With the holiday season not too far away, you might be thinking about what gifts you’ll be getting for your friends and family. But let’s take a moment to think about how absolutely wonderful giving someone a puppy is for the holidays! There have been countless videos online where parents will surprise their children, or spouses their significant others, with cute furry friends! Aside from the warm and fuzzy feelings those videos give us, owning a pet, especially a puppy, for the first time is a huge responsibility.
To help you out and make your life a little easier on how to manage the best holiday present you’ll ever give or receive, it’s important to keep these tips in mind:
- Before you bring your puppy home, be sure to protect all of your finer rugs and furniture. More so often than not, younger dogs haven’t been properly trained, meaning that they are bound to use the floor, couch, and any other place in your home as a bathroom. This also includes “dog proofing” your house to make sure there are no spots in the backyard where your dog can dig under and through a gate, etc.
- When your new friend gets home, be sure you’ve done some background research on how to approach dogs for the first time. This can be especially important for young children, who might try to handle the puppy as some sort of toy, which might aggravate the dog to become aggressive.
- Ask the adoption center or pet store what they were feeding the dog before you got him. This is to ensure that there isn’t a drastic and quick change in diet. You’ll want to eventually wean your new dog off this food onto something different or more appropriate. But in the beginning, it’s best to ensure that your dog stays on this food for the first few weeks.
- Make sure your puppy is vaccinated according to their age group’s vaccination schedule. This is extremely important to keep up, even into your dog’s adult years. Also- be sure to keep an updated copy of their immunizations on hand if there were to be an emergency.
- Be sure to have a great, esteemed veterinarian, like those at Acoma Animal Clinic, to help you whenever you need medical or professional advice!
