Essential tips for bringing a new pet home

bringing a new pet home
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Bringing a new pet home and integrating them into the household can be a worrying process, especially when there are young children or other pets involved. Becoming a pet guardian is an exciting and challenging decision that should be made thoughtfully. Once you’ve decided to take on the responsibility of caring for a living creature, you’ll need to consider many important factors.

Choosing to take on the responsibility of caring for a pet can be difficult; it requires time and dedication. Although it’s an enjoyable and enriching experience, bringing a new pet home can be stressful at times. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of caring for a living creature- especially if you’ve never taken care of one before. Therefore, it’s important to prepare yourself for the change by doing plenty of research and by socializing with your new pet in a safe environment beforehand and to be prepared for your pet’s needs and any potential setbacks.

We want everyone’s experiences with choosing a new pet to be as seamless and stress-free as possible, for both you and the animal. So we’ve put together a list of tips and hacks for bringing a new pet home to get you prepped and ready for your new furry friend.

Pet-Proof Your Home Before Bringing A New Pet Home

One of the first things you should consider when welcoming a new pet into the household is whether your home is pet proof. More often than not, new pets are not versed on the subject of what is edible and what is not, which can leave your household items destroyed.

It’s important that we remove any items that have potential to be destroyed from reach of the animal, as well as anything that could pose a choking hazard.

Cleaning products and medications should be stored in a high place, out of the way of pets, to avoid possible ingestion which could cause sickness or even death. Research what foods could be potentially toxic to your new pet and ensure these are stored out of reach to avoid any expensive trips to the vet or potential toxicity.

Specific plants can often pose a threat to certain animals, so it’s important you research what plants are toxic to your new pet and move them out of reach or give them to a family or friend.

Pet-flaps are a great way to allow your pet the freedom when they are ready to roam your garden. The cost of fitting pet-flaps differs depending on the size of the animal, and location of the home. Fitting a pet-flap can be done yourself, however it tends to be a tricky job to get right. It may be worth speaking with a professional to get the job done efficiently.

Stock Up On Essentials

Before bringing your new pet home, it’s vital that you have everything they need to live a comfortable life in your space. Each type of pet has specific needs and daily requirements that must be met to keep them happy and healthy.

Research what your pet may need and stock up on essentials such as food, treats, a bed, blankets, toys, etc.

Show Your Pet Around

On arrival, it may be a very stressful transition for your new pet, so first let them rest. Once they are rested and ready, walk freely with them around your home to introduce them to their new surroundings.

At first, your new pet may be a little apprehensive. Try not to get frustrated with them during this transition process. Just think back to a time when you started a new school, or a new job and didn’t know anyone or where anything was – how did you feel?

It can often take a new pet a few days or weeks to warm up to their human, so be patient for them.

Introduce Them to Your Other Pets

Allow your new pet to get acquainted with their surroundings before meeting their fluffy counterparts. It’s always to take things slow – one step at a time. It may take a few days to a week for them to feel more at home.

Once your pet is feeling more comfortable in their new space, you can begin to introduce them to their new pet friends. Introduce them slowly and carefully, and ensure you monitor their behaviour towards each other. Don’t leave your newly acquainted pets alone together until they are fully used to each other’s company. Sometimes new pets and settled pets can become aggressive towards one another in an attempt at dominance.

Introducing Them to Your Children

Introduce your new pet to your children carefully, often smaller children can be quite heavy handed when handling animals. 

Ensure your child knows how to read your new pets body language, this will prevent aggression if your new pet doesn’t want to be petted. Make sure you don’t leave your child alone with your new pet until they are fully comfortable with their new humans and surroundings. Animals can quite often be unpredictable so it’s important to keep an eye on them when they’re around the children. 

To ensure that your pet and child get along well, it’s important to do plenty of research before bringing them home. Learn as much as possible about your animal’s temperament. Additionally, know where your animal belongs in the animal kingdom- some are more dangerous than others so it’s important to know how this may impact the way they interact with children.

Giving Them Time To Adjust

Most animals become more comfortable with their surroundings over time; after a few days without human interaction, they’ll become more likely to seek out companionship. You can help this process by setting up your home environment for both of you and giving both of you plenty of time to adjust. After a few days, assign one of you as the main caregiver while the other watches and tolerates, and gradually increase the amount time each of you spends with the animal.

After several weeks, try holding short 30-minute daily sessions where both of you are responsible for grooming, feeding and exercise sessions. Eventually, your animals should become used to their new environment and will begin seeking out company on their own.

Summing Up

When bringing a new pet home and taking on the responsibility of caring for a living creature, it’s important to think carefully about what you’re getting into. It’s an enriching experience that makes you feel good when your animal is healthy and happy; however, introducing a new pet into your home can be stressful as I have experience myself first hand when we brought our puppy home esepcailly when you’re unprepared.

To help your animal get accustomed to their new home environment, spend plenty of time socializing with them in a safe environment first. After several weeks, have one person responsible for daily care while the other watches but does not participate. Finally, do your research so you know what type of animal would be best for you!

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