The Ultimate Guide to Caring for Your New Dog

When it comes to taking your new dog back home with you, things get pretty exciting but there are things to consider as the dog is learning for the very first time and adjusting to a new environment, your home.

It’s important to take the necessary steps to be able to raise your dog properly and provide the proper care for it. Here are the steps you need to consider when caring for your new dog.

Make Sure They Are Registered

Be sure to have your dog registered so that you can find it if ever it gets lost and it can be identified as yours. This is important when your dog may wander off unnoticed it is a legal requirement to get it back and prove you are the owner.

Health and Comfort

Between six and eight weeks you should make sure that your dog is vaccinated to be sure its health will not be at risk. Make sure that your home has a spot provided where there is shade for it to relax as heat can be very impactful on a dog’s health due to the risks of heatstroke.

Make your home clean and free from products that may be harmful to its health such as sprayed chemicals or harmful products that may be applied to parts of your home.

Indoors

Be sure that your dog has enough space to roam around as you don’t want it to feel like it’s and cover up any objects in your house that have pointy or sharp sides to avoid your dog’s curiosity from getting it injured.

You can set up a little bed for it to stay in so that it can relax and keep it indoors with you but be sure that you prevent it from climbing up any high areas or from getting under hard to reach dirty places. If you’re renting make sure that you’re allowed to keep a pet on the property.

Outdoor

If you have a garden or a simple backyard be careful where your dog roams and what is in the area, avoid letting any trash scatter around as your dog may chew on it and accidentally swallow it.

This goes with smaller objects as well such as toys, tools, and even leaves. Be sure to keep it away from any plants that are poisonous or that can cause harm to your dog.

Keep Things Out of Reach

If a dog stumbles across something that spikes its curiosity, regardless of its age it will most likely attempt to interact with the object which may result in it biting and pulling at it.

This gets dangerous when it comes to wires or dangling objects such as table covers as the dog may pull objects that will fall on the ground and possibly harm themselves.

Make sure they won’t be able to reach objects that can lead to a mess being caused and that nothing you don’t want them touching is lying around in plain sight.

Food and Water

Dehydration is common among dogs, especially when it is very hot outside so be sure to have a good supply of water that it can drink out of and provide it with food about 2 – 3 times a day but only in small amounts as the average dog doesn’t need a whole bowl full of dog food but merely just a small handful.

Control your dog’s food intake and keeping it to the amount that dogs should normally eat will prevent it from getting overweight and lazy.

Exercise

Take your dog for a walk every now and then, not only so they can do their business but also so they can get the exercise that is appropriate for them.

Just like humans, dogs need to exercise to stay fit too so it’s a good idea to take your dog with you when you go for a walk in the park or just down the block.

Control Their Behaviour

Dogs get curious, excited, and sometimes naughty so be sure to use the right vocal gestures when it comes to signal when they should stop something or when you are calling them. If they do something bad or go somewhere they shouldn’t, don’t get mad or yell, simply pick them up and bring them away. Dogs can get trauma so you should avoid scaring them at a young age.

Training Your Dog

You can learn how to train dogs online or bring them to professionals to make sure your dog can begin learning at a young age making it more disciplined and even responding to you when you say things.

This is good for dogs that tend to be very energetic and misbehave as instead of punishments they can respond and understand what is good or bad based on the training provided.

Safety Precautions

Make sure that your dog can’t dig its way outside your gate or fence and that you close doors or gates where you don’t want it wandering off. A dog is prone to kidnapping as well as accidents if left unattended and if they get lost.

Bringing Your Dog with You

If you want to take your dog with you when you walk, make sure to have a leash and that you take full control. Don’t tug on the leash and don’t let your dog pull you, simply walk normally with confidence so it follows you.

Be the same if you bring it in a car but be sure to not leave the window open at a young age until they are fully trained as you want to avoid any possible accidents from happening.