Good advice if you have decided to adopt a dog
These days, lots of people who want to share their lives with a dog choose to do it by adopting one from a rescue home or centre. There are a lot of advantages in taking on an abandoned dog, for both the animal and its new family.
But to make sure that the whole process is positive, you need to know how to organise the adoption responsibly and how to welcome your adopted dog when the process has been completed and your pet is about to arrive at its new home for the first time. We can tell you how to go about it.
If you decide to adopt, you should understand the following:
It is important that all members of the family agree, that you have assigned roles for caring and thought about the various scenarios that can arise with your dog at home (holidays, special work timetables, etc.).
Adopting a dog must not be the result of a whim: it’s a decision that will you will have to stick to for many years, with the aim of giving the animal the best life you can.
This means also “doing accounts”: working out if you can buy good quality food and attend to veterinary duties without damaging the family’s finances.
After thinking it through to find the answers to all that, it is time to get in touch with the animal rescue centres closest to where you live to find that furry friend who is waiting for a second chance at life.
The best way to help your dog fit into your home
Keeping all these positive points in mind, you need to think also about how to accomplish the animal’s transition from the shelter to its new home. Abandoned dogs are often afraid or are adults with ingrained habits that have to be adapted with patience and intuition.
It will all be much easier if you follow some advice on how to welcome your adopted dog.
First of all: the bond
Whenever possible, it’s a good idea to get to know the dog a few weeks before you take him home. If the shelter is close by and the people there see it as practicable, it is highly recommended to work with your new friend as much as you can before he comes home: with walks, play sessions, practising obedience, etc. All this will help to start forming the essential bond, so that the dog will trust you when it’s time to leave the shelter.
A really tiring walk
On adoption day spend all the time you possibly can with your new friend. If possible, take the whole day and collect the dog in the morning. This will mean that you can work together all day long and get accustomed to each other.
Before getting home, give him a really, really long walk around the district. Let him free, on a lead, so that he can smell, explore, have a pee, etc. This will mean that he arrives at your house quite tired and ready for a quiet sleep. In this way, with very little effort, he will perceive his new home as a safe and comfortable place.
Let him sniff around
It’s a good thing to have everything ready at home. Before he arrives, you will have chosen where his bed will be, where he will feed, etc.
When you arrive, let him free. This is when the dog has to recognise that this will be his home from now on, so he needs to explore without the pressure of a human watching.
Give him all the time he needs to look around, smell, experiment… You will find that your home becomes “his home” very quickly. Meanwhile, wait for him by his bed for the next step.
Show him his bed
As soon as your pet has reconnoitred the house, go to his bed. Wait for him sitting patiently on the floor. When your new friend is satisfied with sniffing around, he will come looking for you and then you can start the work of showing him his bed.
Let him come close and help him to get into his bed. At this point, wait until the dog, on his own, settles down comfortably. Then give him a treat and move away so that he follows you and comes out from his mattress.
Repeat this process several times until he is comfortably settled. At that point, he knows that it is his bed and he will stay there.
No spoiling and no loud noises
This first stage is important in creating a positive and true bond. For this reason, you need to watch carefully over the animal’s dependence: a very dependent dog can develop anxieties and may suffer in the future.
Therefore, although you are dying to give him cuddles, it’s better not to be too affectionate with your new chum during the first few weeks at home.
Speak to him calmly, using few words, avoid loud music and television. Give him a caress from time to time, but leave until later the hugs and kisses and so on. In this way you teach him that home is a place for relaxing, for peace and calm, and that he doesn’t need to be watching your every move all day long.
Patience with peeing and stools
Whether it’s a puppy or an adult, adopted dogs often have trouble in controlling their functions in the house. This is one of the most critical points: you have to have endless patience.
Don’t scold him if you find a puddle or a dropping in the passage. In fact, experts recommend simply removing it and saying nothing to the animal, as though it was of no importance.
To get him to do his business outside, take him out as much as possible during the first weeks and tell him he is such a good dog when he does something outside. Bit by bit, he will become used to doing his business out of doors.
Don’t have welcome parties
Something that is very tempting when adopting a new dog is the usual “round” of visitors who want to meet him and get to know the new family addition.
However difficult you find it, it is best to leave all that until later. At least, for the first month at home, the dog must be quiet and not disturbed by visits, people, noise, etc.
If someone wants to meet him, it is better to do it outside the house, bit by bit, so that it is the dog that approaches, smells and lets the new person touch him.
These are the best principles to follow when bringing your new companion home to live in your house. If you are wondering how to welcome your adopted dog, then by following these steps you will see that the process can be really simple, natural and agreeable to all members of the family.