Bringing a new puppy home is quite exhilarating for you and your family. However, it can be overwhelming for your puppy to be in a new place with new faces. The pup may be a little scared and confused as its mother, siblings, and first caretakers are no longer around.
This can make the first few days a little stressful for your puppy, you, and your family as you all adjust to the new routine. Nevertheless, you can help it become comfortable with your home and family.
Here are some tips that’ll make welcoming your new puppy home easier for everyone.
Keep its arrival low-profile.
Welcome the new puppy to your home at a time when there are no activities taking place. Hosting a party for the new member won’t be ideal since a loud environment with a lot of strangers can be overwhelming for it. Avoid inviting any guests to your home, too, until it becomes comfortable and can follow a proper routine.
If there are toddlers or young kids in your household, monitor their interactions with the pup as they might become too excited. It’s essential to give a puppy its much needed time and space so that it can explore the house on its own. This way, it’ll get familiar with the scents, sounds, and sights of the new environment.
Introduce it to the place and the family.
Let your young dog explore a designated area that has been puppy-proofed. Show the puppy where food and water are kept, its crate, and potty spot. Give your pup a tour of your house, one room after the other, and avoid places that are out-of-bounds.
Meeting the entire family at once could lead to sensory overload. That’s why it’s better to introduce the pup to each member of the family individually. Let the kids greet the puppy quietly and make sure that they don’t tease it or make loud noises.
Develop a friendly environment.
Your puppy, most likely, is only familiar with one place, where it lived with its mother, siblings, and other dogs. Once you bring it home, it’ll be bombarded with unfamiliar scents, sounds, and sights. To take away the edge of unfamiliarity, immediately show your pup, it’s in a good place and still is just as comfortable as the first. Bring a toy, bowl, or a blanket from its previous home.
Similar to us, puppies, too, have different personalities. Your pup could be friendly, shy, aggressive, or curious by nature. The level of interaction you maintain will depend on its comfort level. Let your pup decide the level of contact it requires so that it feels comfortable around you and your family.
Start crate training and establish a routine.
It’s normal for a pup to take time to get comfortable with the idea of a crate. But it’s a great training tool that will teach it about boundaries, independence, responsibility, and safety. Additionally, a crate is a safe place for your pup to relax when you cannot supervise it.
Limit your puppy’s training session to 3 hours if it’s under six months old. Get a crate with removable partitions so that it can accommodate your pup as it grows. Make sure that the bedding in the crate is comfortable, too. Simultaneously, you can train them to follow a routine that involves feeding, bathroom breaks, walks, playtime, and sleeping.
Create a set of rules.
When you’re welcoming the pup to your home, ensure that you and your family are on the same page with pet rules. It’ll be easier to train your puppy when it gets a similar set of commands rather than conflicting commands, which would lead to confusion.
Rules give structure and consistency to your puppy’s day, thereby helping in its adjustment. Your pup will be happy and content when its day goes according to the schedule. These rules help you teach your puppy how to behave and correct it when it misbehaves.
Familiarise it with resident pets.
You’ll have to keep your new puppy away from your resident pets for the first few days. After the new member gets comfortable, expand its area and place a pet gate so that it’s divided into two areas. Allow your resident pets to enter the other area of the house.
Both sides will be able to see, smell, hear, and touch one another through the gate. Alternatively, you can put your puppy in a crate. Let them interact in this manner for a couple of days. Later on, you can let them meet with the gate/door open under supervision.
Take things slowly.
You have to take special precautions when dealing with a puppy, unlike an adult dog. You have to be patient and gentle with a pup, just like you would with an infant. It has to be supervised constantly. The first few days of socialisation are crucial to a puppy’s character development, too.
Puppies have no bladder control. That’s why it’s important to take them outside when they show signs of having to go to the bathroom. Look for sniffing and circling! Don’t punish or scold your pup if it makes mistakes. Instead, correct it calmly. Along with easy-to-digest food, feed your puppy a formula to supplement its growth.
Spend time with it.
Bring the new puppy to your home at a time when it can experience your everyday lifestyle. Avoid bringing it home when you are out on holiday or hosting an event. You’ll have to spend plenty of time with it from the first day to build a strong bond. This is the phase when it’ll discover whom to trust and follow.
As a pet owner, your love for the puppy will have no bounds. However, your pup isn’t aware of this right away. You can bridge this gap by giving your puppy the much-needed love, guidance, and attention that it needs. Over time, you’ll build trust through playing, socializing, and training. Your pup will grow up to be your best buddy for life!
