You’re ready for pick up and the trip home. You’ve got the home stash of toys, food bowls, collar, leash, and bed ready for your new four legged friend. You may have even picked out some videos or a book on dog training. Exciting!
How do you help your new dog arrive home in a calm, easy, positive homecoming?
Well I hope that first you’ve been through my Dog Homecoming Checklist, right? And already made those first purchases in the Dog Homecoming Shopping List, right?
But let me tell you, plan ahead for three stages. First the pick-up, then the trip home, then the arrival home. You can easily use these steps to minimize your dog’s overwhelm.
In these 10 steps, you’ll help your newly adopted dog arrive home with you.
1. Organize Pre-homecoming Meetings:
Have you introduced your dog to all the members of your household already? Long before you bring a new dog or puppy to your home, you’ll want to ask your the shelter or rescue to let the dog have some time to be introduced. Let the dog meet, one at a time, each adult, kid, and other animals in the family.
Usually this introduction step is best done at the shelter, rescue, or foster home where the dog is already comfortable with the surroundings. Make sure the dog gives positive signals of being friendly with each of those meetings.
2. Skip the Doggie Breakfast to Make Travel Easier:
When you’re bringing a new puppy or adult rescue home, things can be stressful for you all. If there’s a car ride involved, ask your rescue contact well ahead of time that the dog skip the morning meal prior to going home (and remind them the DAY before).
Adult dogs can easily delay or skip a meal. Small puppies under six months will need some coordination and maybe a half meal to keep their blood sugar stable for long trips. That ONE step alone of skipping breakfast can prevent vomiting from car sickness that frequently happens to dogs traveling.
3. Pack Your vehicle With Travel Essentials:
Be prepared with both comfort and cleaning products with you in the car.
- Bring an extra collar and leash (dog may not be given to you with a leash).
- a travel crate.
- a blanket or two.
- several towels.
- a plush toy.
- fresh water and bowl (travel bowls are great to keep in the car).
- poop bags.
- small and soft training treats (only in case you need them for stopping for a potty break, don’t feed the dog or give treats all during the trip).
- a couple of rolls of paper towels.
Even housetrained dogs can experience vomiting or multiple potty accidents when traveling. No matter what happens during the ride, stay calm and quiet, and reassuring to your new pup.
4. Leash on First, Open Car Doors Second:
This hint is life-saving! Whenever you stop the car during a trip or when you arrive home, ALWAYS be sure everyone in the car knows the two steps to safety: first leash up, then open the doors.
It takes a split second for any dog to climb, jump, or dash out an open car door. If you use a travel crate then when the car is in park and all doors closed, open the crate door and put on the dog’s leash, then open the car door to step out before the dog gets out after you.
5. Keep the home Arrival Calm:
Every dog is different. Each dog will take a different amount of time to adjust to arriving to a new home and to their new life. To make things easier, try to keep the arrival home as calm as possible with no neighbors or visitors on the first day. The dog doesn’t know where he is and may be excited or stressed, and you want your new friend to feel comfortable in order to get adjusted quickly. The best way to do this is to have no expectations!
6. Walk Your Home’s Outdoor Space First:
Introduce your new dog to the outdoor areas around your home first. Put training treats in your pocket. Maybe stash a small plush toy as an end-of-exporing reward, in a back pocket or where your dog can’t see it. Take 10-15 minutes for a slow strolling sniff around. Lead them to where you want them to learn to potty. Make homecoming a rewarding experience by treating and rewarding your dog for exploring, following you, or pottying where you want. After 10-15 minutes outdoors for the tour exploration, introduce a new toy as a special prize or sit on the ground to give praise and play.
7. Bring Your Other Dogs Outside to Meet:
If you have a dog (or more than one), you should make the initial meeting happen in the yard or farther away. Choose a neutral place like the sidewalk, up the street, or a neighbor’s fenced yard. Keep the first greeting fairly short and see how it goes.
Plan for all eventualities, excitement, or barking, or aloofness. And don’t worry if the dogs seem to ignore or both seem ‘not to notice’ each other and walk around in large circles; that’s a good healthy first social interaction when that happens.
8. Bring Your Cats or Other Animals to a Closed Room:
If you have a cat or other indoor household pets like rabbits, birds, cage or tank pets, you want any initial meeting to take place after a day or two. That time gives your dog freedom to fully explore and sniff the indoor spaces where they’re allowed. For a full stress-free exploration, keep your animals separate. For the first day or two, put your other animals (temporarily) into a closed space like a bedroom or a separate level of your home.
9. NOW it’s time to let the dog indoors:
Let your dog go inside with you and introduce them room by room to sniff around. Try to give adequate space for exploration and sniffing, while you continue supervise in every room. Introduce any family members who were at home by having them sit and extend one hand down towards the floor in a loose fist for the dog to sniff. After everyone knows each other and your dog is getting comfortable, let the dog have some alone time in their crate or gated area with a little fresh water.
10. Quiet Time:
While your new dog takes 15 or 20 minutes by themselves, let them see you doing your own chores. Unpack the car. Sit down for a few minutes yourself. Make yourself a snack. Check your email. Talk to your family or contact the rescue to let them know you’re home safely. Your life with your rescue is just beginning!
You have done all you could to help your adopted dog to arrive home with you. You are ready to take on this exciting new adventure together with your dog!