What To Know When Adopting Your Dog

February 17, 2010

We have seen this image all too often. A pup is brought home to a giggling child so happy to have a cuddly little puppy with furiously wagging tail while kissing the child all over the face, a happy contagiously cute scene.

The excitement though wears off easily. Soon your dog will be peeing on the carpet, needing to be fed and watered, jumping on people, begging for walks, creating noise, uprooting plants, digging in the yard and messing around as all dogs do. Adopting a dog entails responsibilities such as grooming, taking it out for exercises, training and caring as well as feeding and watering. This is the bigger scene not usually imagined but just as real.

When decided to adopting a dog, plan for the following:

Supplies

The basic supplies that your adorable puppy will need are bowls for water and food, a dog ID tag with name address and phone number, a bed, a comb, a collar and a leash, and dog food.

Setting Limits

Even before your new puppy is brought home, the family should agree on tasks, assignments and other dog duties for the caring of the dog. Assignments should include who should feed the dog on particular days, who should take your adorable puppy for walks, and who should groom your adorable puppy. Agree on areas that are off limits to your new puppy and areas where the dog is allowed. If your dog is not yet trained, do not allow the dog to sit on the furniture or sleep in the bed with people.

When limits are not set and your adorable puppy is allowed to do as it wants, your adorable puppy will attempt to dominate. This is an old pattern of dog behavior that is carried over since the dogs were still in the wild. To prevent this, do not play games with the dog that will teach him to challenge you. Roughhouse and tug of war are some of the most popular examples.

When your dog starts to nip, it is a signal that your dog have had enough, let your adorable puppy rest and do not allow another occasion to reach that point as it also teaches your adorable puppy to become dominant. Likewise, do not allow nor encourage wild behavior.

Your new puppy also appreciates hierarchy. If it learns from the start that you play dominance or is the alpha male, it would be easier to make your dog follow your commands.

Dog Training

Dog obedience training must start as early as possible because your new puppy has to learn manners and to follow commands. Excessive barking, jumping on people, quarreling with other dogs and house pets, chewing on furniture, scratching the carpet are just some of the examples untrained dogs do that often results to embarrassment to their owners.

Different dogs have a variety of temperaments. These do not only differ from one dog to another, it also differs depending on the breed and the size of your new puppy. While dogs are generally lovely and lively creatures, there are some negative traits that surface after a while. Negative traits, however, are reduced if not removed by training.

Read more about successfully adopting a dog from a shelter, and download your copy of Adopting A Dog – The Secret to A Successful Adoption now!


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