Here’s What You Should Do Immediately After Adopting a Pet

Image credit: Pixabay.com

There are very few other things which can give you joy that is comparable to bringing a pet home. Adding a new member to your family, one that will very soon become an irreplaceable part of your world, is often an overwhelming experience. But if this is your first experience with adopting a pet, you probably are stressed about how you can ensure that everything’s right.

To help you with making your new pet feel at home, here is a list of few things that you should do.

Preparing your home

The first thing that you need to take care of, even before you bring your new pet home is to prepare the place for the new member. This includes everything from gathering supplies to putting safety gates above stairs if you’re bringing in a little puppy or a kitten. Get all the food and medicine that the vet suggests for your pet. Put away things that might be dangerous for the pet or things that you don’t want to be chewed away by your little curious friend. Designate a safe place in your house where the new pet can stay when it is not running and jumping around. You could get initially get a crate for the pup or kitten and later replace it with a bigger den. In short, do whatever you can to make your new friend feel welcome and comfortable.

Showing around the house

Once your newly adopted pet is in the house, let it take some time and explore the house for itself. Do keep an eye though, so that it doesn’t get hurt. Show your pet its bed, its food and toys. Also, start defining its limits gradually from the first day itself. This will help when you begin training it later. You can also let it explore the yard on leash and if there is a designated potty space, lead your pet to it from the very beginning itself.

Introducing the family

If it is you who brought the pet home, it already sees you as its parent now. But if you are living with your family, it is important that your pet gets comfortable with the other members of the family as well. So, take some time to introduce your new friend to your family. Also, if you already have other pets in the house, acquaint them with the new member too. But make sure that the older pets are on a leash or in their closed spaces so that they can’t harm the new one in any way. Make these introductions slow and subtle so that the new member can have its time to sniff around and feel safe with everyone in the house. Once this basic orientation program for your new pet is done with, you can gradually move on to training it, improving the diet and introducing new activity.