The day you bring your new rescue dog home is so exciting for you, but for your new dog, it can be incredibly scary. For some people, this is the only time they are ever housebroken and left to their own devices.
So how do you make your dog feel comfortable in their new home?
Introducing Your New Dog to Your Home and Family
Your new dog is going to be a member of your family, and that means that introductions are vital to the dog’s adjustment to their new home.
Here are a few tips to help you help your new pup to settle in.
Show Them The Locale
Take your new pup on a walk in the neighborhood so they can get familiar with the sights, scents, and sounds of their new environment.
It’s also worth setting up the first meeting with your friendly local veterinarian, such as the professionals at Easyvet. Allowing your new pup to meet their vet straight away will give them a greater sense of comfort when they do need to visit the vet.
Supervise Pups and Children
Don’t let children handle your pup too much in the beginning.
They may be excited to meet their new dog and be “petting zoo” pets, but puppies can bite and bark when they don’t know how to process their emotions at this point.
Give Your Dog His Own Toys Straight Away
Always have some chew toys on hand for when you need an extra hand!
This is also a good time to introduce your pup to the concept of essential training commands. These are the essentials that will make your life easier when you’re not around.
Establishing Doing Right for Your New Pup
If your dog is an existing dog, it’s important to establish this concept with them now.
This means offering a chew toy in exchange for doing something you would like them to do, such as remaining on the mat or not jumping up on visitors.
Enjoy Praising Your Pet
Make sure that you praise your pup verbally and feed them treats for good behavior – it will reinforce good habits!
Try to avoid using a dominant voice, like “No”. That doesn’t really help your dog to understand what you want them to do. The key is to be consistent and clear in your expectations, and that can help you avoid some of the problems that may arise with rescue dogs.
Introduce The Outdoors Slowly
Go out on frequent walks with your pup, so they get used to being outside and exploring the local area.
Keep a close eye on them during these outings because they might be overwhelmed at first by everything that’s going on around them.
Make Sure You Have a Strategy to Remove Stains
Especially if you’ve adopted a rescue pup who was previously living in a house, they’re going to have accidents in their new home, too.
You will have to be prepared with a pet stain removal strategy to help keep your new dog’s environment clean.
Establishing Responsible Pet Ownership is Important
It’s important that you’re able to manage and clean up after your dog when they need it, so make sure you’re in the habit of taking them out on walks regularly, scooping up the poop, and having a system in place for washing up any messes that they make.
