Helping Your New Dog Settle In

Helping Your New Dog Settle In

When you get a new dog, you will want to make sure that they are able to settle into your home well. When you bring them home to your house, you will want them to feel comfortable in their new home. They will be a part of your family, and you should make them feel like it. The surroundings will be new for them, and they may not really know what to do at first. They may be confused even, but that isn’t always the case. Some pets come in and just take to your home well, while others may have a harder time. Here are a few tips that will help when it comes to helping your dog get settled in.

For puppies, it is a bit different than it is for adult dogs. Puppies will need a lot of positive reinforcement. This is really important. If you want to get them trained to be in your home, you have to use positive reinforcement rather than a negative tone and harsh punishments. If you use the latter, then you may find that they develop some serious issues and they may never feel comfortable in the home. You will also want to make sure that you have some ways to divert their attention away from the negative things that they do. Sometimes a good diversion is the best way to make sure that you are able to get them to stop their negative behavior and adopt good behaviors. You can even use treats to help them see what is okay for them.

You don’t want to start out playing too rough with your new puppy, because this can cause them to roughhouse with you even when they get older. When they are puppies, you may be okay with it, because they can’t do much harm. As they get older, you may want them to be a bit more calm because they have the ability to hurt you when they play rough.

Another thing to consider is making sure that your new puppy has a place to sleep. You will want them to have a bed of their own, because putting them into your bed at night could end up in disaster. You may not be able to get enough restful sleep at night worrying about where they are in the bed, or they may end up using the bathroom in your bed. Their bed should be comfortable, and if you get the puppy at a young age it is a really good idea for you to put some type of small toy in there with them to help them feel comfortable and safe. A ticking clock is also soothing to them.

If you are getting an adult dog, you will also want to keep to the positive reinforcement. This will allow them to settle in to the rules of your home. You will also want to make sure that you treat them nicely. Sometimes, you don’t know how they were being treated before and this may cause them to be untrusting of you at first. If you treat them well, they will learn to trust you and will feel safe with you.

Another thing to consider is what you will feed them. If it is at all possible, it is a good idea to keep them on the same type of food that they are used to them. This can prevent digestive issues that may come from changing up their food.

As you can see, there are a few things that you can do as a new pet owner to make your dog feel comfortable and settled in to your home.

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