The day you bring a puppy home is one of those days that stays with you. The car ride, the first time they sniff around the flat, the moment they find a corner they like and just sit there looking at you. It is chaotic and overwhelming and completely wonderful.
It is also the day a very long list of questions starts. What do I feed them? Where do they sleep? How much exercise is too much? When do I take them to the vet? The excitement is real and so is the uncertainty. The good news is that most of it is manageable with a bit of preparation. Here is what to have in place before they arrive and what to do once they do.
Puppies explore with their mouths. Before your puppy arrives, walk through every room they will have access to and look at it from floor level. Electrical cables, shoes, bags, plants, anything within reach is a potential chew. Tuck cables away, move anything fragile, and close off rooms you are not ready to supervise yet.
In the UAE specifically, balconies need attention. Make sure there are no gaps a small puppy could squeeze through and that they cannot get close to the edge unsupervised. The heat is also worth thinking about early. If your puppy is arriving in the warmer months, make sure the flat is cool before they get there and that fresh water is easy to find.
A few other things worth having ready before day one:
The instinct when a puppy arrives is to introduce them to everything and everyone immediately. Try to resist it. The journey to a new home is disorienting for a puppy, and the first few hours are better spent letting them explore at their own pace rather than overwhelming them with people, noise and excitement.
Keep the environment calm. Let them sniff around without being followed too closely. If you have children or other pets, introduce them gradually and with supervision. A puppy that feels safe in their environment from the start will settle faster and build confidence more easily than one that arrives into noise and chaos.
If they seem nervous or want to hide, let them. Do not pull them out or force interaction. Give them time and they will come to you.
A puppy needs a place that is theirs. Somewhere quiet, consistent and comfortable that they can retreat to when they are tired or overwhelmed. This is worth setting up before they arrive so it is already there when they need it.
Whether you use a crate, a pen or a bed in a corner, the principle is the same: make it comfortable, keep it in a consistent location and never use it as a punishment. A crate done well becomes a puppy's safe space. A crate done badly becomes something they fear. The difference is almost entirely in how it is introduced.
In the UAE heat, where you place their bed matters too. Avoid spots in direct sunlight or near warm air vents. A cool, shaded area with good airflow is ideal, especially for puppies arriving in summer.
Ask any new puppy guardian what stressed them most in the first few weeks and food comes up almost every time. What to feed them, how much, how often, whether what they are eating is actually giving them what they need. The advice available is contradictory and none of it makes the decision feel simple.
What puppies need is actually straightforward. Digestible protein to support muscle development and growth. Moisture, because a puppy in the UAE is losing fluids through heat and activity every day and dry food alone does not replace that. And real, simple ingredients their still-developing gut can handle without strain.
The Puppy Bundle was built to answer that decision without requiring you to research your way to it. Two gently cooked meals and three functional toppers, each chosen for what it does at this specific life stage.
Chicken with Banana is our most digestible meal, lean protein with white rice and banana, the highest protein in our range and gentle on a developing gut from the very first bowl. Turkey with Honey is the naturally palatable alternative, turkey with oats, white rice and a touch of honey, easy on the stomach and rarely refused even by slow starters.
The three toppers add another layer of support on top of the meals. Camel Bone Broth, slow-simmered for collagen and amino acids, supports the gut lining and growing joints. Pour it over either meal or serve it on its own. Hydrohund replaces the fluids and electrolytes the UAE heat takes from a puppy every single day. Supergreen Turkey adds a daily dose of functional greens, dandelion, broccoli and chlorella, quietly supporting the liver, kidneys and gut in the background.
One important note on switching. Do not move straight to Wunderdog on day one. A gradual transition over 7 days, starting with 25% Wunderdog mixed into their current food and increasing from there, gives the gut time to adjust and avoids the digestive upset that comes from moving too fast. If your puppy has a history of a sensitive stomach, take it to 10 to 14 days instead.
Puppies thrive on routine. Not rigidity, but consistency. The same meal times, the same sleep spots, the same sequence of events through the day. Routine reduces anxiety because it makes the world predictable. A puppy that knows what comes next is a calmer, more confident puppy.
For feeding, frequency matters as much as what you feed. Under three months, puppies need four meals a day. Their stomachs are small and their energy needs are high. From three to six months, three meals a day. From six months onwards, twice a day works well for most breeds. Consistent meal times also make toilet training easier because digestion becomes predictable.
On exercise, less is more in the early months. The rule of thumb most vets recommend is five minutes of exercise per month of age, twice a day. A three-month-old puppy needs fifteen minutes, not an hour. Over-exercising a young puppy, especially a large breed, puts unnecessary strain on joints that are still developing. Short, calm walks and free play at home are enough.
Book it before you bring them home if you can, or within the first few days of arrival. The first vet visit is not just about vaccinations. It is a baseline. Your vet gets to meet your puppy healthy, which makes it easier to notice changes later. It is also the right moment to ask every question you have been holding since you decided to get a dog.
In the UAE, make sure your puppy is microchipped and registered with the relevant authority in your emirate. Requirements vary slightly but microchipping is mandatory across the country. Your vet will guide you through this if it has not already been done by the breeder.
Fresh food is not a replacement for veterinary care. It is a foundation. Your vet is still the right call for anything that concerns you, and the earlier you establish that relationship, the easier every visit after it becomes.
The first few weeks with a puppy are harder than most people expect. The sleep disruption, the accidents, the chewing, the constant supervision. It passes, and it passes faster than it feels like it will in week two. What you put in place in this early period, the routine, the feeding, the training, the vet relationship, shapes the dog they become far more than most people realise.
You will not get every decision right. Nobody does. But showing up consistently, feeding them well, giving them a safe space and a predictable routine gets you most of the way there. The rest you figure out together.