Give a Shelter Dog a Home - Bonding Made Easy

It isn’t always true that a shelter dog was abused and in reality, most dogs that end up in shelters were surrendered by owners who couldn’t keep them for one reason or another. Even so, some dogs have been neglected or abused and these are the ones that will need a special kind of care when bringing them home. Bear in mind that shelters do not let dogs get adopted out unless they pass a stringent set of behavioral criteria. If the dog even remotely looks as though it could turn violent, that dog will most likely be put down. Only dogs that can be safely released to new forever homes are offered for adoption. That should ease your mind a great deal!

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Helping Your New Dog through this Confusing Time

Many dogs surrendered to shelters have been in loving families. Often the family moves or the landlord doesn’t allow pets. Sometimes they just end up with too many dogs and need to let some go. When you adopt a dog from a shelter and bring him or her home, it’s just like bringing a child into a new family. There will be a time of transition and adjustment during which the dog will try to understand where it is and why it is there. It is vital to keep excitement to a minimum and provide plenty of structure. Just as a child functions better with structure, so too does a pet. Times for feeding, walking, playing and sleeping should be set and adhered to, especially in the very beginning.

Give Your New Dog His Very Own Space
Even before bringing your new dog home, it is important to determine where your dog will be spending the majority of its time. Are you going to house the dog in the kitchen? If so, consider whether you will be crate training your dog to make sure there is ample room for the crate. You can find various sized crates at local pet shops but if you don’t have one nearby, you can order crates from anonline dog shop. Here again, it is important that your new adopted dog feels comfortable with its new home so establishing its living area and boundaries gives the dog the security it is looking for in a new home. That will be its safe spot, a place it can go when it is lost or confused in those first vulnerable days.

The most important thing you should be aware of is that dogs are highly intuitive. They can sense whether you like them or fear them and they will respond accordingly. You brought him home because you fell in love at first sight so let that shine through your eyes and the way in which you speak. It will only be a matter of time before you have the most loyal companion a person could want and it all stems from how you handle those first few weeks. With a little patience and a lot of love, you will build a relationship that will last for years. Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

About the Author:

Boris Dzhingarov is passionate about blogging. He writes for several sites online.