What to do after bringing a puppy home from shelter?

Question

So, today we might be picking up a puppy form the shelter =). What should we do when we leave the shelter with him? Take him to the vet? Take him home, then what? What should we do with him to make him feel comfortable. I want this to be as least stressful as possible for the pup.

Answer 1

Alright Lab Lover!!!!
I think alot has to do with the obvious condition of the dog and where are you getting it from. I bring in animals from animal control which is a high kill shelter. Since this shelter is high on dogs coming in everyday you have more risk at alot more viruses and diseases. I just got my puppy out of there two weeks ago now and he brought us kennel cough! Showed up 4 days later after exposing my whole household to it. Quarantining is always a good idea but sometimes its not a option in some households. I will from now on make a appt. with the vet before bringing into my household again. If for anything, to make me feel better. You'll be surprised how dogs act when coming out of the shelter. They tend to come in and act like they have always been there. Our puppy settled right in. He was thrilled to be out of there and we have had great luck with him. Hes turning into a super trooper!! We will be keeping this one :)
Have fun! Keep us updated on him if you decide to adopt. Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

How old is the pup? If the pup is less than 10 weeks old, I would recommend that you have a cardboard box, fill it with some warm and soft towels, put a warm hot water bottle in it, and possibly a ticking clock. All of this will represent his mother. The warmth from her body, and the ticking noise from her heart. I know that it might sound wierd, but, it's all true! Though, if the pup is older than that, and doesn't need all of that special attention, just carry on with a normal life. Though, I would recommend that you let the puppy go into a "puppy safe" room, first. Make sure that the pup can do his "buisness" on the ground if needed, there are plenty of toys available, water for him, and other needed things for him in the room. Keep him in there for a day (though, check on him every hour), you can even play with him in the room if you would like! The next day, you can let him out and let him explore the house. Though, if the pup isn't house broken yet, I highly recommend that you make sure the whole house is safe for him to go to the bathroom on the carpets or floors. But, if you have specific rooms you would not want your new pup to go in, I recommend that you put some baby gates up (tall enough so that the pup can't jump over them!), or boxes (anything that will block your pup fromg getting into the room). On the third day, try to arrange an oppintment with your local dog vet. Here, you can ask any questions that you have! Get the right dog food, and get other medicines or shots needed!

I hope that I helped! Thanks, and good luck with your new pup (thanks for adopting at a shelter!)!,

~ Future Vet

Answer 3

Definitely make an appointment for him at the vet to make sure nothing is wrong upfront. Then keep him home for at least two weeks and away from other puppies to make sure that he didn't contract anything from the shelter like parvo( that would show up in 7-10 days). After the two weeks if he is acting fine he should be fine to be around other puppies. This is what my neighbor does with her fosters when they come from shelters, we call it the "quarantine period". If you notice anything "out of the ordinary" for a puppy definitely get him to the vet because something is probably wrong. Congratulations on your new puppy!

Answer 4

Take him to vet, then once you get home, before you even go inside, show him where you want him to do his business. If he goes to the bathroom, give him a treat and tell hiom what a good boy he is. When you go inside, if you're using a crate, show him the crate and maybe even put him inside for a minute or so, while giving him treats so that he associated the crate with something posative. Also, when he decides he wants to go into the crate, just leave him alone so that he knows tha the crate is his own place in the house where he an be left alone. Puppies are very energeic, but they also need more sleep than an adult dog. Just show your puppy his toys, introduce him gradually to your other animals if you have any. I alsway let my other dogs meet a new dog outside and my dogs just come up to meet the new dog when they are comfortable, we do our best not to force it. We do give both dogs treats while they are meeting each other though so that it is a posative experience for everyone. As far as cats, my cats are in deniel about the fact that we even have dogs so I just give them some catnip before the new dog comes home, so they are already happy and laid back and just don't care about the new dog. Other animals are very accomedating of other baby animals. I've never had a problem introducing a puppy or kitten, where introducing a full-grown dog or cat tends to be a little harder (at least for me).

Just show your puppy where you want him to be and keep him with you, but let him sleep when he needs to and watch for signs that he needs to go do his business (sniffing, circling, whining). Housetraining come above everytthing else, including TV, talking on the phone, ect... You need your puupy to learn early that the house isn't where he does his business. Good luck and Kudos for adopting!

