How to Get Your Children Ready for a New Puppy
The puppy is coming in three weeks and the whole house has gone into countdown mode. The children have picked six different names, a teddy is being carried round as a stand-in, and the youngest has already asked if the puppy can sleep in their bed. It's lovely, and it's also the best chance you'll get to prepare them, because children take in the rules far more easily before there's a real, wriggly, nippy little puppy on the kitchen floor. Once the puppy is here, everyone's too excited to listen. So this is what I'd do with children in the weeks before a puppy comes home, how I'd split the jobs by age, what to practise with a soft toy first, and how to plan a first day that suits the children and the puppy.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Start getting children ready two or three weeks before the puppy comes home. Talk about what a young puppy really needs, which is lots of sleep, a quiet space of his own and gentle, calm people. Agree a few house rules together and put them where everyone can see them. Let the children help set up the pen, the bed and the water bowl, and practise the calm things with a soft toy: sitting on the floor and letting the "puppy" come to them, and dropping a treat on the floor instead of holding it out. Give each child a job that fits their age, keep the first day quiet with no visitors, and make sure a grown-up is close by whenever the children and the puppy are together.
Why the weeks before matter so much
A puppy works out what children mean in the first few days. If the first week is children running, squealing and taking turns to carry him about, the puppy learns that children are something to chase, nip and wriggle away from, and that's a hard habit to undo. If the first week is children sitting quietly on the floor, dropping the odd bit of kibble and leaving him alone when he's tired, he learns that children are calm and kind, and that's the puppy you want growing up alongside them.
Children are just the same. The rules they learn while they're waiting are the ones that stick. Trying to explain "don't pick him up" while the puppy is already in somebody's arms is a much harder conversation.
Tell them what a puppy is really like
Most children picture a puppy as a little friend who'll want to play all day. It's worth gently setting them straight before he arrives, so nobody's disappointed.
He'll sleep most of the day. A puppy that age can need 18 to 20 hours' sleep in a day, so for the first week the puppy will mostly be asleep, and that's exactly what he should be doing.
He'll nip. A puppy's mouth is how he finds out about the world. It doesn't mean he doesn't like them. Nine times out of ten he's simply overtired and needs a nap.
He'll have accidents. Puddles happen. Nobody shouts, and the children's job is to fetch a grown-up.
He might cry at night. He's just left his mum and his brothers and sisters, so a few unsettled nights are normal, and the grown-ups will look after him.
For younger children, a picture book or activity book about a puppy coming home helps them take this in at their own speed, and they can come back to it as often as they like.
Agree the house rules before he arrives
Sit down together and let the children help write the rules. They're far more likely to stick to rules they've helped make, and older children love being the ones who remind everybody. Stick them up somewhere the whole family sees them every day, like the back of the kitchen door.
1. The pen is the puppy's own space
When he's in his pen or crate, he's resting. No calling him, no poking fingers through the bars and no climbing in with him.
2. Puppy stays on the floor
Only grown-ups lift the puppy. Puppies wriggle, and a fall from a child's arms can really hurt him. A puppy who's carried about a lot also learns to nip to be put down.
3. Sit down and let him come to you
Children sit on the floor with their hands on their knees and wait. If the puppy wants a fuss, he'll come over. If he wanders off, that's his choice and that's fine.
4. Treats go on the floor
A treat held out in a child's fingers brings the puppy's mouth straight to their hand, and it encourages him to jump up for it. Dropping it on the floor in front of him keeps his nose down and fingers safe.
5. Indoor voices and walking feet
Running and shrieking near a puppy turns him into a chaser. Save the races for the park.
6. A grown-up is always close by
This one is for the adults as much as the children. Not in the next room, not glancing up from the phone, but close enough to step in.
Practise with a soft toy first
This is my favourite bit to do with children, and it works far better than any amount of talking. Pick a soft toy to be the "puppy" for a couple of weeks and practise the real things with it.
Saying hello. The children sit on the floor with their hands on their knees, a grown-up brings the toy puppy over slowly, and the children stay sitting still until the toy reaches them.
Treats. Use something pretend, like a button or a piece of paper, and practise dropping it on the floor in front of the toy rather than holding it out.
Leaving him to sleep. Pop the toy in its "bed" and the children practise tiptoeing past and playing quietly nearby.
If he nips. The children practise standing up slowly, tucking their hands into their armpits, going quiet and calling a grown-up. No flapping, no pushing him away, because that turns it into a game.
It feels a bit silly at first, and the older ones might roll their eyes, but children remember what they've done with their own hands much better than anything they've been told, so it's worth ten minutes a day.
Let them help get the house ready
Getting the house ready is a great way to burn off some of that excitement, and every job has a reason behind it you can explain as you go.
