How to prepare for the arrival of a dog home? Whether you are a puppy or an adult, it will revolutionize your home. You have to be prepared!
If you have made the well-considered and consensual decision to adopt a dog at home, it’s time to prepare the home and the family environment for its arrival. Do not panic! The most important thing is to be clear about what it means to have a dog at home, understand what they are like without generating false expectations and be all willing to take care of them and educate them following the same direction. Whether it is a puppy or an adult dog there are general guidelines that can help you adapt the dog at home.
María Acha, positive educator at Dogbil , explains how to prepare for the arrival of the dog.
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5 tips to prepare the arrival of the dog at home
1. Do not create false expectations
Before the arrival of the dog, it is convenient for all the people at home to make a study of what dogs really are, since sometimes the expectations we have are not real. Dogs have their specific needs, and they also need time to learn. We must have patience, especially at the beginning, since the dog has to adapt to its new home, and to the customs and schedules of the family. The arrival of the dog is something totally new, even if you have had or already have another dog, since each one has its own personality.
2. Agree on dog education
One of the most important things is that all the people who are going to be with the dog have the same idea and philosophy of how to educate the dog. Following all the same guidelines will help the dog in adaptation and will learn the guidelines earlier.
3. Participate everyone in education, also children
If there are also children in the environment, it is advisable that they also participate in their education, so that the dog understands everyone and follows the guidance of both adults and children. Following a positive education everyone can participate, even young children can guide the dog to do a certain behavior. It is convenient to gather the family or people who are going to live with the dog and teach them what is the respectful way of communicating with the dog and asking her for the things we need, without using force or coercion.
4. Understand the dog’s body language
On the one hand we teach the dog what we need from him but on the other hand it is also very important that we know how to read what our dog is communicating to us. So it is important to learn something basic about canine body language. There are situations in which the dog can feel discomfort or stress and it is essential that the people around him know how to understand that moment in order to be able to get him out of that situation or redirect him to another one in which he is much more comfortable.
5. Decide on guidelines and be consistent
There are no conflicting messages to send. It is important that everyone knows what the guidelines are when having the dog at home, the things that are allowed and those that are not. If everyone agrees that the dog sleeps in a certain place, whether or not he gets on the sofa … the dog can learn many things. The important thing is to be consistent and to fulfill all the guidelines we have set in the same way. For example, if in a home we have decided that the dog is going to sleep in one place, it should be fixed and not change it overnight. It is much more difficult for the dog to learn when not everyone agrees on his environment.
