|
 |
At some point in time, we’ve all brought a new four-legged
member home to join our family. It could have been an 8-week old
pup, an adolescent dog from a shelter, a stray found wandering
the streets or an older dog that suddenly found themselves’
homeless. In all of these examples there’s one commonality,
a profound change in life circumstances. As with any drastic change,
there’s an adjustment period to the new people, places and
things in the dog’s new life. This adjustment period generally
takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months depending on the dog and
the particular circumstances. Imagine being suddenly pulled away
from everything and everyone you knew – it would be very
stressful and frightening. It’s stressful and frightening
to a dog too. They need love, time, and patience to settle into
a new way of life with new people.
Most of us are very excited to have
a new member of the family and want to do lots of stuff with the
new dog. At first this may be too overwhelming for your new pet
so take it a bit slow at first. It’s important to pay attention
to the dog’s signals. Is he constantly trying to get away
from the children to hide, is he afraid of your other dog, or
is he attached at the hip to family members and can’t stand
being alone? As the dog becomes more comfortable and confident
in his new surroundings, then you can start to add more activities
and more new people into his life.
Remember, when bringing a new pet home, he may not know any obedience
commands, never learned appropriate manners indoors, may never
have been housetrained, may never have been exposed to a crate
or even ever been loved. And, none of that is his fault. Even
if a dog is 2 years of age, sometimes we need to take it from
square one just as if he were a tiny puppy and teach them all
that they never had the opportunity to learn before and we need
to do it with kindness.
Be loving and patient with your new dog. If you find that you
need assistance in helping your dog adjust, please give Joanne
a call.
Back to
Behavioral Index
|
|
Welcoming
Your New Family Member Home
