Imagine, if you can, being a little baby, is it possible to care for and be safe with your parents and siblings. Then imagine being abruptly removed from everything you know and plopped down in a new place, with new people, new sounds, smells, and sights. Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? That’s how a new puppy feels when you bring him home for the first time.

Most responsible breeders and experts advise that a puppy should not be separated from his mother until he’s at least eight weeks old. In the early weeks of his life, he’s completely dependent on his mother. During the next three-to-eight weeks, he learns social skills from his mother and his littermates. He learns where he fits in the pack and starts to navigate the world around him. He sleeps snuggled up with his siblings and mother and, as a pack animal, he’s hardwired to remain close to them. It makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint — his very survival in the “wild” depends on staying close to the pack. So, when you bring your much-anticipated puppy home, he’s leaving the only family he’s ever known.

What To Expect In the Early Days With Your Puppy

You can almost count on some typical separation behaviors from your puppy and, once you understand these behaviors, you’ll find them much easier to deal with.

• He may cry when you’re out of sight, and follow you everywhere you go.
• There will almost certainly be some howling, barking  when you put him in a kennel
• Loud noises, like the vacuum cleaner, doorbell, or even raised voices, may frighten him.
• He can be restless or frightened at night and have trouble falling asleep.
• He may want to be picked up and held constantly.

This is normal puppy behavior, and how you handle it will affect your puppy’s adjustment and integration into the household. All it really takes is patience, understanding, and consistency.