The key to bringing a puppy into your home is to think things through well before the big day.
Most people spend months preparing for the arrival of a new baby. They’re just as likely, however, to bring a baby dog home on a whim, without any preparation at all. Small wonder they find themselves playing catch-up for weeks, months, years, or even “getting rid of” the dog as they struggle to recover from the mistakes made in the pup’s formative months. The wise puppy-owner-to-be puts much thought into pre-puppy preparation.
Rules and routines are especially important if there’s more than one human in the house, to encourage consistency, an important element of successful puppy-raising. When your pup joins your family, she’ll experiment with different behaviors to try to figure out how the world works, and how to make good stuff happen – a dog’s main mission in life. The more consistent everyone is, the quicker she’ll figure it all out.
Your rules and routines will reflect your dog-raising and -training philosophies. Here are some issues for your family to discuss and agree on:
Where will your puppy sleep?
Will she be allowed on the furniture?
Where will she be during the day?
What games will she be allowed to play?
Who will feed her; when, and what?
Who will train her and how?
How will you correct her for making mistakes?
For more details and advice on pre-puppy preparation, purchase Whole Dog Journal’s ebook, Puppy Basics.
