Everyone loves getting a new puppy. They are cute and energetic and just look like they want to be cuddled. If you just brought home a new furry friend, you, undoubtedly, want to make sure that you give your puppy the best home you can. Here are a few suggestions for how you can make sure that you are giving your puppy the best home you can and loving the puppy well.
Keep Safety First
The first thing you will want to do–probably before the new puppy even comes home–is to make sure that your home is safe for the puppy. This means puppy-proofing. Puppy-proofing your home is similar to what new parents must do to baby-proof their home. Creating a safe home for a new puppy requires owners to anticipate dangers that puppies could get into: things they might chew or eat that could cause illness or injury, places the puppy could go that would be dangerous, and so on. Puppies are curious and love to explore, so they might find trouble where owners did not know it existed. A wise pet owner will try to prevent these safety issues and respond appropriately if and when new safety issues are discovered.
Provide a Healthy Diet
Next, a puppy’s health is directly related to what it consumes, hence the need for safety measures. But this also highlights the importance of what a puppy is fed. Puppies should be food based on their breed size and should be fed puppy food based on their breed and size in order to prevent choking. It is also important to feed a puppy food that is nutritious and made from healthy, real ingredients. Puppies, like people, benefit best from whole foods.
Train for Good Behavior
Teaching a puppy is so important. A puppy will learn no matter what an owner does or does not do. Unfortunately, owners that do not intentionally train their puppy will have a puppy that will be undisciplined and possibly a danger to themselves or others. There are many options for new puppy parents in regards to training, such as in-person training and a free puppy training app. A new puppy and the family that owns a new puppy will be much happier if training is implemented and consistent. Dogs are incredibly smart and can learn and should be taught.
Engage the Pup
Along with consistent training, another area that new owners should be mindful to be consistent in is exercise, especially as the puppy grows. Initially, the puppy will be much like a newborn and sleep frequently. However, when they are awake–more so as they get older–they need the opportunity to expend the energy they have and if they are not able to do this in safe and healthy ways, they may begin to find ways to work off their energy on their own by chewing up shoes or furniture. In order to prevent misbehavior and damage to shoes, owners should make sure their puppy is able to run around outside several times a day and have plenty of toys and balls to play with indoors. The puppy will be grateful for the time to play outdoors and for the opportunity to avoid misbehaving.
Foster a Bond
Overlapping exercise is playing with and talking to a puppy. Puppies are naturally loving little creatures, but they also benefit from the intentional bonding of owners, so it is important to play with and speak frequently and kindly to a puppy. The puppy is a member of the family and needs to know that it has a place there. Time and attention help to nurture this bond and should not be disregarded.
Discover the Personality
Finally, it is important to, as early as possible, discover the personality of the pup. This may not be possible to see until the puppy is several months or close to a year old, but it is helpful to both the owner and the puppy if the owner understands the temperament, preferences, and tendencies of the puppy. Is the puppy energetic, low-key, nervous or protective? Whatever the traits, it will help the wonder to know and allow for a better situational awareness when engaging the dog or when others are engaging with the dog. Knowing the puppy’s personality will allow the owner to prepare for or avoid certain situations.
Getting a puppy is a wonderful time that should be welcomed warmly and with excitement. But it is a responsibility and the puppy deserves to have that responsibility taken seriously. Doing so will make for a happy home.
