5 Tips For Adopting A New Dog

We have adopted five dogs over the last five years. Bringing a new dog home isn’t always easy. We have been quite lucky in that department. The dogs we already are always fairly welcoming to the new dogs we add to the pack. Here are five tips that may help when adopting a new dog, especially if you have other dogs in the home:

1. Patience is key. It’s not going to be easy right from the start. It will require a lot of patience for both the new dog and the dogs already in the home. Expect some bickering (our Polly girl still bickers with Elsie Jane even though it’s been a month). Additionally, being in a new place is going to be overwhelming for the new dog. Even if it’s not a puppy, there may be accidents (going potty in the house, chewing on things they aren’t supposed to, etc.). The new dog has to have time to learn what is allowed and not allowed in their new home.
2. Routines. Dogs thrive on routine. They need to know when they are going to get fed, go on walks, bed time, etc. Establishing a routine with your new dog will help them learn and become more comfortable in their new space.
3. Love the established dog first. I don’t mean chose one dog over another. But, when putting down food bowls or saying hello after getting home, do this with the established dog first. This will let them know they are not being replaced. They are still just as important as before.
4. Slowly bring the new dog into the established dogs space. Our dogs have their own room. This is where they go when we are not home. This is also where they eat/have water. When we recently got Elsie Jane, she wouldn’t eat in that room. We had to start with her bowl in another room and then slowly progress to where she can now eat with the other dogs.
5. Time. It takes an adopted dog up to 3 months to understand that your home is their new home. It can take ever longer for them to open up to everyone in the home. It took Polly almost a year to start snuggling with my husband (now she is a complete daddy’s girl!). Give them time. Most adopted dogs have been shuffled around quite a bit before they end up in your home.

One thing we do for all our newly adopted dogs is get them a “welcome package” as I call it. This includes their own collar, harness, leash, dog bowl, toy, and blanket. While we want to be sure our established dogs know they aren’t being replaced, we also want our new dog to know that they are welcome and this is their home, too.