You’ve always visualized one day you would have a dog. Yet, you never conceived it could become a reality. After months of arduous planning and saving. At last, you have found the ideal canine that is compatible with you and your lifestyle.
A new animal affords us much amusement as well as a sense of camaraderie. In this blog, we will cover choice tips for bringing a new pet home. Tips to help you grasp how to provide, love, and responsibly maintain the health and safety of your pet. The following article is about the best tips for bringing a new puppy home.
The Best Tips For Bringing A New Puppy Home
Schedule a Family Meeting
Bringing a new family member into the fold is major. Just as with any other life-changing event, the whole family should be able to take a vote. It is essential to have an open discussion regarding all expectations that are pet-related. Such as, who is responsible for walks, feeding, and most of all clean-up!
As one of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home, remember puppies consume a lot of time. Bringing a puppy into the family fold is much like bringing a newborn baby home from the hospital. Puppies are needy, requiring lots of love and attention.
Schedule a Visit to the Veterinarian before bringing your pet home
Ideally, you should take your new pet to a veterinarian before bringing it home. This is just another of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home. Visits to a vet early on will allow for vaccinations and other preventative care. This is essential to your pet’s health.
It is imperative for canines to have a veterinarian appointment annually after 12 months of age. It doesn’t matter where you live or how healthy, they may appear. If any changes occur, such as rehoming to an alternative living condition, it may require another physical examination.
Establishing a Routine
Part of the family discussion should be about establishing a routine. A young canine requires a rigid schedule. There’s so much to plan for– walks, mealtime, and bathroom breaks. Dogs are creatures of habit; therefore, a schedule must be set and adhered to as much as possible.
Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean your pet can’t get a daily dose of exercise. Your fur baby might not like being left inside all day long. Yet, it is best if they don’t over-exert themselves. Things will be much simpler if each day is planned out. Therefore, pup won’t go stir crazy when the weather’s bad outside, making everything easier to handle for all involved. On the subject of adverse weather, you will want to purchase a set of dog socks for your new pup. You don’t like walking barefoot on hot pavement or in cold snow; neither does your dog.
Speaking of exercise, puppies need plenty of it to aid in muscle and bone growth. Keeping them secured on a leash during walks is one way to keep them healthy. At least until the vaccinations have been completed. Doing this will help slow the spread of infectious diseases, such as Parvo, between canines.
Sign your pet up for a puppy class, to teach dog obedience as soon as your schedule allows it. Potty training is important–unless you want to be calling a carpet cleaning service or even an upholstery cleaning service every time your pet has an accident! Be consistent and patient when training your dog, offering treats as rewards when milestones are met.
Provide a Secure Area to Sleep and Play
To some people putting your dog in a crate or kennel appears a bit confining. Yet, it is an excellent way to ensure your pooch’s safety. Particularly if you do not want to invest in carpet repair or, in the most extreme cases, new flooring installation. Pups sometimes scratch flooring or snag carpet during playtime, having them confined to a kennel will prevent floor damage. Another best tip for bringing home a new puppy is to place your pet in an area with affordable flooring installed. At least until you have completely house trained him or her.
One of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home—is to keep your dog in a safe space with their own toys and treats. Dogs can be territorial, so make sure they have somewhere to feel comfortable. If you are leasing residential property or don’t have much room, a crate is recommended.
Training your Canine
Another of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home is training your puppy to stay in a crate. Dogs are den animals, relishing the security of a safe area to retreat when becoming anxious or overwhelmed. Training your pup to stay in a crate is an excellent way to orientate your pet to its new environment.
Familiarize Yourself with Pet Laws
One of the most important best tips for bringing home a new puppy is to be familiar with pet laws. Are there currently any laws regarding keeping dogs on a leash? Many city ordinances have leash laws. In addition, these cities require a dog to have a license and certain mandatory vaccinations. The next section will discuss obtaining a dog license.
What to Feed (or Not) Your Puppy
Some people wonder if dogs can eat Italian food. Although plain cooked pasta is good in a dog’s diet, Italian sausage is not. The spices that are put into Italian sausage is actually a form of poison to dogs. Garlic and onion powder should never be fed to dogs in any way, shape, or form. Even if you do find unseasoned Italian sausage, its fat content is much too high. You need to find another form of protein to supplement your pooch’s diet.
If you want to know what food your puppy will really love? Try some boiled turkey or chicken meat. If your pet has an upset tummy, blend this with some cooked plain rice. Dogs also love cheese. However, safe it is to eat, some types are high in fat and could result in your pet becoming obese.
Obtaining the Dog License
Getting a dog license is an integral step in the process of owning and caring for your pet.
