Bringing your purebred puppy home is likely to be a rather monumental occasion. You’ve added a new addition to your family and definitely want to make sure it’s well taken care of. Below are some good tips to consider to make sure your purebred puppy is taken care of in the beginning stages of its life.

• Potty/crate training your purebred puppy

This is a big part of owning a puppy and there are definitely good and bad ways to go about it. This is likely to be one of the most challenging parts of owning a puppy. Consider starting with crate training, which means that when you are not home, your puppy goes into the crate as to avoid having accidents around the house. Make sure the size of the crate is just big enough for the puppy to stand up and turn around in, any bigger and they can go the bathroom in one section and sleep in another, defeating the whole purpose. Place the crate somewhere you or your family often resides are such as your living room or bedroom and put something in the crate the puppy has already identified with such as a chew toy, ball, towel, etc. Start leaving your puppy in the crate for longer periods of time so it can get use to being in there, also, it’s best to let your puppy out to go to the bathroom every 4 hours if possible.

• Getting your purebred puppy on your sleep cycle

Dogs, like people, are generally creatures of habit and will eventually get on your sleep schedule if it’s very similar each night. If you crate your dog, make sure and put something in there for comfort at night, like a blanket. Also, make sure you get your puppy out for lots of exercise! While puppies have a ton of energy to burn, they need just as much sleep. Getting your purebred puppy out of the house for a ball throwing session or a long walk a couple hours before bedtime is a good idea. Lastly, puppies get a lot of energy from food, instead of feeding them around your dinner time, try feeding them right when you get home from work for instance, so that there is plenty of time for them to process it.

• Choosing the right puppy food

Around the time your purebred puppy is being weaned (at about 2 ½ weeks of age) start mixing dry puppy food with warm water so that it’s more of a mush consistency so they can easily digest it. Once your purebred puppy reaches around 7 weeks slowly start decreasing the moisture content and at about 3 months, you can usually switch your puppy to twice a day feedings of dry food. Eventually, puppy food labeled for "all stages" should provide sufficient nutrients for your growing pup, but because it is closer to a maintenance level, your puppy will have to eat more of this than puppy formula.

While there are many things to consider when taking care of your growing puppy, these are many of the major concerns many dog owners have. You’ll want to make sure your purebred puppy maintains all of its beauty and health characteristics by taking the best care of it you can.