest
Sit, name, a settle on a mat. End on a win. A drained puppy mouthies, then you think they “have too much energy” and add a walk that their joints should not do yet.
Sleep is the hidden skill
Young puppies need a lot of it. An overtired bite-fest is usually a nap problem. Vinny’s Today plan treats rest as a task, not an afterthought.
What Vinny does with this
Tell Vinny their name, breed, and age — or that they arrive in three weeks (prep mode). You get a named care plan for today, not a generic first-week PDF. Breed pages (for example Golden Retriever) show how energy and size change the walk cap.
FAQ
What should I do the first week with a puppy?
Keep the world small. Same door for potty, short sessions, a crate or pen as a home base, and one focused win a day — not a 12-item checklist. Vinny names the plan for this puppy’s age and breed.
How often should a new puppy go out?
A common rule is about one hour per month of age, capped around four hours, plus after sleep, meals, and play. Tiny breeds often need tighter cadence. Logs beat the rule.
How long should training sessions be?
Three to five minutes. End on a win. A drained puppy learns nothing useful and often mouthies more.