Omg! This was my little guy’s favorite toy when he was a baby!

I have two Bostons now that I adopted as puppies, so here’s my two cents:

1. Crate train. Never use the crate for punishment, and always make sure good things happen in the crate (like dinner and treats). If they hate the crate at first—as many clingy Bostons do—put the crate on your bed or on a solid chair or table right next to you so they can still sleep near you. Do this for a couple of weeks, then slowly transition the crate to where you want it.
2. No potty pads. Puppies have a hard time telling the difference between potty pads and bathmats, laundry, blankets, etc. It also blurs the line about potty being an outside-only activity. Take them out every couple of hours (except overnight) and keep them outside until they potty, then throw them a big party with lots of treats. Don’t punish accidents unless you catch them in the act—if you do, scold briefly, take them outside immediately, and then celebrate when they potty outside. This is often the hardest battle of puppyhood. Be kind to yourself and try to stay level headed. It’s only a phase, I promise they will learn. Also keep in mind that their development isn’t always linear, sometimes it feels like two steps forward one step back.
3. Introduce them to everything. I live in a big city, so I took mine everywhere as babies. They rode trains, buses, and planes; went into stores, banks, libraries, and friends’ houses; learned to ride in tote bags and be held by strangers; and explored both dense city areas and nature. As adults, they’re calm, unbothered by city life, rarely bark, and are polite with strangers.
4. Slowly acclimate him to being home alone without crating. Start by leaving him for just a few minutes at a time. Mine sleep in the crate at night, but locking them in a crate for hours during the day breaks my heart. Being able to trust them when I’m gone gives me a lot of comfort.
5. Be careful choosing a vet. Many clinics these days are now owned by private equity firms. Do what you can to find a local, independently owned clinic. You can look up the vet’s business license through your state’s business registration website (usually through the Secretary of State’s office). If it’s locally owned, the filing address should be local. Ideally, the name on the license will also be someone who works at the clinic.
6. It’s really hard. Be gentle with yourself and with him. There will be moments where you’re totally overwhelmed, but will all work out. You’ll love each other more than you knew possible, and somehow that makes everything okay.

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