Answer 5

You want to get the puppy to the vet as soon as reasonably possible. You want to make absolu tely sure you have them on heartworm preventative and that the dog is altered, as well as all appropriate shots (I recommend the bordatella vacinations as well). Do I suggest taking the dog to the vet on the way home from the shelter? If you can, that's great, if not, within a week is perfectly acceptable.

Have a crate ready for the puppy. In the crate I recommend including a t-shirt of those new "parents" so that your smell is around the puppy. Also, you want to have toys available in the crate. You want to make sure that the area is available for the dog at all times. You also want to make it fun for the puppy. So when he goes in, feel free to drop treats into the back of the crate. (I am sure there are plenty of instructions on crate training)

Let the dog come to you, do chase the poor thing around. If there are other dogs in the home, make sure that you keep them segregated for the first few days.

Overall, keep things calm and let the puppy adjust as quickly as the puppy needs. Have fun and good luck!

Answer 6

Well, since it's Sunday, most vets don't have regular hours today. So just bring the puppy home and make sure you already have his bed and crate and toys set up for him. Tomorrow, call the vet and make an appointment to have him checked out.

Just spend alot of time with him and if he's a tiny puppy, comfort him when he cries because he's going to be missing his mommy and siblings!

Good luck!

Answer 7

There is probably no need to take him to the vet. The animal shelter would not let you take a puppy or dog who is sick.

First, you should have an area prepared for him/her in your home. A crate for housetraining and to keep him safely confined while you are away or sleeping.

Just don't rush the dog too much. Give him love and reassurance. Make him feel safe.

I have adopted dogs from the animal shelter, and a lot is going to depend on the dog itself. Some of them were very outgoing and fit right in at the very beginning, while others were reserved and shy. Just be soft spoken, gentle and very patient with your new family member. It could take them a few days (sometimes more) to adjust to the new situation. Just be consistent, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Don't expect too much too fast. Like I say - just be patient, caring, loving, and consistent, and your new dog will begin to feel at home in no time.

POTTY TRAINING TIPS:
When you are home, work on taking her out every 30 minutes or so. When she goes "Potty" outside - praise her. Use words to teach her; like "Potty" & "Poopy" (or whatever you prefer) and tell her to go "potty", etc., when she does, you act like it's such a BIG deal and show her how proud of her you are.
Everytime you take your puppy outside, ask her "Outside?" in a sort of EXCITED voice. Going outside is FUN.
*Whenever she even starts to go in the house, scoop her up immediately, tell her "NO you go potty OUTSIDE", and take her out right then. As soon as she starts going outside, praise her and tell her what a good girl she is for going OUTSIDE. Keep repeating it to her in a very sweet voice.
Before long, she will put this all together. You just have to keep a close eye on her and CATCH her in the act. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER stick her nose in it. Just do THIS* (above)
They don't understand the nose thing - and it's just mean!!!

Answer 8

just be calm about it even though you are really excited. dont have visitor over to see him for a week or so because thats stressful and confusing to him. take him to the vet later after a week or so. dont worry too much about it, people bring home puppies all the time and they turn out fine! make sure you buy all the stuff you need like bowls food toys etc BEFORE you get the pup, dont take him with you to petsmart or whatever until he is comfortable with you, thats fun for you but will be scary for him.

Answer 9

First, congrats on your new pup! :)

Well, the first thing I would do is bring him home, socialize him, give him a few treats, pet him, groom him, introduce him to his crate or new bed, get him comfortable with your family. When your vet has an open appointment (and make it within the first couple days after bringing puppy home) bring the pup to the vet to get shots and to be inspected.

Answer 10

does this mean u chose the pointer? yay!

anyway, after adopting my dog from the shelter
we brought him home
kept everything calm that day
no visitors,
got him used to the house,
he got over his fear of the stairs,
introduced him to everyone in the family
and just played and cuddled


before getting him, make sure the house is puppy proofed, an you have everything ready for his arrival, his food collar leash, etc...

also, start teaching him his name, and the rules of the house from day one


good luck with the new puppy!