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Taking
The Puppy Home
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| If
you take your puppy home in a car, be sure to place it on a towel
or newspapers. Young puppies are often carsick on the first trip.
When you get the puppy home, handle it gently and speak softly
to it. Remember, it is in new surroundings. It will need a day
or two to become familiar with its new home. It needs time to
grow and develop. Don’t expect too much of your new puppy, and
don’t worry if it doesn’t eat much the first day.
The puppy should have a bed of its own in the corner of a room, perhaps the kitchen or bathroom, where it cannot get into trouble. An old rug or blanket makes a satisfactory bed. Another ideal bed, which is easy to keep clean, is a piece of foam rubber covered first with oilcloth and then with a clean burlap bag or pillowcase. You can replace the outer covering whenever the puppy needs a clean bed, and the oilcloth can be washed with a little soap and water. A wood or wire crate with a hinged door and a latch makes a fine indoor kennel. It will keep your puppy safe and help you in housebreaking it. Be sure to get a crate large enough so that your dog, when fully grown, can stretch out, stand up, and turn around. The first few times you place the puppy in the crate, it may cry and bark. Pay no attention unless the puppy is hungry or needs to go out. Soon it will like its crate as much as its wild ancestors liked their holes and caves. With patience, you can train the puppy to go out its crate whenever you wish. For outdoors in fair weather, you can make a kennel to protect the dog from the hot sun. If you leave your dog alone outdoors, you should make a strong fence in your backyard. The run should be high enough so the dog cannot jump put when fully grown. And it should be sunk into the ground about 15 centimeters so that the dog cannot dig out. It should be at least 1 meter by 2.5 meters (about 3 feet by 8 feet) for a small dog and 2 meters by 6 meters (6 ½ feet by 20 feet) for a large dog. It can be made of turkey wire for all except large dogs. Large dogs need chain link or stronger fencing. The gate should have a firm closing that the dog cannot open with its nose or paw. Dogs that are allowed to roam are sooner or later likely to be struck by cars, to be poisoned, or pick up a disease, like rabies. A roving dog sometimes becomes a nuisance to neighbors. A fenced-in dog is safe and a joy to its owners and neighbors. Don’t tie your dog to a wire or rope. Such treatment may break its spirit or make it vicious. |
