When you welcome a new pet into your home you need to make sure that you and your family get off to a good start. It takes some time to get used to a new pet in the house, and the time that you take can be make or break. You want to know that your cat or your dog is going to settle in very well, and if you have a dog, you have to ensure that you have the time to help it to settle in. The good news is that you can take the time to help your new dog to settle into their new home – you just have to give yourself space!
Not only will you need to find out what your dog is going to need to eat, you need to give them a space to sleep, start Googling around for a dog trainer near me and figure out how much investment you are going to need into training. There are many things that are involved in getting a dog to settle into their new home, and we’ve put together a list of things that you have to consider before you sign on the dotted line and adopt your first pet.
- Be prepared. You want to ensure that your new dog feels comfortable and content living with you and your family. This means you have to be prepared! You don’t want to have to make any last minute dashes to the pet shop for leashes, beds, or feeding bowls, nor should you want to run out of anything that you will need in the early days. Whoever you are adopting the dog from should be able to tell you the kind of food the dog eats, and they should be able to tell you whether they’ve had any training. This will help you to know whether to buy puppy pads, such as these Premium Pet Training Pads with Adhesive Tabs | Bulldogology, or whether you should not worry at all and simply make sure you have a space for them to do their business outside.
- Make sure everybody is patient. It does take time for a pet to settle in when they first come home. It’s a new and unfamiliar set of surroundings that they do need to get used to. This is an adjustment., and it does vary from animal to animal, so you need to have patience when it comes to getting your dog to settle in. The family, from you to the children, have to be patient with this because the dog will take some time to be able to sleep during the night, or feel comfortable in the house.
- Take it all very slowly. It’s super tempting to go out and about and show off your new pet to all of your friends and family. You have to put yourself in your pets paws; They are brand new to all of this and you are still a new face. They need to get used to you first. Important thing to consider here is that the pet and you both have a lot of adjustment to make. There is no rush to introduce your new pet to everybody because you are providing a forever home for them. If you take it slowly and don’t run out to bring your dog to your friends, you’ll be able to help them to settle in better.
- Establish a good routine early on. When you bring the new dog home you have to establish a good routine because they will be used to doing things a little differently. Every single pet has its own set of needs, so establishing a good routine makes things easy for everybody. Their routine isn’t just about the time you take, but it affects how they feed, what they eat and where they sleep. Making sure these remain the same will help them to get used to your home much quicker and it will help them to stay calm. Nobody wants a dog who barks all hours of the night, but you have to be proactive and ensure that the routine is good enough that they don’t feel the need to bark.
- Provide your dog with their own space. It’s not just about whether the bed goes, but where you plan to put the crate. don’t need somewhere that they can feel safe and secure, especially when they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or stressed. Some dogs simply just get tired. They may want to lay their head somewhere that is away from everybody petting them for 5 minutes. Ensuring you have the space sorted and lined up before you bring the dog home is important to their development and growth.
- Make sure everybody knows how to behave around the new dog. Everybody is going to be very excited meeting a new pet, so you need to have a conversation with the children in the house before the dog comes home. The dog is going to feel heightened when they first come in and if the children are aware to keep the noise low and disperse big groups, they won’t overwhelm the new dog. Everybody should feel comfortable, including the new pup that’s coming into your house to live with you forever. Make sure that all of the introductions that you have planned are quiet and without interruption.
- Have a list of family rules established. Rules are super important to make sure that everybody is aware exactly what to do when there is a new dog coming into the house. Establishing these rules can help everybody to know where they should and what they shouldn’t do. If you aren’t allowed to talk in specific rooms, everybody should know about that. Make sure everybody sticks to the same rules that your pet doesn’t get confused, and it also helps everybody to adjust to having a pet in the house.
A new pet is always going to be a welcome addition to a family so make sure that you are all on board with making their settling in as easy as possible.