Preparing For Your New Dog - What You Need to Know Before He Comes Home

Preparing yourself and your household before, during, and after your pet comes home is an essential step to successfully integrating your new puppy or dog into its new environment. Give the new puppy or dog plenty of time to adjust; most experts recommend at least ten days. And, if possible, be sure to bring the extra addition at a time when you will be home for a period of two or more days in a row. These first few days are a shock and he needs a comforter to be there.

So, before you bring your new dog home, especially if it's a puppy, you'll have to prepare your house for the arrival. Buy two new bowls, one for water and another for food. The smaller the dog, the smaller the bowl needed. You may even consider a propped bowl holder, which helps lessen the stress on the animal's neck, and keeps spills from occurring as often. Be sure to place the bowls and food in another room of the house, away from other pets.

You will also want to purchase a leash for your puppy or dog. A four to six foot leash should do, even for training purposes. If you have your dog's comfort in mind, perhaps when he is trained, you may want to try a harness leash. This type of leash attaches to the dog's torso. Some newer models are made for leash training as well.

When you bring the dog home, you should have some food all ready for him. If it's a puppy, it's best to talk to a veterinarian about a brand good for puppies. The vet will make a choice based on the puppy's age, weight, and dietary needs. Never feed a puppy adult dog food, as it is not engineered for their touchy digestive systems. With an older dog, ask the shelter what brand they used for dog food. If you don't like their brand, at least take home a week's worth of their brand of food while he is getting used to his new home. Then, slowly introduce the newer type of food to his system. It's also important to be consistent with the food you give your puppy. Just as babies get colic or have other problems from using the wrong formula or changing it, puppies suffer similar problems which will make you both miserable in the end. So make sure you don't just buy the weekly special on dog food. In the end, I guarantee it will cost you more than it saves.

You are also going to need the three essential T's:

• Toys
• Treats
• Training materials

Often toys are made for chewing, and it's important for your puppy to be able to chew while teething. Ropes, fleece-lined chew toys, and some rubber products make great toys for puppies. For older dogs, you might try other rubber chew toys (balls, play bones, etc.) and rawhide bones. Next, give your puppy or dog treats for successful behaviors-along with lots of petting, attention, and the repetition of his name. Be sure, however, to do this extra playtime away from other pets that were there before the new addition. Give each member five or seven minutes play intervals away from the other until they're more fully adjusted to one another. And, better yet, put up a small gate to keep the animals separated during this adjustment period.

Finally, be sure to dog-proof your home. Move all poisons, including plants (especially philodendron plants) and all cleaning supplies to a safe location. Remove pants, shoes, books and electric cords out of the puppy's reach. With an older dog, you may not have to be as careful as long as he was accustomed to living indoors. But, to be safe, you should not assume anything. And, best of all, give the puppy or dog his own space to sleep; a comfy corner away from the other animals at night.

With these precautions, you and your new friend will adjust much more smoothly together with no hard feelings.

About the Author:
Tina Spriggs is an expert dog lover whose lifelong interest in canines provides the motivation for her site. To learn more about dogs or to find gifts and toys for them visit her site at Dog Gifts and Toys for Dog Lovers.

Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.

---

Commercial Pet Food for Your Dog?

What you feed your dog is really SO important for... Read More

How to Build a Dog House for Your Puppy

So you'd like to know how to build a dog... Read More

How To Get Your Horse To Obey You and Look To You For Instruction

In the animal kingdom there is a pecking order. Richard... Read More

Interesting Old Dog Tricks: For Dog Owners Looking For Fun & Laughter

The teaching and training of dog tricks while not a... Read More

Why The Horses Eyes Are So Important When Training Him!

They say the eyes are are the gateway to the... Read More

The Truth About Dog Food

These days, it's hard to know what decisions are the... Read More

Dealing With Canine Ringworm

Ringworm is an annoying, highly contagious fungal disorder that is... Read More

The Gifts We Give Our Dogs

Whoever coined the phrase, "It's a Dog's Life" wasn't familiar... Read More

Growing Adult Brine Shrimp

General Info.Brine shrimps, or artemia, are a zooplankton used mainly... Read More

Pet Food Label Secrets Revealed! Know What You Are Feeding Your Dog And Cat

Reading a pet food label, how difficult can it be?... Read More

Antibiotics? I Think Not

Have you noticed that doctors are now being much more... Read More

Boxers Make Great Family Dogs

A breed of dog called a Boxer is very family-oriented... Read More

Chicken Compared To Chicken Meal

When selecting the best dry food for your dog, why... Read More

The Cure To Stop A Horse From Kicking

I get a lot of horse training questions about stopping... Read More

Sugar Gliders, Pocket Pets

Many people are searching for different means to have pets.... Read More

What You Should Know About Dog Health Care

Our dogs are now, more than ever, a very important... Read More

Wisdom... Wolves!

Wolves are magnificent and majestic creatures that have shared this... Read More

Rules of Thumb for Saddle Fit

In compiling some information on achieving a proper fit to... Read More

How to Choose the Right Bird Cage

If the "tweet, tweet" of little beaks is in your... Read More

Understanding Your Pets Chewing Issues

If you are beginning to feel like an endangered species... Read More

Responsible Dog Ownership

Owning a dog is a serious responsibility, one that should... Read More

Your Dogs Health Is At Risk!

Dogs should be living to age 20 or more. That's... Read More

Ten Tips for Cats Who are Forced to Relocate with Their Owners

For realistic tips for humans who are moving with cats,... Read More

The Dangers of Canine Parasites

When you get a puppy, one of the first things... Read More

How to Make Your Cats Life, and YOUR Life, Happier - Training Your Cat

Imagine that you are scolding your cat for scratching at... Read More

Puppies, Kittens, Rabbits, Hamsters, Fish Tanks, Exotic Pets and Bird Houses!

Pet's, any kind of pet can be a welcome addition... Read More

Puppy Vaccines Assure Wagging Tails and Wet Noses

When you get a new puppy it is imperative that... Read More

First Aid for Parrots

Unfortunately, accidents can - and DO happen, so it's always... Read More

Goldfish Tips - Finding Out The Gender of Your Goldfish

Boy or Girl?How can you tell whether your Goldfish is... Read More

Dogs And Their Allergies

A former coworker has a dog that had begun itching... Read More

Life with the Rat Terriers

I am a happy owner of two rat terriers. They... Read More

What Dog Owners Need To Know About Dog Crate Training

Why should you use the dog crate training method?Is the... Read More

Price of Unconditional Love

Why is it that cats get no respect? Are they... Read More