Introducing A Dog To The Family: How To Make Your New Four-Legged Friend Feel Welcome

It’s such a magical moment when you bring a dog home for the first time. You are welcoming a new member of the family, and they are seeing their forever home. There have been so many stories about people giving up their dogs recently that it makes this moment all the more important. As tough as their journey might have been, though, you’re about to start something really magical. However, there are a few things that you need to know if you want to make them feel really welcome.

Making a dog feel like they belong in your home is a little more difficult than just bringing them back to it and saying, “here you go.” This is a huge step for them, so let’s get a few things ready for them.

Take It Slowly

Try to imagine the situation from their point of view for a moment. You’re a small animal entering an entirely new environment with people you’ve never seen before that doesn’t smell familiar. It makes perfect sense that your new pet is going to feel pretty overwhelmed and probably quite scared. Try to be as patient as you can with them. Try not to rush them. If they want to just go and hide for a bit, don’t chase after them. If they don’t want to leave your side for a while, that’s fine too. They’ll settle in once they see that you want the best for them. It’s really important that you talk to your kids about this too. Simply explain that this is a big deal for your new dog and they need to go at their own pace. Everyone will be best friends soon enough!

Be Consistent With Rules

It’s good to have rules about what your pet is and isn’t allowed to do. Dogs are intelligent creatures, and they will be more than capable of understanding. Where it can get tricky is if the rules are inconsistent. If they’re allowed to sit on the sofa one day but not the other, how are they supposed to know what the right thing to do is? You don’t need to spend the whole first day establishing codes of conduct for your new dog but it is worth spending time agreeing as a family on what’s allowed so that they don’t get confused. If you do need to tell your dog no, be clear and firm but don’t shout. Once your dog has settled in, you can think about signing up for training.

Find Them Food They Like

Stocking up on pet food is one of the first jobs when you know you’ve got a new arrival coming. You’re going to want to make sure that you have something that you know they’re going to like, and which will give them the support they need to be healthy and happy. There has been a marked increase in the number of pet owners going with the raw dog food diet recently. It’s a diet made up of all-natural meat and vegetables. There are none of the oats and grains that you find bulking out the processed alternative, and there are a lot of potential health benefits that come from going with raw food diet for dogs. If you want to learn more about how it could help your new arrival, get in touch with the team at ProDog Raw where you can build your box of raw dog food. They’ll talk you through everything you need to know and find the best option for you both!

Give Them Places To Hide

There will be times when the whole arrival is a little overwhelming for your new dog. So, make sure that you’ve got somewhere to retreat to. A safe space will go a long way to helping them understand that this is happening on their terms and that they don’t need to be worried. The safe space can be pretty simple. You can show them to a crate that has got some nice soft blankets for them, or you can make them a little nest in a room that’s going to be nice and quiet. The important thing is that it’s somewhere that people won’t be coming and going.

Get Your Dog Used To A Routine

Dogs are just like some people in that they thrive on a routine. That means that you need to think about how you can ensure that they are going to have the same things at the same time every day. When are their mealtimes going to be? What time is walkies? What time are they allowed to start hassling you to get up or get to bed? These routines will probably need to be fairly flexible, but they are especially important early on to help them settle in. Remember that everything is going to be new for them, and that’s an awful lot for a person to handle, let alone a dog.