From puppy-proofing to that all-important first night, here is how to set the stage for a calm, confident arrival.
Start with one room
The instinct is to give a new puppy the run of the house. Resist it. A whole home is overwhelming, and a puppy with too much space will toilet in the corners you are not watching.
Choose one room — usually the kitchen or a family room with washable flooring — and make that their world for the first week or two. It should contain their bed or crate, water, toys, and easy access to the door you will use for toilet trips.
Puppy-proofing, honestly assessed
Get down to Westie height and look around. At twelve weeks a Westie can reach anything on the floor and a surprising amount of what dangles above it.
- Cables — bundle, cover, or move them. Chewed cables are what emergency vets see most.
- Houseplants — check every one. Lilies, sago palm and many others are toxic to dogs.
- Cleaning products, medication and bins — behind a latched door, not on a low shelf.
- Small objects — toys, coins, hair ties. Terriers investigate with their mouths.
- Stairs — a gate at top and bottom. Puppy joints are still forming.
- Garden — walk the boundary. Westies were bred to go to ground; a gap you would dismiss is an invitation.
What to have ready
- A crate or covered bed sized so they can stand, turn and stretch out — no larger
- Two shallow bowls, and the food they are already eating
- A flat collar with an ID tag, a lightweight lead, and a harness for later
- A slicker brush and a metal comb
- Enzymatic cleaner — ordinary cleaner leaves scent markers that invite repeat accidents
The first night
Your puppy has just left their mother and littermates and has never slept alone. Some crying is not a training failure — it is a small animal asking whether anyone is there.
What helps: put their crate in your bedroom for the first few nights. A worn t-shirt of yours gives them your scent. Take them out immediately before bed and expect one wake-up; carry them out quietly, no play, straight back to bed.
What does not help: going in at every whimper, which teaches that noise summons you, or leaving them to cry it out, which teaches that no one comes. Most puppies sleep through by the second or third week.
Toilet training from day one
Take them out after every sleep, meal and play session, and every twenty minutes in between while awake. Same spot, wait quietly, praise the moment they finish — not when you get back inside. Accidents happen; clean with enzymatic cleaner and say nothing.
Agree the household rules first
Is the sofa allowed? Are beds allowed? Who does the morning toilet trip? Westies will find the softest touch in the house within about four days. Consistency across everyone beats any single training technique.
Give them time to be bored
A twelve-week-old puppy needs eighteen to twenty hours of sleep a day, and an overtired puppy behaves like an overtired toddler. Build in enforced rest — it is the thing that makes the rest of the day pleasant.
When you collect a puppy from us we send you home with their feeding routine, a familiar-smelling comfort item, and our number.