In this day and age there are few things that can both have your heart skip a beat out of complete excitement and want to stop from sheer fear of the unknown. Leaving your local rescue or reputable breeder with a sweet little ball of fur is just such a thing that will do that to us.
The little whimper followed by the sweetest little puppy breath kisses. Those little teeny pads on the cutest little paws, they have just walked right into your heart and have already learnt to sit and stay!
This beautiful little fluffy soul has chosen you to be its protector for the next 10 to 15 years; in return you will receive the truest form of unconditional love you have ever experienced. A charge, which for both of you, will not be taken lightly.
Google! You will jump onto it, you will type “bringing home puppy” and will quickly be buried in hundreds of links with overwhelming results of everything you should and shouldn’t do. Excitement just crashed into fear. Sweet little fluffy babies new parent, you, now has information overload and has no idea where to now actually start.
All for Pets is here to help with just a few simple rules.
Rule # 1: DON’T PANIC! It is very important that you remember to keep yourself calm and balanced. Animals, especially baby animals are completely aware and alert to the type of energy we bring to situations. Work hard at educating yourself on all the information you need in order to feel confident in the choices you make for your pup.
Rule #2: KEEP IT SIMPLE! For the first few weeks keep everything you can as close to the same as where your puppy came from. Especially, don’t change food. I know this is backwards from what most retail pet food stores will tell you, but All For Pets is in it to help you succeed and part of that is alerting you to this reality. Make sure you get enough of the food the puppy has been on to feed for at least two weeks. You and your fur baby are just getting to know each other. You want and need to be able to spot signs of illness. A change in food can complicate this process by mimicking symptoms that can also be indicators of serious illness that puppies are prone too.
Give yourselves time to know each other’s clocks, so that feeding and bathroom breaks become predictable enough that you will be able to see differences that might be indications of other issues. Keep your schedule and lifestyle as close to the same too!
You won’t be able to take puppy out to parks or public areas until all of their inoculations are complete, but you can treat your own home as a practice ground of what you will like your routine to be. There will be a few adjustments of course, you do have a baby under your roof now, but try to stay as close to the same as you can. You want your new family member to fit in.
Rule #3: ENJOY EVERY MOMENT! It’s easy to go overboard and load up on every single thing a dog could ever need in life. The reality is that those little fuzzy paws that have stolen your heart really only want food, water and LOVE! Just enjoy every moment you get with your new furry side kick. That’s all they want. The walks in the park. The cuddle on the couch. The sits on the beach. There is nothing more important then building your bond to ensure a balanced, peaceful puppy.
Let your heart skip with excitement. Feel the fear of true love and proceed through it. If you have an open heart, open mind, food, dishes, crate, blanket, leash, harness and a chew toy, you are set…….or at least until puppy chews the leash, outgrows the crate, refuses the food or swallows the toy… but that is for my next blog 😉