Picking up socks, hair bobbles and small toys from the floor, because puppies chew and swallow them
Helping put the pen together and choosing a quiet corner for it, away from the front door and the busiest part of the kitchen
Putting shoes and school bags up high
Looking for wires and cables at puppy height, and telling a grown-up where they are
Choosing the puppy's name together, so everyone uses the same one from day one, and a short name works best
Jobs that suit each age
Ages are only a guide, because you know your own children best and some five-year-olds are calmer than some nine-year-olds, and every job happens with a grown-up there.
Under 3
At this age the job really belongs to the grown-ups, which is keeping the toddler and the puppy apart with the pen or a gate, and letting the toddler watch from the other side. A toddler and a young puppy on the floor together tends to end in tears, usually for both of them.
3 to 5
Fetching a towel after a wet garden trip, telling a grown-up about a puddle, and dropping a few pieces of the puppy's breakfast on the floor for him to sniff out, with a grown-up right beside them.
6 to 8
Helping fill the water bowl (a grown-up checks it), putting a sticker on the toilet chart after a wee in the garden, and hiding a few bits of kibble in the grass for a sniffing game.
9 and up
Helping with simple training games like the name game with a grown-up there, keeping a puppy diary of naps, wees and meals, and reminding younger brothers and sisters of the rules (kindly!).
Planning the first day
The first day is the one the children have been counting down to, so it helps to tell them exactly how it will go, step by step, a few times before it happens, so nobody is surprised when the puppy goes off for a nap after ten minutes.
The car ride home. The puppy travels in a crate in the car, not on anybody's knee. If the children come too, their job is to sit quietly and talk softly to him.
Garden first. When you get home, the puppy goes straight to his toilet spot before he does anything else.
Then quiet time. He goes into his pen or room to have a sniff around on his own. The children sit and watch, and he can come over when he's ready.
No visitors. Friends, grandparents and the neighbours can meet him in a week or two. The first day is just your family.
Short turns. Five minutes of sitting with him, then he goes for a nap and the children go off and do something else, and that pattern carries on all day.
When the excitement wears off
Somewhere around week two or three, the novelty often wears off. The puppy nips, the children get fed up, and suddenly nobody wants to fill the water bowl. That's normal, and it doesn't mean anything has gone wrong. Keep the jobs small, keep the sticker chart going, and notice the children out loud when they're calm and kind with him. Children who feel they're good at being with the puppy want to keep doing it. For a look at sharing out the training as the puppy grows, read roles for kids, teens and adults.
RENEE'S TIP
Turn the last week before the puppy comes into a countdown, with one small job a day. Seven days to go, choose the name. Six, tidy the bedrooms. Five, build the pen. Four, practise with the soft toy. Three, put the shoes up high. Two, write the house rules. One, an early night, because tomorrow's a big day.
BEFORE THE PUPPY COMES HOME
ā Talk about sleep, nipping, accidents and the first nights
ā Write the house rules together
ā Practise with a soft toy
ā Let the children help set up the pen
ā Agree one name and a job for each child
ā Plan a quiet first day with no visitors
FROM RENEE'S BOOKSHELF
Our Puppy Is Coming Home
A colouring and activity book for children aged 4 to 10, all about getting ready, the first day and the first week with a new puppy.
FOR THE CHILDREN IN YOUR HOUSE
Sully's Puppy Quest
My online game course made for children aged 7 and up. They help Sully the puppy through his first year over 8 levels and 24 short games, learning the same rules I use with families, with a real-life mission to do with your own puppy and a certificate with their name on it for every level they finish.
ā¬39, or ā¬29 for Puppy Club members.
PAWS PUPPY CLUB
One trusted plan for your puppy
Every Puppy Club
ā A roadmap for each common puppy problem, so you pick the one you need
ā 230+ lessons, including 75+ training videos and 30+ demos
ā 25+ downloadable guides
ā Lexi's Puppy Diaries
Plus and Coaching add
ā Ask me your questions in the community
ā 1:1 sessions with me (one in Plus, three in Coaching)
Every option comes with a 14-day guarantee.
FAQs
How do I prepare my child for a new puppy?
Start two or three weeks before. Talk about what puppies need, agree house rules together, practise with a soft toy and let them help set up the puppy's space.
What jobs can children do with a new puppy?
It depends on their age, but fetching a towel, telling a grown-up about a puddle, helping fill the water bowl and putting stickers on a toilet chart are all good starts.
Should children pick up a puppy?
No. Only grown-ups lift the puppy, because puppies wriggle and can be badly hurt if they fall.
How should a child say hello to a new puppy?
Sitting on the floor with their hands on their knees, letting the puppy choose to come over.
Can a toddler and a puppy be on the floor together?
It's best not. Keep them apart with a pen or gate and let the toddler watch, with a grown-up always close by.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Renee Patience Ā· National Dog Trainer of the Year 2025
Founder and head trainer of Paws Academy, with more than 30 years training dogs and a Level 6 Diploma in Applied Canine Behaviour. Renee has competed in agility, obedience and heelwork to music across the UK, including at Crufts and Olympia, has appeared on CBBC, and is the author of the Modern Training Guides and the Modern Breed Handbook series. Pictured with her boxer, Kookie.
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