Bringing Home a Rescue Dog? 8 Things to Do First
Preparation is key to success.
Once you’ve chosen the right dog for you, been through all the checks, and had your application approved, it is time to start thinking about the logistics involved in welcoming your new dog into your home.
There are multiple matters that should be accounted for before your incoming pet’s arrival date. Putting in the time and effort to ensure that you can provide the most comfortable settling-in period possible for your dog is not only vital for them – but also for yourself.
Making sure that the items in this list have been covered ahead of time allows you to better focus your attention on monitoring their acclimatisation into their new surroundings, observing their behaviours, taking note of any habits or quirks that may require extra care, and, most importantly, developing a bond that will last a lifetime. And so, in no particular order, here is our list of eight things to prepare before your new rescue dog comes home.
Purchase the necessary items.
No one wants to be dashing around at the last minute on Christmas Eve looking for presents, and the same principle applies here. Essential items for your new rescue dog include food and bowls, places to sleep, rest and relax (a crate, a basket, blankets, etc.), toys, dog waste bags, a collar, dog tag and leash, and training pads.
Once you have the basic necessities sorted, it becomes far easier to add extra things as and when you need to, and as you become more familiar with your dog, you will naturally develop an understanding of their preferences and what items they do and don’t respond to.
Dog-proof your home.
It is a good idea to imagine bringing your new dog home as being akin to looking after a small child. For their safety, ensure that any cleaning products are stashed away, electrical wires or cables are covered and inaccessible, food (both yours and theirs) is unreachable, and bins are secured and unable to be gotten into. Dog-proofing your home for a rescue pet is an essential step to ensuring their safety and preventing unwanted mishaps.
For your own sake, see to it that any valuables or things you don’t want broken are removed from shared areas, put into high places, or locked away. Also, if you have a garden, check that any items that could be broken or cause injury are out of reach, and remove any poisonous plants that may be growing there.
Clearly define the dog’s areas.
A dog needs to know where they can and can’t go, so setting boundaries from the outset is vitally important. How to make a rescue dog feel at home starts with planning out their personal spaces (where they sleep, where they eat, where they should play, and where they can relax) and making sure that these are obvious to them. Try not to move things around unless you absolutely must.
Likewise, spend the first few days and weeks reiterating where they shouldn’t go. Placing their areas far away from any of these places helps to make that distinction clearer. Gates can also be used if you feel you need physical barriers; these can be a great way of teaching them while also reducing worry as they can still see you through/over them.
Inform your friends and family.
Letting people know that you have a new rescue dog arriving is helpful for a number of reasons. For starters, explaining to others that it is a rescue dog and confidently going over what that entails will help with trust and transparency while alleviating any concerns or stigmas that they may have.
You can then inform them of how to behave around your dog specifically so as to not cause any unnecessary distress to either the animal or themselves when they meet. It is also a good idea to not overwhelm the pet with too many new faces too quickly until after they have become settled for a little while.
Find a vet.
Although rescue shelters will often have vaccinations, neutering, and a general health check carried out on your dog in advance (the costs of which are usually included in the adoption fee), this is not always the case, so make sure to clarify this with them ahead of time.
Regardless, you must register your new dog with a vet, and doing so before they come home allows you easy access to advice as well as providing an immediate safety net should anything go wrong in the first few days or weeks.
Get identification.
As with any new pet that requires walks, there is always a risk that they will get lost or run away while adjusting to their new life. Preparing for a UK rescue dog adoption includes ensuring they have proper identification, which will hugely improve the chances of your dog finding its way back home to you.
Make sure that you have a collar and/or tag that plainly displays the dog’s name alongside a contact number. See that these are done in a typeface that isn’t difficult to read or cause confusion (1s or 0s that are indistinguishable from Ls or Os, for example). If you like, you may want to consider having an address added too.
Free up your schedule and establish routines.
Spending time with your new pet during the first days and weeks is critical. Best first steps after adopting a rescue dog include establishing routines and ensuring they know you are present to ease them into their new life. It is not a good idea to adopt a rescue dog during times when you will often be busy, out of the house, or otherwise unavailable.
Try to stick to a regular schedule as best you can. That includes when they go for walks, when they eat, when you leave for work and come home, when you retire to your bedroom at night, and when you wake up. Your dog will learn to adapt to this, and things will become second-nature for them as time goes on.
Do your research.
Make sure you have all the information you feel you need about the dog: the rescue will be happy to provide you with what they know, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Reading firsthand accounts or watching videos of other rescue dog adopters is another great way of getting an idea of what to expect from others who have been in a similar position.
There is a wealth of resources on the internet but, much like self-diagnosing medical issues online, try to steer clear of purposely negative stories. These exist for any topic and will not be useful. Instead, focus on learning as much as you can about how to best ready yourself in as positive a way as possible.
Conclusion
This is our list of eight things to prepare before your new rescue dog comes home, but it is by no means an exhaustive one. Of course, every dog requires their own special requirements, but by following these steps, you should have an excellent jumping-off point to make as good a start as possible as a rescue dog adopter.