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Before you can even think about bringing your
new dog home you must first make sure you are well prepared for him, you will
have a long shopping list including:
A Bed
Grooming
products
Food – buy the
best you can afford, I recommend any food that contains only
natural ingredients and no additives as these can make some
dogs hyperactive
2 Bowls, a
heavy one for water and a separate one for food
A collar and
lead
Treats for
training, the smaller the better as your dog may go through
quite a lot of them
A few toys –
don’t go mad, a ball, a chew toy and a kong will be a good
start
A clicker
You may also
consider a training crate for your new dog – I will talk
more about this later.
Once the shopping is done,
you will need to get every one together and make a list of
rules for your new dog, doing this before you get him means
that you can begin training him as soon as he arrives home,
this means that you can all be consistent and he will settle
in much quicker – even if you are getting an 8 weeks old
puppy, he will still be expecting rules and boundaries.
Start by thinking about your
new dog as if he was going to be a big dog and ask yourself
“Will a certain behaviour be acceptable if he were a big
dog?” For example, sleeping on the sofa, jumping up, running
up to people on the beach etc It is easy to find some
behaviour cute and funny when a pup is little but you could
be setting yourself up for a problem when he grows up –
don’t underestimate your puppy, he is like a sponge and will
be learning at an incredible rate, don’t let habits form
that could be a problem in the future.
When making your list of
rules, everyone in the family must agree to them, you will
end up with a very confused and anxious dog if the rules
change regularly, eg if the dog is not allowed on the sofa,
but one member of the family allows him, he will never learn
that he should not be on there and may get told off by
everyone else which will cause him to be very unhappy, also
consider all weathers, will your dog still be allowed on the
sofa if he is wet and muddy from a walk?.
You must make your own list
to suit you and your circumstances but here are some
examples:
-
Must greet all people
and dogs calmly
-
Not allowed on the sofa
-
Not allowed in childs
room
-
Not allowed on the bed –
unless invited
-
Must not take food that
has not been given to him
-
Must follow well known
commands – first time, every time
-
Must not take things
that have not been given to him
-
Must rest calmly when
left alone
-
Must not bark at the
front and remain calm while I answer the door
-
Must return ball and sit
while I collect ball and throw it again
-
Must not chase the cat
-
Must ignore other small
pets
-
Must stay close when off
lead
-
Must not approach
unknown dogs on walk unless permission given
-
Must not walk ahead of
me when on lead
-
Must wait for permission
to leave when lead is taken off
-
Must not play in the
house
-
Must not chew household
items, only chew treats
-
Must be gentle and calm
when taking food
-
Must sit and wait before
taking dinner
You must also make a plan as
to how to train your new dog – especially when it comes to
housetraining, I recommend using a training crate, most dogs
will accept their crate as their safe place if it is
introduced properly and as it is small they will be
encouraged to wait to go to the toilet until they are away
from their bed, it is a very fast way to train a dog plus it
keeps dogs safe from chewing the house when you are not
there to supervise them, instead they will choose to chew on
the chewy toy you have provided. I do not recommend
training pads as this teaches many dogs to go to the toilet
in the house – will this still be acceptable when your dog
is fully grown – if not then don’t use this method.
When training your new dog,
remember the golden rule – reward good behaviour and ignore
bad behaviour, a reward can be a treat, but your attention
is also a good reward as is a toy, this also works in
reverse, if you give attention to your dog when he is not
behaving well you could accidentally be training him to
misbehave!
You should keep your dog to
only one room in the house for the first couple of days so
as not to overwhelm him, decide which room to use, the
kitchen is a good choice for many people as it is easily
cleaned but the choice is yours. Get this room ready for
your new dog before you go to collect him, it can help to
get down on your hands and knees so you can see the room
from his height and remove anything that he shouldn’t eat or
play with. You should also remove all other pets from this
room, as you want him to concentrate on settling in before
he meets them, he can meet them over the next couple of
days. Now set up his bed, put this is an area which is free
from drafts and not in direct sunlight or too hot, he should
have his water near his bed and a chewy toy, the other toys
should be stored and only brought out at play time, if you
are using a crate then put his water and chewy toy in it
with his bed.
It is now time to collect
your new dog, consider the journey ahead, if it is a long
journey you should bring water for your dog, how you bring
your dog home in the car is up to you but he should be
secure, puppy’s should ideally be transported in a travel
box and an older dog should be secured with a lead and car
harness. Many puppy’s are sick when they first travel in
the car, this is normal, but you should be prepared for this
so take some extra blankets and towels and some wet wipes to
clean up with just in case.
When you get home, the first
thing you should do is take him to the place where you would
like him to go to the toilet and give him a few minutes to
relieve himself, praise him if he go’s but don’t worry if he
doesn’t, then you can take him to his room, give him a few
hours to have a good sniff around, find his bed and have a
nap before you do anything else.
If you have other dogs, you
will have to introduce him to them, I suggest you give your
new dog a few hours to settle in first. If you have more
than one dog, pick the dog that is the most calm and
confident and introduce him to this dog first, take both
dogs separately to a neutral spot away from the house and
bring them together there, encourage them to sniff each
other first and then walk them around together (if your new
dog is not yet fully vaccinated you will have to carry him),
bring them home together when they seem to have accepted
each other. Your new dog is likely to want to copy your
existing dog, which is why it is important to introduce him
to the most balanced dog in your pack, keep these dogs
together for a day before you introduce the other dogs, then
over the next couple of days you can introduce him to the
other pets in the house. With small pets such as cats and
rabbits, you should keep him on his lead so that he cannot
chase them, he should be encouraged to sniff them but
nothing else, if you think he is getting too excited then
take him away and try again when he is calmer. |
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