It’s decided: after careful consideration, you have chosen to welcome a dog into your home. After finding the one that best suited you according to your character and your way of life, you turned to a breeding, a shelter, a pet shop or even an individual...
Now that your future dog is about to discover his new life, it's time for you to think about the first preparations. Here are some tips to make the arrival of this new family member go as smoothly as possible.
1. Installing the dog
If you have chosen a puppy, you must first put yourself in his place: he will surely leave his mother, his brothers and sisters and find himself in an unfamiliar environment . Confused, he risks being frightened, as well as the newly rescued adult dog who may have had a painful past. In both cases, your role is then to bring him comfort so that he feels safe.
When the puppy or adult dog arrives in his home, he must be allowed to discover his environment. Put it on the ground and let it act: do not force it to follow you or visit your habitat. He must go at his own pace! Then offer him a quiet place that will be "his place": a basket, a carpet, a cushion or a blanket placed in a quiet place in the house where there is not too much traffic and which does not present no danger to him. As soon as possible, encourage him to go on his own to go to “his place” by giving him a reward each time he goes there.
However, the dog does not have to stay constantly "in its place". He must above all stay with his new master, whose role is to appease him in the face of these upheavals. If it's a puppy, he may cry or whine, so you need to create a bond that allows him to understand that his new family is you. Cuddle him, talk to him, take a playful and happy voice.
2. Learning detachment
The whole difficulty of the first days with your dog consists in finding the right balance between affection and authority. While providing love and tenderness to your dog, you also need to set boundaries from the start. Also, you should not respond to all his requests and give in as soon as he starts crying, otherwise he will quickly become capricious and may suffer from hyper-attachment (puppies that have not been properly weaned are predisposed and will associate their master with their mother).
This is also the reason why you must teach him detachment: you must have the initiative to caress and not let him "stick" to you permanently. Teach him solitude and independence by leaving him alone longer and longer (five minutes, then ten, then twenty, etc.). This way, when you leave for work and he has to be alone for several hours, your dog will not suffer from separation anxiety.
3. Be patient
Of course, you are not immune to a few difficult nights where your dog will spend hours crying. Arm yourself with patience and don't give in: he will eventually understand.
Similarly, you will have to take time to deal with nonsense: your dog will certainly tend to destroy, steal or scavenge. It's up to you to start teaching him the basics of education by being firm, consistent and based on positive reinforcement (praise him with a toy or a treat when he adopts the right behavior) .
It won't be clean right away, so expect to have to clean up any pee and droppings it may leave on your carpet. Take him out very often (every two hours for a puppy) to potty train him.
4. Appropriate food
In addition to his sleeping area, your dog must always have a water bowl available to him. We must also think about his diet, which must be adapted to his age and size. Up to three months, puppies should eat three times a day, then twice until seven months. Then, you can switch to a single meal a day or divide its daily ration in two. In any case, do not leave him food at will, and if he refuses to eat, remove his bowl after twenty minutes without offering him other menus... Your dog, even a gourmet, should not be capricious food!
To improve your bond, do not hesitate to take a look at all our tips to make your dog happy!
To read on the same topic: 5 rules for a happy cohabitation with your dog
