Bringing Home Your New Puppy

The arrival of a new puppy at home is like the arrival of a new baby. The preparations and arrangements are just as involving as that of a baby.

Of course, excitement is bound to fill the household which usually leads to over excitement causing some frequently made mistakes however what is of the essence is to make the puppy comfortable in his new found home.

In light of this, proper guidelines that should guide the conduct and arrangements to be made before and after the puppy’s arrival are to ensure a successful start to the new relationship.

Before the New Puppy Arrives

1. Make Some Room

The puppy will need his own space where he can call his own in the house. Usually a crate or a cage that will fit him even when he attains adult size.

Puppies mainly prefer enclosed small space as opposed to cages thus the owner should avail such an area in the household.

It also should be within proximity to the owners’ room for regular checkups on the puppy.

2. Gather the Puppy’s Supplies

The puppy also has some necessary items essential for his survival. All these need to be purchased and availed when the puppy arrives.

Some of the essential commodities include premium puppy food, collar, and leash, training treats, chewing toys, groom kit, stainless steel water bowl and id tags. All these items will ensure a comfortable stay for the puppy.

3. Come up with house dog rules.

With your newly found family member, some rules regulating the dog-care duties should be established to avoid the puppy’s neglect. Duties such as who will feed him?

Who will go out for walks with him? What areas of the house should he access? Where will he be sleeping at night?

All these are issues that should be governed by a set of rules to ensure the puppy receives proper care and attention in these first few days.

4. House training preparations

A puppy is like a canine version of a toddler thus he will have to be trained to condition basic habits in him.

Such developments involve establishing a common vocabulary to be used by all family members by coming up with an approved list of words to be used.

Other forms of training such as potty routines will also require prior preparations. Such information is available when adopting the puppy.

5. Making your home puppy-proof

Puppies are bound to be curious about every little thing they find on the floor.

You will have to protect the puppy against some of these foreign objects that may be of potential harm.

This can only be ensured by picking up all these items such as electrical wires, breakables, and rugs.

Also, remove household products and chemicals from low shelves to limit the puppy’s access.

6. The ride home

The big day also needs some preparations. Usually, you will pick him up from the breeders or shelter home using a car.

Car rides have been known to make puppies anxious because of the vibrations and sudden sounds.

Hence a car ride may turn out to be a horrendous experience for them. It is therefore advised that the puppy should be held in a towel by the driver or anyone else in the car.

He should also be talked to, to waive his mind off and destruct him from the car ride.

After New Puppy arrives

1. Introducing the puppy to the home

Once you come home, it will be vital for you to introduce it to its new surroundings slowly.

This can be done by touring him one room to another. Starting with the basic rooms where he will be eating and sleeping.

Later on, you can visit him the whole house and compound avoiding rooms which are off limits.

2. Introduce the puppy to the housemates

This is a more sensitive area since the puppy will have to meet other members of the family.

Here try to keep away visitors and strangers but introduce the family to the main family members.

A common way to do that is to leave dirty laundry of them on the floor so that he can be accustomed to their scents.

If children happen to be in the family, it will be essential to take your time and explain to them how to handle a puppy.

3. Train on arrival

The introduction will provide an excellent avenue to start particular conditioning habits.

Training mainly involves reinforcing positive or negative behavior and the first few days will present this opportunity as the puppy explores his new environment.

As a precaution, you should avoid punishment since the puppy doesn’t know what kind of behavior you expect from him.

4. Provide a structure

Puppies need a routine, and they look up to you to know what boundaries and limits are in place.

Be consistent in your training to establish regular habits which your puppy can recognize. It will make them more comfortable and organized.

Introduce the puppy to other pets

You may own other pets, and this will mean that they will have to co-exist with each other. When introducing animals slow is always the best way.

You can use scent to enable this by using a cloth to get the smell of your new pet and another cloth to acquire the smell other pets then introduce them to each other scents. You can also use guarded physical attraction.

Be patient and realistic

It will take some time for the new puppy to get used to the environment. So keep realistic expectations.

The puppy may go missing for a few days or isolating himself its just part of the gradual adjustment.

Set up a veterinary appointment

Find a professional veterinary and set up a check-up appointment for the new puppy.

It is highly recommended that you stick to the veterinary who will be handling all your puppy’s health concerns.

Bringing a new puppy home is a significant transition for both the family members and the puppy, but with proper planning, it will be smooth.

However, patience is critical hence be fair to yourself and the puppy and let time also take its course.