When adopting from a shelter, it’s essential to be aware of various circumstances that might affect and smooth the transition over the first few weeks you spend with your new pet.
The decision to bring a pet into your home is the start of a beautiful adventure for you both, but it’s also the turning point in your connection with your pet over the long term.
Do you know the difference between Pet and Domestic Animals? Each pet is an individual with a different background, so puppies and kittens are prepared to find their place in your home. We have to be their compass.
1. Strive for Resilience
The first few days (or even months) that your new pet spends in your home will be difficult for them. According to Miller, staying at a shelter is one of the most stressful conditions for a dog. He says it will take time for your new pet to adjust to his new surroundings and earn your trust as his caretaker.
Teach your dog the proper conduct and home rules, be patient, and utilize positive reinforcement. Make a regular plan to assist your dog in settling in and feeling more at home. Early on, consistency, stability, and predictability work best to lessen concern.
2. Prepare Your New Animal
Before your latest family member arrives, it is essential to have everything your pet needs on hand. Ensure you have a crate, bedding, gates, a litter box, and non-plastic food and drink containers before bringing your pet home. Toys, biscuits, a collar and leash, a toothbrush, and all of the above are beneficial to puppies. A cat tree, laser pointer, pet water fountain, and brush are all useful for cats. It’s not a good idea to run to the pet store the day you bring your new pet home to buy bedding and toys.
Find out what you should do for other fuzzy creatures by asking the shelter or pet store. Try giving your new pet the same food they are accustomed to for at least the first few days to prevent upsetting their digestive system.
3. Provide Enlightenment
Your pet will become bored if they go to a shelter. Pets are constantly stimulated and challenged while in our care. We can produce our cats’ minds and bodies using puzzle toys, fresh catnip from our enrichment garden, hikes, and playfulness.
You may increase your pet’s lifespan by introducing enrichment into your daily routine. Excellent alternatives include taking them on long walks or runs, letting them play physically with their favorite toys, or making an enrichment garden with herbs you can combine with puzzle games.
4. Be Reliable
Make a lifelong commitment to providing your dog with the proper nutrition, exercise, and interaction in addition to veterinary attention and training. When you acquire a dog, you also commit to your community that you will take responsibility for it, including tidying up after it when it goes for walks.
Learn about the rules and regulations governing dog ownership in your neighbourhood, and adhere to them by acquiring your dog the appropriate vaccinations and a license.
5. Permit Your New Pet to Freely Explore
It’s typical for a pet to have reservations about its new residence. Give your new pet time to acclimate to its surroundings without other animals or people around to help. It is vital to give the new dog or cat some alone time and space to explore their new home before introducing them to the rest of their new human and animal family. Your new pet can overcome its timidity and become accustomed to the smells of various animals and humans by being allowed to conduct independent investigations.
6. Have Patience
As was already discussed, managing expectations about how you’re pet will respond to their new home and environment is the key to their success after being adopted from a shelter. And much of that is the result of Patience.
The transition from shelter life to a peaceful home can frequently be difficult because of all the many smells, family members, and routines they must immediately learn to live with. It could take nearly time to become used to routine activities and commands. Therefore, being patient will aid in their success.
Final Opinions
To help the new pet acclimate, it’s essential to establish the ground rules as soon as they get home. Don’t wait for your new pet to “settle in” before radically altering your expectations and making their life challenging. It’s firmer to break a bad habit than it is to start one. Although it is an exciting and incredibly rewarding experience, getting a new pet requires a lot of work. Everyone will be happy if expectations are established from the beginning, including people. Planning is essential whether you bring home a brand-new puppy, rescue an aging shelter dog, or adopt a feline friend. For instance, don’t let your new dog lay on your bed the first night unless you plan to do so every night.
