Situations can change after a new member is added to your family. You have to take proper care of your new BFF and handle it as your newly born child. There are many varieties of Adoptable Dogs & Cats. But remember to select one according to your family condition, budget, and requirements.
A situation may also arise where your parents may not agree with your decision. All because they fear that you may change any time, and they will be responsible for the pet.
As a person who has a soft spot for pets, if you have already made up your mind to adopt you may go ahead with your decision. Do not forget to take the advice of someone who already has a furry BFF in their house. Also, do a lot of homework on how to take proper care of the pet during the initial days.
The idea of animals caged up is a horror to everyone. As humans, we love to our liberty, and now it’s time to free an animal from its locked life and shower it with complete love and compassion.
Adoptable Dogs & Cats Checklist
So, before you start off as a new mother/ or a father to your pet, here are a few tips to help you make a smooth start in your journey:
- Adopt the pet from a shelter or a rescue: Avoid adopting a pet from the puppy mills. Pets from puppy mills face a number of behavioral issues, health problems and more. Therefore, adopt a pet from the rescues and shelters. Check the listings mentioned under Save a rescue.
- Make sure that you have enough to spend: Adopting a puppy means you have a new member in a family. From daily meals to medicines, doctors, shampoos, trainers, name anything you will need money for all these. So, think about the expense.
- Give a dog tag: Accidents can happen anytime. Your pet may feel like wandering alone and in doing so it may forget it’s way home. My neighbor faced this problem recently and I know how helpless it is to misplace your loved one. Get a collar with proper tags, write the name of your dog along with a contact number of your family. Microchipping is a great way to get back your pet home if it gets lost (god forbid it may never happen). Speak with a vet for more information on microchipping.
- Keep the pet under supervision: Pets are not humans they do not know the etiquette and dining rules. As a pet owner, the first time you introduce a pet in your house, tell your family to train the dog rules and boundaries. You must give him/her to a lot of love and affection. Keep positive notes on what he is eating. And also, you must take him on regular exercises.
- Remove fleas from their body: Pets of good breeds have a lot of furs in their bodies. And due to this, a lot of fleas, worms, and ticks makes a home in their body. The pet will frequently scratch its whole body when it will get fleas in its body. Use flee and worm removing shampoos in their body, find the fleas and pluck it out from his body. If required take him to the vet and the doctor will do the procedure for you. Thankfully the worm removing procedure is very simple and you can prevent it with monthly medication.
- Use one command for a particular task: Use command or pick a word like the dog’s name or any other command. Use the command only with a purpose to avoid confusion.
- The dog needs their teeth brushed: Dental Health is very important for the overall well-being of the dog. Introduce, the toothbrush slowly to your pet. Gradually your dog will enjoy the daily cleaning procedure.
If you are confused about which are the best Breeds for your Lifestyle take our Quiz [you will find the link on our home page] & learn which dog breeds will suit your lifestyle best.
Step by Step Potty Training
- Introduction: The first thing that needs to be done is to introduce your pet to the new house. You must show him the areas they are allowed to be.
- Create a ‘spot/area’ outdoors & take your dog there every time to relieve themselves. They can ‘smell’ previous urine & feces which will ‘mark’ them as ‘this is the place where I should relieve myself’.
- Be patient. Stand quietly. Don’t distract or talk to them. Let them sniff and ‘think’ about why they are there.
- As they are relieving themselves, create a ‘word’ and use the same tonality every time as you say this word while they are relieving themselves. i.e. “Pee-Pee” “Potty”, etc.
- Praise them after they have relieved themselves, and rub their chest or ears, and/or play with them by running around the yard, etc. giving them a ‘fun time’ after the fact.
- Consistency is everything.
- Take them outside 15-30 minutes after every meal. Immediately after waking up, and/or after 5-10 minutes of playing indoors, take them outside.
- Always take them outside to do their ‘business’ through the same door. At night you may want to lay a puppy pad at the exit door you use to take them out to go to the bathroom. Just in case in the middle of the night they have to relieve themselves and can’t wake you up.
- FYI: Statistically females learn much faster than male dogs.
- FYI: Dogs are den animals. They do not like to relieve themselves where they eat and sleep and rest, unless forced to from living in tight quarters like cages, etc. where they don’t have a choice. Dogs prefer to establish a potty place a good distance from their ‘den’ [your home].
- If you are consistent, patient and give them every reason to be ‘creatures of habit’, which they are, you will be successful in teaching them quickly a toilet place they can call their own.
- FYI: NEVER punish your dog for relieving themselves indoors. Its your mistake, not theirs.
- Use a crate when no one is present in the house: If you are not present at home, train your puppy to use the crate for removing the body wastes.
Potty Training your dog can be simple if you start at an early stage. Remember, dogs are smart learners. Therefore, show them the place to pee repeatedly and they will slowly get accustomed. Praise them with a reward every time they pee at the right place.
Reward them with a doggie treat that is soft and chewable and easily digestible. Be sure it is different than their regular daily meals. Something special, like a doggie jerky treat. Small portions are best.
Another measure that you can help you to prevent a sticky mess in your house is by giving your pet small, timely and frequent meals instead of large meals twice or thrice a day. Dogs do not have a large appetite, and small meals can help them control their bowels.
Any ‘mistakes’ that happen in your home, wash the area with white Vinegar ~ it will neutralize the acidity in the urine & feces so your dog won’t smell it later & believe this is where they should relieve themselves.
Dos and Don’ts of Potty Training
- Do not EVER punish your pet for an accident. It will teach your puppy to get afraid of you.
- If you catch your pet in some unacceptable task, just clap loudly so that he knows. Also, take him outside to remove its bowel.
Don’ts:
- Avoid taking your pets to public places before vaccination: Until your puppy’s third vaccination, avoid places like parks where other dogs might have previously visited.
- Keep the leash on when you are taking your dog outside: Leashes are effective in keeping track where exactly your pet is. In fact, you can also keep an eye on him/her.
- Avoid chaining up your dog: Especially when they are outdoor avoid chaining them up. If there is a bad weather its very harmful to tie up your dog outside. On the other hand, if you find anyone doing this with their pets, kindly report it to us. Save a Rescue is a non-profit organization that not only helps organizations to fight against animal violence and euthanasia. Visit our about us page to know more.
Give Your Pet Plenty of Love and Affection
The duration of a pet is much shorter than a normal human. It is best to treat them plenty of love and affection. Better than showering love with verbal affection, brushing and grooming them is quite a good way to shower love.
Is it possible to keep a feral cat as a house pet?
Stray cats and feral cats appear to be the same but there is a subtle difference in their appearance and the way they behave. Feral cats are born in the wild and are comfortable there. These cats are not very open to people, they will find a hiding place to avoid glares. In fact, the sight of humans scares them. Even it can be very difficult to socialize a matured feral cat.
You must be wondering can a feral cat become a friendly pet? A feral cat can be tamed and transformed into a lovely pet when introduced to the house at their early age.
How to Differentiate A Feral Cat from Stray Cats?
One can easily make a difference between both these breeds by examining their behavior.
- No socialization with humans
- Belongs to a colony
- They are unlikely to make eye contact or meow at humans
- They are more territorial compared to stray cats
- They live near areas where food and shelter are readily available
In case you find a feral act, try not to bring it in your homes. Rather leave it at a safe place. I hope these tips will help you to introduce a lovely new member to your family.
Obtaining a dog or a cat from the shelters is not the end of the journey. Pets demand love and care. You cannot leave them alone for a long time as they will get stressed and suffer from isolation. Therefore, check on and do a lot of homework before adopting a pet. For more information call us on our hotline number (888) 440-6467.
