Bringing home a puppy

Tips and advice for owners on the first few weeks after adoption of a puppy

May 09, 2014 03:18 pm | Updated 03:18 pm IST - puducherry:

A puppy in his initial stages is always in the company of his mother and littermates. Once the puppy reaches your home, he accepts your family as his new pack and expects to learn the ways of life from his new “pack” — your family. The first step before bringing the puppy home is to puppy-proof the apartment. Management is the simplest way to avoid accidents. All puppies, like human infants, need constant supervision. They are curious and explore the world around them using their noses and mouths.

It is quite unnatural for a puppy to remain away from his own pack. If you need to step out to the nearby store or attend to someone at home, find a safe spot for your puppy to leave him alone. A crate (only if the puppy is positively trained and introduced to his crate), puppy-proof room can be used. Train and prepare the puppy well before to remain calm and occupied in its safe spot. Make sure that in the safe spot, the puppy has access to his favourite toys, chew toys, bones, water (in a shallow bowl) and his bed to take a nap. These toys should be brought out only when the pup is left alone. By doing so, the value of these toys go up in the pup’s mind. This spot should make the puppy feel safe and secure. While you are present around the house, teach the puppy to stay in this area for at least two minutes and slowly work it up to an hour or so. Now go out of sight from the puppy and repeat the above.

So in future, you can be assured that the puppy will keep himself busy in his safe spot. Once your work is done, you may come back and lead your puppy to his toileting area and then keep him near you as usual. And remember that no puppy should be left unsupervised for more than two hours at a time.

(The writer is canine behaviour consultant and founder of Confident Dogs. She can be reached at nivedita@confidentdogs.com)

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.