BEFORE BRINGING YOUR PUPPY HOME
Before bringing your puppy home for the first time, it’s a good idea to puppy-proof your house and garden.
Just like a home needs to be baby-proofed before a little bundle of human joy arrives, your house needs to be ready for a puppy. Puppies are more active and smaller than human babies, and are even more able at getting themselves into trouble, so it’s important that their environment is safe. And if you value your belongings, its vital that they’re out of reach of the canine hurricane.
Here are just a few dangers for your puppy,
Electrical cords
House plants
Cleaning products
Medications
Aerosol cans
Lid down on toilet bowl
Childrens toys
Provide some toys for your puppy to chew on.
A baby barrier is a good way to keep puppies from tumbling down steep steps or out of areas where you don’t want them whilst pups.
When it comes to your backyard and your puppy, one of the most important things is a secure fence. Puppies can easily squeeze through very small areas, so make sure there are no gaps.
Fence off – a small barricade will do – any plants or trees that might be poisonous for your puppy or that you don’t want your puppy destroying.
Once you’ve finished puppy-proofing your home, walk around. Try to look at your house and garden from a puppy’s perspective – what have you missed?
Finally, when your puppy is welcomed home, keep an eye on them as much as possible. And have fun!
THE CAR RIDE HOME
The big day arrives and it’s off to pick up the puppy. Try to keep this from being a terrifying experience for the pup. The main problem dogs have with car rides usually is not what we humans refer to as motion sickness, but simple anxiety about the vibrations, sounds, and to a lesser degree, the movement. Many dogs that have developed problems with car rides get nervous or even nauseous before the engine is even started. It is important that this first trip not be a bad experience that regresses into a repetitious behavioral pattern.
The safest way for the pup to travel is in a crate. It certainly can contain any “spills” and for pups prone to vomiting makes clean up easier for the owner. It’s also the only way to bring puppy home if you’re travelling on your own.
Some old towels are good to line the crate
Talk with me and I can suggest where to get travel crates.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GET HOME
The first night home with your new puppy can be a trying experience for both of you. It’s the first time your puppy has spent the night away from his mother and littermates in a new enviroment. I usually have the pup sleep away from mum and its litter mates 2 nights before they leave us. This is also why we give you a blanket for the pup to sleep with that smells like our home.
At some point during the evening the family will put the pup to bed, either inside or outside, turn off the lights and go to bed themselves. The house becomes quiet. The puppy feels alone and there is no warm body of a brother or sister next to it. It is a natural reaction for the puppy to cry and whine to register a protest and the usual result is that one of the human family will stagger out of bed to console it for a few minutes and then shut the door and go back to bed. The pup will continue to cry, often louder, and again someone will get out of bed to console the pup or even to chastise it. The pup has learnt its first lesson – cry and you are rewarded with company, if only momentarily.
Dogs learn fastest by rewarding them for certain actions and continuing to go to the crying puppy will reinforce the lesson that crying brings company. Hearts must be hardened for the pups first night home. The decision must be made as to where the pup is going to sleep and the area made ready for it. The area must not be too large, remember that the pup is used to having other bodies close to it. The area must be warm and cosy and bedding must be provided. A radio may be left playing out of the pups reach to provide some comforting noises during the silence of the household. An old soft toy serves as a soft body to snuggle but remember to remove any parts such as plastic eyes and nose which the pup may chew.
Supper should be given and the pup taken outside to relieve itself and then it should be put to bed with a kind word. The crying will commence softly at first but may build up to a crescendo as the pup calls louder. With a bit of luck it may cease after a short time but some pups will continue for the first night. Remember that if at anytime you go to the pup you have rewarded the behaviour and you will have to start all over again. Naturally you must be sure that the puppy is not crying because it is stuck or hurt, but you will recognize the difference in the crying.
It is natural that the pup will wake early in the morning and you should be ready to be greeted with exuberance and to respond with love and cuddles. If the pup has slept inside then put the pup out to relieve itself, lavish it with praise for “performing” and then serve puppy breakfast, after another toilet stop the pup is ready to spend some quality time playing before curling up for a morning nap.