Now that you have chosen your little bundle of joy its time to take him home. To your little puppy, till then home meant Mommy dog and his abundance of tail wagging brothers and sisters who played, fought, ate and slept together, like there is no tomorrow. Taking him to your home might be the most exciting experience for you and your family, but to the puppy it is a journey filled with mystery, apprehensions and separation anxiety from its litter. Only you can make this better.
It would be best to bring the puppy home over the weekend home on a weekend in order to devote extra time to settling in and housebreaking. The first weeks with the puppy at home will be demanding and busy. And whenever, the thought strikes your mind whether bringing a puppy home was the right thing to do, remember puppy hood happens only once.The extra effort you put into it now will pay off in the future.
ASK THE BREEDER
Things you need to know from the breeder before bring your puppy home:
How many times the puppy has been de-wormed and when was the last de-worming done?
Your puppy will be everywhere. One second he will look at you in all innocence, the next he’ll be off with your best leather shoes his tail wagging nineteen a dozen all the way. More often than not every time you put your feet on the ground you will be stepping on his toes. He’ll love everything soft and precious to you, the shiny earrings, your rubber band, your kids toys, your husband’s socks … to him you have opened up a whole new exciting world of adventure. He views the entire world only on two terms – something to eat or something to play with.
This is where you come in. If you forget to puppy-proof your home – he could get you and himself into a lot of trouble. The most likely things he is going to have a go at are the things not meant for him – electric wires, cords, the fringes of your carpet, the sofa legs, cushions, chappals, shoes … name it and he will want it. Keep all this and everything on the floor out of reach. Spray ‘Keep Off’ on all sofa, wall unit, dining table legs or aor anything you don’t want him to have a go at. Better confine him for the first few days in a room that won’t have much but him in it.
Then take a walk around your garden looking for potential hazards. If your garden is fenced, check the boundaries and gates for openings that could be potential escape routes. If it is not fenced, never allow your puppy to run off lead without close supervision.
Before you bundle the puppy into your car, try to get it to go to urinate. The correct way to pick up a puppy is to put one hand under his chest and front legs, the other between his hind legs and under his belly. Then let him rest on one forearm against your body, so he won't fall. Keep a firm hold on him in case he wriggles.
The air conditioner in the car should be kept as low as possible and windows should remain up. On the first ride home, do not put the puppy in a crate, snuggle the puppy close to you wrapped in a small blanket or towel. You body warmth will be the comforter. Actually, the main problem dog’s have with car rides isn’t 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’s important that this first trip not be a bad experience.
The first thing your puppy is going to want to do on entering your home is ...explore, explore and explore. Let him. Don't pick him up or pet him much just yet or allow your children or friends crowd around him making a lot of loud noises. Talk to your puppy is a calm and reassuring tone making him feel at home. Give him a toy, such as an old rag knotted together or a hard rubber bone, and let him play a while. Then give him a drink of water and some of the food he had been used to eating at the kennel.
Being homesick, he is most likely to whine, cry or maybe even howl. Take him in your arms and comfort him once or twice. To comfort him you can place a small ticking clock between folds of a blanket and place it next to him. To him the ticking will sound like the beating hearts of his brothers and sisters and act as a comfort. At times you would have to put up with his whimpers for a day or two till he settles down. If your puppy cries when left alone, do not respond to him unless it is an obvious emergency. Cries for attention should be ignored. It will only encourage him to cry when he wants attention and this is a hard habit to break.
Kids should be taught to respect the puppy’s sentiments. The first day away from its mother could be an unnerving experience for the puppy, more so if he is called for attention from all directions by enthusiastic children. One would want to pick him, at the same time another kid would want to stroke it, yet another check it ears, the length of its tongue, the curiosity of children cannot be squelched. Put yourself in the puppy’s position. Try to explain to children the apprehensions of the new puppy and let them know that they have a lifetime ahead to play with him.
A puppy can associate and learn its name in just two day’s time. It is important how you communicate its name with the puppy. It is better to have one person to do the teaching. Say you would like to call him ‘Banjo,’ the best way to teach him is … Call ‘Here Banjo, Here Banjo” when you put down his dinner bowl or treat him to a biscuit. The trick is to call his name whenever you do anything for or with him. Call him by his name every time you praise him, or every time you have to scold him.
Soon, you’ll be surprised how soon he responds to you calling him ‘Banjo.’
Schedule a vet visit on getting your puppy home. Just a general check up will give you an overall glimpse of his health condition. The vet will also be able to advise you about his feeding, vaccination and de-worming schedule.
Be prepared for short bouts of diarrhea or vomiting while he adjusting to your home and his new food. Just one or two episodes of the same should not bother you, repeated bouts of either vomiting or diarrhea in the day calls for veterinary attention.
It is a good idea to continue feeding the same type and brand of food that the puppy was used to at the breeders for at least a few days. The transitional phase into new food should be done over a time period of 2 weeks, adding the new food a little at a time to the old food. Over enthusiasm over changing the puppy’s diet all of a sudden can lead to its delicate stomach getting upset.
