What to Do When Bringing A Puppy Home

Bringing a puppy home is a very exciting time. However, you need to make sure that you provide your new pup with a low-stress and happy first experience when he is welcomed into his new family. To make the transition as easy and comfortable for your new pup as possible, keep the following in mind.

When to bring him home – The best time to bring your new pup home is at the beginning of a weekend, or when you can spend the most time with him, such as taking off a few days from work. You should never introduce a new puppy to your home when your home is out of sorts due to a holiday season, visiting relatives or birthdays. Your new pup needs to be the centre of attention, and you need to ensure that he is introduced to your home when everything is normal.

Get the whole family involved – Your new pup needs to be introduced to every family member who lives in your home. These introductions shouldn’t happen all at once. Take it slow and make sure that everyone knows how to interact, play and handle the dog, especially children. Make sure that children know when to leave the dog alone.

Introducing the new pup to other family pets – If you have other pets, don’t rush or force the introduction of the new pup. Let the other pet and your dog interact with one another when they are ready, and make sure you are present during the meeting in case you need to intervene if things get ugly.

Familiar food – Find out from the breeder what food was being fed to your pup, and make sure you obtain some of this food, even if it isn’t the brand you prefer. You can slowly wean your dog off his old food, but at first it is imperative to have him eat the food he’s used to. Dogs are sensitive to change. A new environment with different smells and faces is highly stressful and exciting. Familiar food will help to ensure that your dog eats.

Necessary dog accessories – You new pup will require certain accessories right away. Make sure you have:

• Food and water dish – stainless steel are best
• Crate and/or dog bed
• Leash
• Collar
• Tag
• Toys
• Treats

Making your home safe – New puppies are curious and mischievous. They will get into anything and everything if you let them. To make sure you puppy doesn’t chew up your valuables or ingests or play with things that could be hazardous to their health, keep the following in mind:

• Make sure all household plants in your dogs reach are not poisonous to dogs.
• Keep all electrical cords hidden and out of reach
• Keep garbage bags off the floor
• Store cleaning and chemical products, and medicine up high, or in a locked cupboard.
• Don’t leave children’s toys lying around
• Don’t keep anything you deem valuable in your dogs reach or leave it lying around.

By following the above tips, you can make bringing a puppy home your new pups first experience with your family a happy one.

Tags: bringing a puppy home, puppies, puppy

Category: Care