Adopting Tips
Congratulations on adopting an animal! Here are some tips to make him/her feel at home.
Where to adopt from?
Adopt from a local animal shelter. Try not to buy from breeders because they may be a puppy mill breeder. Unless you know for sure that they are NOT a puppy mill breeder, but your best bet is to adopt from a shelter and give an animal a second chance.
Make sure to ask if you can see the dog and let your family interact with it first. That way you will know for sure they will be able to get along well.
If you adopt a pet with special needs, make sure to know how to care for them. That’s a big responsibility, so be sure that you’ll be able to care for the pet.
Once you have your pet picked out, make sure your home is ready.
Before you pick him/her up
You should be sure to have set a bed up for him somewhere. You should make sure that the bed is someone by its self. Let him feel like he has some space of his own. Also add a blanket for comfort as well. This will ensure that your new pet feels safe.
Do not let your pet up on the couch, bed, chair, or anywhere else where he could possible go to the bathroom on. Until he is trained. Keep him on the floor, in case of an accident.
Have some food and water set out for him already in the spot it will regularly be in. He will get used to eating and drinking there. If the puppy feels thirsty, he wont know how to tell you, so have some water and food out.
Training
If you want to train your dog, put him in a crate. It will show him that until he is house trained, he will be in the crate when home alone. After he is crate trained, he can roam the house. A lot of people don’t agree with crates, and as I do agree, I think it’s important for your dog to stay in, just when you’re out of the house. Not all the time, or when he’s potty trained. Just when he is first learning.
Also, buy a crate that’s big. A crate that can fit water, food, and toys. So when you go to work, he’s not all day without food, or water, or even space to play!
If your dog has an accident in the house, let him know that he did something wrong. But when he goes outside, reward him with a treat to let him know he did good!
If you keep your dog busy with chewing toys, he will learn to not chew shoes and such. Let him know to chew on toys and not other things by giving him something else to chew on.
