3 Mistakes I See with Newly Adopted Dogs
Let’s dive into the top 3 mistakes I see with newly adopted dogs. This isn’t to shame anyone, more to educate! If you have done these things I hope you can use those moments as learning experiences.
And guess what... I have done ALL of these!
1. Immediately taking your new companion to the dog park.
You just adopted your new best friend! Time to hit up the dog park, right!?
Wrong!
Us humans love the idea of our dog having dog friends. In fact, we often think that all dogs love all dogs! This is so far from being true.
Dogs, just like people, have their own preferences in their social life. Some dogs love every dog that they meet, some don’t mind being in the presence of other dogs but really want to hang out with their besties, some will tolerate the dogs around them while seeking companionship in the humans instead, and some dogs simply don’t like other dogs.
Each and every one of these “types of dogs” are OKAY!
When you first adopt your dog, you don’t know their personality or preferences with their social life. You could be bringing home a dog who has a negative history with other dogs and is actually scared of them. The last thing you would want is to take that dog to an enclosed park full of what they fear most - dogs - on their first day with you! That can be hard to recover from, it can be heartbreaking for you and it can diminish that trust between you and your new furry family member.
2. Inviting all of your friends and family over to meet your new dog right away.
I know, it’s so exciting when you first adopt a new dog and you want to show them off to all of your friends and family!
The reality though is that this can be very overwhelming for your dog. They have just entered a brand new home with a whole new layout, new smells, new routines, new people, and maybe even new animals (to them). That is a lot for your dog to take in and process.
Instead, give them 2-3 weeks to adapt to their new life before inviting people over to meet them. And when you do invite your loved ones over to meet your new furry family member, try to only invite 2-3 people over at a time, keep it low-key and provide your newly adopted dog with a comfy, quiet and safe place that they can retreat to if they begin to feel overwhelmed.
3. Punishing your dog for using the bathroom in the house.
It’s Saturday and you just brought your new dog home! You spend the whole day hanging out and getting to know one another.
You finally settled down to watch a movie before heading to bed and your new bestie starts to pee on the living room rug!
Ahhhhh!!! Nooooo!!! This is, frustrating!! Right!?
Now I would like to remind you, this isn’t besties fault! This is only their first day in this new home of theirs and they haven’t learned where their designated bathroom spot is yet. Your natural instinct may be to yell at them, stick their nose in it while telling them no or even spanking them.
I can tell you now that all 3 of those options are not going to help you with potty training. Instead, this is showing your new bestie that going to the bathroom in front of you made something really unpleasant happen to them so then they will most likely become scared to use the bathroom in front of you.
This means sneaky pees and poops in the house when you’re not around. This also means that if you’re outside with them they might not feel comfortable going to the bathroom.
Instead, take bestie out to their designated potty spot every 30 minutes to an hour. Yes, that frequent! Once they successfully potty outside, give them a treat and then celebrate with fun playtime!
Take what you learned here today and use it to help your friends and family avoid these mistakes the next time they adopt a new dog. And then go and check out my Newly Adopted Mutt Training Package so that I can help set you and your newly adopted dog up for success!
Em Fitzpatrick, VSA-CDT
