Thank you for submitting your adoption application.
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?
