4 Tips For Preparing to Adopt a New Dog
Embarking on the journey of adoption, whether it’s bringing a child or a pet into your home, represents a considerable and intricate choice. Jumping into this without proper understanding and preparation for welcoming a new dog into your life can result in a difficult and stress-filled start…
That’s right…
While there’s a whole bunch of things new dog owners can do, taking care of a few essential things can go a long way. Why dampen the fun and excitement of bringing your new pup home with the stress of unpreparedness??
It’s a no-brainer, really.
So without dallying, here are 4 essentials you should keep in mind while preparing to adopt a new dog…
Tips to Prepare for Adopting a New Dog
From preparing your home to taking care of your new puppy health, here are 4 basic tips for preparing yourself for bringing your new puppy home…
1. Getting Your Home Ready for the New Puppy
Apart from getting all the essentials like collars, leashes, feeding bowls, etc., there’s a bunch of other stuff you really should prepare for.
Like what?
Well for starters, you really should puppy-proof all the places or things at home that a naughty pup is likely to hurt himself fooling around with, or breaking/tearing/damaging. For instance, take care of any fire hazards, choking hazards, and so on.
If there are other pets at home, make sure they’re updated with their necessary shots before they get to interact with the new pup.
It’s also a good idea to make sure you have enough supplies like grooming tools, stain removers, or puppy pads. The latter two, for sure, considering that your puppy is entering an unfamiliar home, and has no potty-training (presumably).
That’s a guarantee for several accidents until he’s sufficiently trained.
2. Making a Smooth Transition in Your Puppy’s Diet
You likely have your own plans and considerations for your new puppy’s daily diet. And it’s highly unlikely that it would be identical to his previous home.
Switching diets can be tricky, and many dogs have tummy troubles if the switch is made suddenly. Keeping that in mind, make sure you make note of what his diet until now was.
Maintain the same diet for a few days, and then gradually start introducing your diet, increasing your portion over the span of say 2-3 weeks. This will help his body adjust to the new food, reducing the chances, or at least the severity of his digestive issues.
3. Beginning Training
This, along with the final tip coming up ext, is probably the most important thing you should do to prepare for adopting a new dog. Don’t delay in planning and scheduling his training!
That goes for both command/obedience training your puppy as well as housetraining since both are fundamentals. Many owners think it’s good to let the puppy adjust for a few days or so before beginning training.
No!
Even if your new dog was already trained and housebroken, he will need some extra help in adjusting to his new home. Same with anything other training where the new, unfamiliar surroundings will have a bearing.
Like crate training.
Don’t delay even a single day when it comes to training. Believe it, it will definitely help your new puppy adjust to his new home.
4. Scouting Vets
You should ideally have picked out your preferred veterinarian nearby in advance. Try to speak with other owners in the neighborhood, in case you’re a new dog owner, and get their recommendations.
Why the rush?
Well, naturally one of the first things you must do after bringing your puppy home is to get his chart updated at the Vets. That means a full check-up and possibly additional vaccinations.
You’d also do well to get the vet’s recommendations as to products you plan to get for your pup, if you’re a new owner, be it food or grooming products.
We hope you found these pointers on preparing to adopt a new dog useful. If you know any other tips or suggestions from your own experiences, do let us know in the comments section below!
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