The first two weeks with a small dog in a flat
You do not need to teach much in the first fortnight. You need a schedule the dog can predict, one cue that makes everything else easier, and enough kit that you are not improvising at 6am.
What to buy before the dog arrives
Short list, in the order you will use it:
- A crate sized so the dog can stand, turn and lie flat — no bigger. A too-large crate lets a puppy toilet in one end and sleep in the other.
- A mat or bed that is not the crate bedding. This becomes the settle spot and it needs to be portable.
- A harness and a fixed-length lead — 1.2 to 1.8 metres. Retractable leads teach pulling and are miserable in lifts and corridors.
- Two bowls and a sealed food container.
- Potty pads or an indoor tray if you are above the second floor. Getting down the stairs takes longer than a puppy's bladder allows.
- Three chew toys of different textures — rubber, rope, and something edible. Rotate them rather than putting all three out.
A daily schedule that actually holds
Puppies do best on a predictable rhythm. The times matter less than the order and the consistency.
| When | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| On waking | Straight out to toilet, no detours | The bladder is fullest now |
| After toilet | Breakfast, then 20 minutes free | Food triggers the next toilet need |
| Mid-morning | Toilet, then crate nap | Puppies need 16–18 hours of sleep; overtired puppies bite |
| Midday | Walk or indoor game, 10–15 minutes | Short and frequent beats long and rare |
| Afternoon | Toilet, nap, training (5 minutes) | Five focused minutes beats thirty scattered ones |
| Evening | Walk, dinner, settle on mat while you eat | This is where the settle cue pays off |
| Before bed | Last toilet, crate | Cut water an hour before, not earlier |
The one cue to teach first: settle on a mat
Not "sit". Sit is a trick. Settle is the thing that makes a dog liveable in a flat — it is what you use when someone knocks, when you are cooking, when you are on a call.
- Put the mat down. The instant the dog puts any paw on it, mark it ("yes") and drop a treat on the mat. Not from your hand — on the mat. The mat becomes where food appears.
- Repeat until the dog goes to the mat on its own. Do not name it yet.
- Now wait for a lie-down before you mark. Then wait for a chin-down.
- Once the dog lies down on the mat reliably, start saying "settle" as it happens, then gradually before it happens.
- Build duration by dropping treats at increasing intervals — 2 seconds, 5, 10, 20. Release with a word ("okay") so the dog knows when it is over.
Five minutes twice a day. Most dogs hold a two-minute settle inside a week.
What to ignore in the first fortnight
Tricks, long walks, dog parks, and meeting every neighbour. A new dog is coping with a new home; asking it to also cope with novelty all day is how you get a dog that barks at everything. Quiet and predictable first, interesting later.
Is a paid course worth it
Most apartment barking is boredom, not disobedience, and the fix is mental work rather than more walks. That is the gap a structured course fills.
| Programme | What it is | How you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Brain Training for Dogs | A course of 21 games that work on a dog's problem-solving rather than drilling obedience commands. | One-time purchase. Access does not expire. |
Brain Training for Dogs
A course of 21 games that work on a dog's problem-solving rather than drilling obedience commands.
How you pay. One-time purchase. Access does not expire.
Best for. Dogs whose behaviour problems come from boredom — barking, chewing, restlessness in a small flat.
Skip it if. You need help with a specific medical or aggression issue. That is a vet or a qualified behaviourist, not a course.
None of these replaces the routine. A programme you open three times a week beats a better one you abandon in month two — so weigh the format at least as heavily as the content.
Covers: small dog apartment training, teach puppy to settle on mat, apartment puppy daily schedule, new puppy checklist apartment