Wishing all our puppy owners happy days ahead

2026 Puppy Update: The Joy—and the Real Work in Those First Weeks


During 2026 so far, we’ve had two litters of puppies—one from Birdie and one from Geri. All of those puppies are now in their homes, settled in, and enjoying life. I’m truly proud to have found such lovely families—homes that will nurture these puppies and bring them on to be the very best versions of themselves.


But as we always say, it’s hard work.


The first three weeks after a puppy goes to their new home can be the most difficult to navigate. You can do “all the right things”, and still suddenly feel like everything has flipped the wrong way. This is completely normal—because puppies are learning everything at once: routines, boundaries, people, smells, sounds, sleeping patterns, toilet habits, and what is expected of them.


It’s all about that balance of love, understanding, and firmness when needed—especially when teaching puppies that mouthing is unacceptable when it’s you.


The First Hurdles New Puppy Owners Often Face


Here are the most common early struggles, and why they happen:


1) Mouthing


Many puppies mouth because it’s how they explore the world. It’s also a form of play and teething. The key is consistency—puppies don’t understand “don’t do that” in the way we do, so we must teach them what to do instead.


What helps:


    •    Replace biting/mouthing with an appropriate chew toy
    •    Use calm redirection (avoid games that turn into wrestling)
    •    Teach “leave it” and “give” (even at a very early stage)
    •    Encourage gentle play with toys rather than hands


    If you only punish mouthing, you’ll often get conflict or fear. The goal is to teach a better habit, not just remove the unwanted one.

But if all the kinder methods just do not seem to work then you have to step up your game and be firmer with the puppy.  This is the biggest reason of returns to breeders when people can not firm up and tell the dog off.  Years ago behaviourists were not a thing.  Then suddenly as society changed where you cannot tell children off, and you should not tell a dog off, then dogs suddenly got out of hand.    Sometimes we just have to be tougher than we would like to stop mouthing.  But only with mouthing, as most things in a dog training life ahead you are using rewards and positives training.  But dog biting is not acceptable and if we do not stop it now, it just gets worse and worse.


2) Screaming at Night


This can be heartbreaking. Puppies are leaving everything familiar and going into a new environment. Separation anxiety and overwhelm are very common—especially in the first nights.


What helps:


    •    Keep bedtime routines calm and predictable
    •    Create a warm, secure sleeping area (many do well with a cosy bed or crate setup)
    •    Consider night-time reassurance strategies (without accidentally building a “must be awake all night” expectation)
    •    Avoid making night-time settling a high-excitement activity


    Screaming often isn’t “bad behaviour”—it’s communication that they’re scared, unsure, or overtired.


3) Not Wanting to Be in a Crate at Night


A crate can be a lifesaver for sleep and training—but only if it becomes a safe, positive place.


What helps:


    •    Start crate training before bedtime (short, positive sessions)
    •    Use treats and enrichment to build positive associations
    •    Never use the crate as punishment
    •    Make sure the crate is sized correctly (too big can contribute to accidents)


If your puppy is refusing the crate at night, step back and rebuild the foundation—crate training is not “one day” learning.


4) House Training


House training can feel like it’s taking forever, but it usually improves rapidly once you understand puppy timing.


Puppies have small bladders, low control, and still don’t fully understand signals. Accidents happen—especially when puppies are excited, overstimulated, or overtired.


What helps:


    •    Use a consistent schedule (take them out after naps, meals, play, and waking)
    •    Reward quickly when they eliminate outside
    •    Don’t punish accidents—clean up and reset
    •    Manage the environment: puppy-proofing, supervision, and using a crate appropriately


It Can Feel Like You’re Doing Everything Wrong (But You’re Not)


New puppy owners can be too eager for everything to “fall into place” immediately. But instead, it often works best to take a step back and focus on one area at a time.


Small steps are large steps in a puppy’s life.


You wouldn’t expect a child to master schoolwork in a single day—you support progress through repetition, routine, and consistency.


A Quick Reminder: Repetition + Rest = Progress


It takes around 2,000 repetitions for any dog to truly understand a command in a reliable way.


And puppies require a huge amount of rest--18–20 hours sleep each day. With a Vizsla it can be a little less, as they tend to fight sleep at times, but sleep is still essential.


When puppies are overtired, behaviour often worsens:


    •    mouthing increases
    •    night settling becomes harder
    •    accidents become more frequent
    •    confidence can drop


So if things feel like they’ve suddenly gone backwards—check the sleep.


What I Want Puppy Owners to Remember Most


If you’re in the middle of those early struggles, please don’t assume you’ve done something wrong. Most “problems” in puppy life are simply part of learning and adjustment.


Your job isn’t to make life perfect—your job is to guide them consistently:


    •    teach the right behaviour
    •    manage the environment
    •    keep routines calm
    •    repeat calmly and kindly


And with time, the balance clicks into place.