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September 30

Preparing Your Home for a New Dog

You’re getting a dog! Congratulations! Having a new pet in your home — whether it’s your first or your fifth — is always an exciting time. It does come with a lot of mental and physical preparation. After all, your life is about to change.

Here’s what you need to do to prepare your home for you new dog:

• Understand the needs of your new dog — whether it’s a new puppy or an old dog that’s been re-homed or rescued, you need to read up on what to expect. Especially if it’s your first time to have a dog, a little bit of research can help a lot.
• Prepare everyone for different responsibilities – Pet ownership is a responsibility. You need to let everyone in your household know about the new dog and potential responsibilities they may have to help in the care of your pet — you may want to involve other people in feeding and walking the dog.
• Go shopping – This is the fun part of getting a new pet! Food bowl, water bowl, leash, collar, toys, a bed and age-appropriate food are the top things that should be on your new pet shopping list. It would be a good idea to find out from the shelter or the breeder about your new dogs food preference so the transition wouldn’t be so difficult.
• Watch out for hazards – Dogs can be curious about their new environment, so keep things that may be dangerous for them on higher ground. Chemicals and mouse traps should be kept away from new dogs. If you have electrical cords, it would be best to tape them to baseboards.
• Do the tour – Let your dog sniff around the corners of your home. Set boundaries and limitation right at the start so your dog learns the rules faster. Also, take the dog out as soon as possible in the place where it can do it’s bathroom business.
• Stay on top of bad behaviour – Younger pups will want to tear through your rubbish or chew your shoes. So keep an eye out for these types of behaviour and reprimand as soon as it happens.

Dogs take a few days to adjust and settle in, so your patience is needed at this point. More than just providing a good space for your dog, giving him or her your time is just as important. The first few days is also the ideal time to take your adopted dog to the vet for a wellness check and to get the vaccinations they need.

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