Your Puppy and His New Home
Your puppy will be unsure at first, which is only natural. He is going to a strange place with unusual sights, sounds, and smells. Moving into a new home can be stressful for a person and it is just as unsettling for a puppy, so make the adjustment as gentle as possible.
A puppy’s senses — especially his sense of smell and hearing — are much more acute than ours, so the moment he comes through your door he is being bombarded by odors and noises that will be both confusing and frightening. Try to bear this in mind and take the first few days as quietly as possible. Ask everyone to avoid making too many loud and unexpected sounds that will startle the puppy. This is especially important with regard to young children. Unless he has experience of children from his breeder’s home, the puppy will not be used to their excited talking and quick movements and can easily become alarmed.
Once your puppy has started to get used to all the new sensory experiences, you will be able to revert to the hustle and bustle of normal family life without the puppy feeling anxious. It is important that your puppy gets used to all the members of the family — both human and animal. Stroke the puppy gently and slowly, and speak soothingly to him to calm him down. Introduce him to every member of the family, but make sure children are supervised by an adult until they learn how to handle the puppy correctly. Let everyone hold and stroke the puppy and talk to him. Knowing he is among friends will go a long way toward putting him at ease.
Encourage any children in the household to help take care of the puppy. Child-friendly chores include feeding the pup, filling his water bowl, and supervised grooming. Encourage your kids to come with you when you exercise the pup, but don’t let the child take the leash unless you are sure he or she is old enough to cope and the puppy has learned to walk heel (see Following on the Leash) and return when called (see Recall: Off the Leash).
Other pets
As soon as possible, let your puppy come into any contact with any other pets in the house, such as an older dog, a cat, or a rabbit. At this early age, you may help change your pup’s possible preconceived ideas of other animals being either a threat or “prey,” so he will grow up thinking of them as friends. Introduce the puppy to the other pet for a brief time, but make sure that you hold both animals fast so there is no chance of injury. Repeat the introductions, steadily increasing the time the animals spend together until both appear to be fully at ease.
How quickly an older dog adjusts to the presence of the newcomer will depend on the character of the adult dog. You should take extra care that a senior dog is not made to feel insecure by the arrival of the puppy. Take special care to ensure that the older dog’s “seniority” is respected, not challenged. Always make a fuss of the adult dog and avoid paying too much attention to the puppy while the older dog is around, at least at first. Try not to disrupt the older dog’s routine too much. Give the dog his meals at the normal times (always feeding him before the puppy is fed), and exercise him regularly. Make sure he can rest quietly without being constantly being pestered by the newcomer.
Let your puppy meet other pets in the house as soon as possible. Gradually lengthen their meetings until the animals become comfortable with each other.
In the case of a rabbit, let the puppy itself sniff the hutch and look inside, but don’t release the rabbit at first. If the puppy is very excitable, you could remove the rabbit to a safe place and just let the puppy investigate the the empty hutch until he is used to it. Then let the puppy see the rabbit inside the hutch for short periods, and reward him when he is calm in the presence of the rabbit. Take care that the rabbit does not become stressed by the sight of the puppy. Once the rabbit is no longer displaying signs of alarm, and the puppy is not reacting, introduce them and let the puppy sniff the rabbit, but make sure both animals are held securely.
If you have a smaller pet, such as a guinea pig, it will take awhile until both animals are perfectly at ease with each other. Give them time to adjust before they meet one-on-one.
In the case of cats, try to make sure that neither animal feels intimidated when they meet for the first time. If possible, allow the cat to investigate the newcomer while the puppy is sleeping or in an indoor kennel, pen, or crate. Hold the puppy and slowly introduce him to the cat, taking care to reassure the pup with gentle stroking and soothing words. Keep the first encounter short, and then slowly increase the time the two animals are together. Soon they’ll get accustomed to each other and you should have no problems.
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