This week, there were two big milestones for me. The first was my 44th birthday, which I celebrated with my family and office pack on Tuesday. The other happened the same day, when my younger son Calvin started high school. Moving from one school to another is an exciting time for a child. It means new teachers, new friends, and an entirely new place. It can be intimidating as well. That’s why, behind the scenes, parents and teachers work to make the transition as easy as possible for the kids. There are orientation meetings, school tours, and lots of instructions and information. But there’s one life event that people forget to plan out in advance, at least for the most important participant. I’m talking, of course, about bringing a new dog into your pack. Luckily, this isn’t something that most people do without any planning — except maybe in the case of bringing in a stray off the street. Before you adopt the dog, you probably have at least a bed, food and treats, bowls for food and water, a leash and collar, and maybe some toys. If you’ve been very conscientious, you’ve probably already arranged for the first vet appointment, and maybe you’ve even talked to the entire household to establish rules about the dog — who does the feeding and walking, where the dog is and isn’t allowed, and so on. So the big day comes when you pick up the dog. Everybody is excited and happy as you drive home, and you all come bounding up the walk, throw open the front door and let the dog off-leash and inside… And you’ve just planted the seed for a lot of future issues. In human terms, you’ve unleashed a juvenile delinquent. Just as we orient kids going into middle or high school, teach them the rules, and answer their questions, we have to do the same thing for our dogs. Unfortunately, we can’t give dogs a rulebook and a pat on the head and say, “Read this. It will explain everything.” The message you send to your dog the moment she enters your home for the first time is critical, because it immediately establishes the ground rules in your dog’s mind. If you just let her run in the door, the message is, “Here! Everything is yours, and you can do what you want.” By opening that door, you have told your dog, “There are no rules, boundaries or limitations.” You know where that goes: She eats shoes, won’t be housebroken, constantly begs, climbs on the furniture, jumps on people... And then you visit my website trying to find out what is “wrong” with your new dog! The process of bringing your new dog into the home for the first time should be very deliberate and specific. Here are the eight essential steps: 1. Remain Calm When you pick the dog up, everyone must remain calm. It can be tempting to greet the new family member with excitement, but this is not the time to do it. Accept the dog into your space, but do not give more than a minimum of attention or affection yet. You’re about to remove the dog from a place that’s become familiar and take her to somewhere entirely new. And remember: This step must remain in effect through the entire process. 2. Take a Long Walk When you get home, keep your dog on the leash, because you’re now going to go on a long walk through her new neighborhood. This serves two purposes: It will help drain her excess energy and bring her to a calm state, and it will get her used to the new smells, sights, and sounds. 3. Introduce Your Home After the walk, keep your dog on the leash for a proper introduction to the new pack den — your house, apartment, condo, etc. Bring the dog to the front door, but do not let her enter first. If you can, get her to sit or lie down as you open the door. Then, you enter first, not allowing her to follow until you invite her in. 4. Take the Tour Once inside, keep your dog on the leash and lead her from room to room. Do not let her sniff or wander around. Use the leash to keep her at your side. Spend a little time in each room before moving on to the next, and make sure each time you go first into the next room. Do not let the dog follow you into the next room until you give permission. If you have a backyard, patio, or other outside area, treat it the same way. 5. Remain Calm During the tour, don’t say very much and use only body language or simple sounds, like “Tsch!” or a finger snap, to communicate. Your dog is overwhelmed right now, so the less stimulation, the better. This will help keep her focused on you. 6. The Dog’s Place, Part 1 Once you’ve completed the tour, bring the dog to the place where the food and water will be and offer a reward with some water and a few bits of food (but not a whole bowl yet; your dog is still on her leash, remember?) 7. The Dog’s Place, Part 2 Likewise, if you have a special place you’d like the dog to stay when she needs to be out of the way of household activities, take her there. This is where you can finally let her off-leash. That place can be where her bed is, or a spot in the corner of the living room where you want her to lie, or her crate. By letting her off the leash here, you are telling her, “This is yours.” Don’t be surprised if she immediately decides to settle down and ignore the family for a while. This doesn’t mean she hates her new home. It means that she has found her place in it. 8. Act Naturally Once you’ve completed the above process, go through the rest of your day as you normally would. This also applies to the entire pack. You can acknowledge the dog if she joins you, of course, but don’t go overboard with affection yet. Just as you’re still getting used to her in the house, she’s getting used to being in her new house. You’ve gone a long way already toward teaching her that this is your territory and you make the rules. Now, she’s going to observe so she can figure out what the rules are, and who’s who in her new pack. And now the fun and fulfillment of having a dog in the family begins. If you’ve gone through these eight steps, you will have claimed your territory, allowed your dog into it, and established who the pack leaders are. If you have other pets in the home, the process is similar although more complicated — but that’s a subject for another article. So there you have it — the essential steps to bringing a new dog into your home. Follow these and, congratulations! Instead of a juvenile delinquent, you’re on the way to having a valedictorian. Read more: cesarsway/the-scoop/cesars-blog/Eight-Essential-Steps?utm_source=BlueHornet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Sep13NL_1#ixzz2de8Kfo7q
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 13:12:05 +0000
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