subject: Welcoming Home Your New Puppy [print this page] Just like getting your home ready for your new baby, also requires some preparation for welcoming home your new puppy. There are some things that a new dog owner can do to make your new arrival welcome and friendly into your home. The most difficult task is to get your new friend to adapt to your home. He will need to get used to his new surroundings and to begin his training.
Shopping
There is a lot you can do before your puppy comes home. Here are some things you can get in advance for your puppy: a collar and leash, a crate, brush or hand mitt for grooming, toys that are safe, a bed, and non-tip able easy to clean food and water bowls.
Outdoors
If your puppy is to be outdoors, choose a well-insulated doghouse large enough to fit the puppy full grown. Locate the doghouse on a high, well-drained site protected from the wind. Find a spot that will provide shade during the summer months.
Veterinarian
As soon as you bring home your new puppy, be sure to select a veterinarian quickly as possible. If you don't know of any in your area, ask other pet owners and neighbors and friends for recommendations. If you can, try choosing one that is nearby. This will be a convenience and may save time should an emergency occur.
Diet
Puppies require different nutritional needs than adult dogs. Get to know what your puppy's diet will require. He will be growing rapidly, so providing him with the proper vitamins and minerals in his food will go a long way in maintaining his health. Be sure the food contains; sufficient protein, calcium, phosphorus, and other nutrients puppies require for healthy bodies.
Best Time To Bring Home Your New Puppy
The best time to bring him home is at the beginning of a weekend. If you can, add a few vacation days. This will give you time to acquaint your puppy to its new home and training and housebreaking.
Make arrangements with the person to whom you are going to pick him up. You will want to avoid bringing him home during busy times such as birthdays and holidays. Ask that the puppy not be fed prior to you picking him up. This helps to avoid the puppy becoming car sick on his way to his new home.
Puppy In New Home
Your puppy will need to time to adjust to his new surroundings and people. You will have some excited children. Tell them that the new puppy will need some time out for naps. Show your children the proper way to pet him. A puppy should be supervised and taken outside to relieve himself after eating, following naps, and his play periods.
Take your puppy to the veterinarian so he can get acquainted with him. You will also need to schedule his vaccination shots to protect him from a number of viral and infectious diseases. Bring along any immunization information with you as well. This will help your veterinarian begin a case history for your pet.
Name Choosing
Choose a name for your puppy and use only that name in calling him. When teaching the puppy its name will require 100 percent cooperation from all family members. If a puppy is sent mixed signals, he can become confused and not respond to any of the command signals. This will make your task a lot more difficult.
Physical Abuse
Under no circumstances should you ever hit or abuse your pet with physical violence of any kind. This will only let your pet begin to fear you. It is very important that when you are going to begin training sessions with your pet, if you are upset, your dog can sense this and the training will be difficult. If you are upset, cancel that day's training session. Only train your dog when you are not upset or under pressure. You always want to be upbeat when you do all training sessions.
Training
When you begin the training sessions with your pet, be sure to have sufficient dog treats that he likes. Be sure that these treats do not exceed 10% of his total diet. Failure to do so may result in your pet to become overweight which can be fatal for dogs. Train your pet on one command at a time. Let him master one before going on to the next.
Voice Tips
One more thing, puppy training will require a lot of patience. Try to maintain the same voice level when training your new puppy. Loud voices could be upsetting to your new puppy and he just might have a difficult time in learning. You don't want to have your puppy fear you. Also, when your puppy does what you want him too, always give him praise like "good dog" or "doggy", "good his name". When you don't want him to do something, when you say "no" be sure it's in a different tone than all other commands. You must be firm so he will understand.
Following the above tips will help welcoming home your new puppy.
