It is such an exciting day when you bring your puppy or an older dog. After your puppy or dog has started to settle I am asking you “Is your dog or puppy stressing you out?”
I find from many years of experience that when you first bring home your new companion they can be somewhat subdued for a few days and you may be thinking “Wow, this is easy!”
I can chuckle at this as I have felt and thought this many times! Then a few days later, the fun begins, it can be a challenge thinking ahead of your new mate!
Friends or family come to visit the newest member of my household, and they remark how quiet and adorable my new dog or puppy is, and I heartily agree with them.
It may be about day six (not necessarily counting the days though) that a new spark of courage appears in my newest addition.
I am immediately thankful that my new mate appears to be settling and feeling more comfortable within their new home and eagerly watch for their personality to emerge. This could take a few more days or be evident quite quickly.
I will select my middle Kelpie to chat about her emerging personality. She was not at all chuffed at leaving her litter mates and coming home with me. We had quite a drive ahead of us too as it took, counting comfort stops, about seven or so hours to drive back home.
Because she was so stressed I secured her to my waist from her newly attached harness so she could be near me in the car. This did not really appeal to her, however, I knew that if I put her in the crate I had on my back seat, she would complain loudly. This would make driving very uncomfortable for me as I would not be able to be entirely focused on the drive ahead.
I would then need to answer yes to the question “Is your dog or puppy stressing you out?”
I needed to remain calm for my new puppy and myself.
We arrived home, she was quite tired. I took her out to my yard to see if she needed to toilet again before I put on the kettle for a welcome cuppa and relax!
She met my other dogs and remained close to me for comfort.
The next day she was quite happy to socialise with my dogs for a short play and for the next few days was a perfect puppy.
As she started to unwind and relax, her playful nature became more defiant. It was more or so like, ‘this is my new home, so now I will show you how I will spend my time here’.
She became very demanding for her food or complained when I needed to put her in her crate for a rest. Once she had played with a chew toy in her crate she was ready to come out again!
And my goodness, if I did not provide her with her food on her timing, she let me know.
I knew from experience she needed to learn that my household ran on my timing and not on hers! This she did not like one bit and complained loudly and if she knew her food was ready, she wanted it NOW!
I knew I could not give in to this, so I attached her to my waist with her leash and harness! (I prefer a harness in the early days of training). I would then put her into training mode and help her to do simple commands, like down/drop or sit so that I could extend the time before giving her the readymade meal.
In other words, I always needed to find a job for her to accomplish before I could give in to her demands.
If you are consistent and calm, you will stay ahead of the game with your new dog or puppy and you will be able to answer the question “Is your dog or puppy stressing you out?” with the answer that you are working patiently with your new charge to help him or her understand that life revolves around your household routine and not your new companions. With patience and calmness you will achieve the results you want.
Until next time…
