New puppy, haven't brought her home yet

Oh I have yet another question (sorry!).

I've read up on how puppies sleep a lot during the day and the rest of the day, they potty, eat, and play. Is there a generic schedule someone can provide me to just give me a guideline?

For example,

8:00 AM Potty
9:00 AM Food and potty

and etc.

I would be grateful.

I think a good schedule helps with housetraining.  Like, the dog eats and then goes out to "potty".  That's what works with mine. 

Every morning I'd get up with her and take her out to the same spot.  I'd say, "Pee-pee, Roxie!" in a sweet tone.  She got the hang of it and took care of business.

What an exciting time for you!  You're on the right track, with thoughts of schedules, taking puppy outside etc.  If you take her out every time after she eats, after she wakes up, and lots of times inbetween too, it will help with housetraining.  Crates are a godsend also, for when you need to leave her alone/overnight.  Try to never leave her out of sight, as the less "accidents" that happen, the quicker she'll get trained.

I always keep a diary of my pups behaviour, and that way we can work out our own schedule.  I write down every time the pup pees, poops, playtimes, sleeps etc.  It only takes a second to scribble it down on a daily log, and can be very helpful.  Generally, you'll probably find for the first few weeks that your puppy is asleep as much as she's awake.  So if she's been playing for 2 hours, she'll probably then sleep for an hour and a half or two hours.

Bear in mind that absolutely everything is new to your pup when she comes home.  So there's a lot for her to explore, discover, learn, all of which is very tiring.  It's up to you to set the guidelines, and I'd recommend you start as you mean to go on.  Behaviour that seems cute in a puppy might not be cute when she's fully grown.

Good luck with everything and enjoy your baby girl!

Give her a few days to settle down.  I dont see a problem in playing with her if she's not too shy or timid.  I would introduce her to her crate first, then take her out for a little while.  If she's a little shy, she'll probably go back into her crate.  But if she wants to play, then great, play with her.

As for potty, with our pup, he always had to go right after a nap, 15 minutes or so after a meal, and in the middle of playtime.  The only constant things in our schedule was the first out, anywhen from 5-6am, and the last out, which is usually 11-12pm.  He also gets fed at the same time each day, 7am and 6pm.  Apart from that, everything else in the schedule changes depending on when he wants to play and when he wants to nap.

Oh yeah, another thing, you probably read this already, but chances are, your puppy is going to cry at night the first couple of days you have her.  But whatever you do, don't comfort her, or it'll encourage her to keep crying.

Good luck, and post some pics as soon as you get her!