One more of the best tips for bringing home a new puppy is where to get your dog’s license. Licensing your dog enables law enforcement to identify your pet should he or she get lost.
Most jurisdictions allow an online application for dog registration. The registration application requires some information about yourself and your furry friend. Another piece of insurance is to get your pet microchipped. This allows for easier detection of where you might have wandered off to should they get out. When you register your dog, you have the option of purchasing a tag with all pertinent information on it.
Scrutinize the Surroundings (together)
This is one of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home most people tend to ignore. Puppies are curious, and it’s best to explore their new home with them, so they’ll know where everything is. This process could take a few days or even weeks. Eventually, your pup will be more confident exploring on their own.
Puppy Proof the Surroundings
Use gates to confine the puppy to one area until the rules and boundaries are learned. Once this is learned the gate can be removed. Allowing a pup to explore new areas of the house. Ensure to supervise your fur kid just as you would a real kid. Puppies like getting into mischief and can damage things unintentionally.
Keep your puppy’s environment free of temptation by removing or covering items tempting him to chew. Puppy-proof the house by closing doors, so they can’t get into rooms without you. Place all trash cans out of reach. Cover food on countertops and tables so as to prevent an inquisitive nose or paw from getting inside.
If you own a pool, ensure to utilize pool covers. A pool can be dangerous for puppies and can result in an unfortunate, deadly accident.
Puppies chew for several reasons: teething, boredom, lack of activity or stimulation. They may also feel anxious when you are away. Or they feel frustrated because they’re confined to one area. Ensure to have plenty of toys for chewing, and rotate them regularly to appease your pup’s level of interest. Should your puppy be allowed to roam freely throughout the house unsupervised, they may chew the carpet. Chewing the carpet can result in expensive carpet repairs.
Offer Frequent Rewards
Puppies are always so excited about everything they see and smell for the first few weeks or months. However, the best tip for bringing home a new puppy recommends taking it slow when offering treats. Treats can pack on excess calories, resulting in a healthy pup becoming obese! Unlike humans, pups only eat once per day. Therefore, you must decide wisely what those meals should be. When you bring a new puppy home, you are that pup’s parent. You are the voice and eyes of wisdom to your new pet.
Review your Insurance Policy for Pet Riders
Insurance is one of the most important of the best tips for bringing a new puppy home. This should always be done before adopting a new puppy (or kitten). What if your furry friend should get sick or injured? Without pet insurance, it could mean the difference between life or death. Just as with real children, your pet might be involved in an accident. You don’t want to have any regrets because you failed to plan ahead.
Teach Socialization Skills
Puppies need to socialize with humans and other animals in order to grow up happy and healthy. Meeting a variety of people and animals can teach them how to behave (even if they never meet another dog). If possible, get your pup into puppy obedience classes while he is still young. Ensuring he learns commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘stay.’ Training also helps with unlearning bad behavior such as chewing, digging, and offensive barking.
Make sure your children understand the pup is not a toy. Introduce him to family members one at a time to not overwhelm or scare him or her. Dogs are social animals, thriving on the attention of their human companions. So ensure you provide them with plenty of love and affection.
If you are bringing home another dog into the family mix, ensure to set up an area where they can safely meet. This should be done before actually introducing them face-to-face (a screen door works well for this). This also gives your pooch some alone time after the car ride, allowing them to adjust to new faces.
Establishing a Sense of Rapport
Establishing your position early on in your relationship with your puppy is a good idea. Be gentle but firm when training or disciplining. If your pup misbehaves do not be too harsh. Developing a sense of rapport will let him know you are his ‘parent’ and he can rely on you.
Final Thoughts
Puppies are adorable, but they are also a LOT of work. These best tips for bringing a new puppy home have been provided to help you. Enabling you to have fun with your pup and also prepares you for worst-case scenarios.
Before bringing a new puppy home, ensure to purchase the necessary supplies your pup needs. These supplies include (but not limited to):
- Food and water dishes
- Treats
- Warm bedding
- Crate or kennel
- Toys and chew things
You can buy these items at pet stores or online. Something else to purchase before bringing home a new pup is over-the-counter pet meds. You should always have a dewormer available with a new pup. Also, medication for ticks and heartworm.
The key to success with your new pup is starting them early in learning good habits. If you want your new puppy to grow into a happy, well-adjusted dog, ensure boundaries are established.
With these tips in mind, you now are ready to go puppy searching. Ensure to refer back to these best tips for bringing a puppy home, if you have any questions. Best of all, enjoy your new puppy while he is young. Before you know it, he will be a full-grown adult dog. In addition, with proper training and care, he or she will become your faithful and loyal best friend!