So You Want to Adopt a Puppy ...

While there is no such thing as an ugly puppy, there is also no such thing as a pre-trained puppy. It is very difficult to resist that sweet little bundle of fur with the big eyes, but adopting a puppy is a huge commitment that requires a lot of time, care, love and patience - are you and your family really prepared?

Preparing for the Puppies Arrival:

• Shop for a crate, a collar and leash, food and water bowls, a bed, a variety of chew toys, and identification for your puppy.
• Our shelter will give you some food to help the puppy with the transition from what we have been feeding him to what you will feed him, but research and choose a nutritional type of food for your puppy to grow up on. Puppy feeding requirements are much different that adult dogs, they need a food designed specifically for puppies and should be fed several times a day depending on their age.
• Plan a schedule that will allow you to be home at predetermined times to train the puppy to urinate and eliminate outside. To do this successfully, you will need to establish and strictly adhere to a predictable feeding and walking routine, without routine and consistency you cannot expect a puppy to house-train effectively.

Your New Puppy

It is important to frequently and affectionately play with, handle, exercise, and hand feed your puppy. These actions are all steps toward developing and fostering a necessary and strong bond between puppy and owner. This type of interaction, and owner/puppy bond, encourages positive handling that will later make obedience training, grooming, clipping nails and other common activities much easier.

• Your puppy's first night(s) will likely be a stressful one for puppy and owner. Puppy is often feeling frightened, insecure, stressed, and may be missing his littermates too! As a result puppy may cry, howl, urinate or eliminate, and will require patience and kindness from his owner-try to make puppy comfortable rather than adding to his stress by being angry or impatient.
• Deal with training and behavior problems quickly and consistently. Please do not hesitate to call us for advice, often a simple tip in the early stages can easily correct what may have become a big problem. We also have a volunteer animal behavior specialist that helps us to help you, so take advantage of our services; they are geared toward a successful and lasting adoption.
• Make sure that your puppy receives the appropriate vaccines at the correct times. It is important to provide frequent and supervised socialization opportunities for your puppy. This will allow the puppy to become accustomed to people outside of the family and to other animals. A well-socialized puppy is easier to take places, to travel with, and to take to off leash park areas.
• Once your puppy is four months old he/she is ready for Obedience classes. Formal training is a great way of reinforcing the existing bond between puppy and owner and is also a perfect opportunity for socialization. Most importantly obedience classes provide tools and support to new owners to help them raise a well-behaved and loved family member.