Welcoming A New Fur Baby To The Family
Maria Bustillos
Social Media could get you hooked up with the idea of getting a puppy or a cat. Watching cute videos will make you wonder if you could have one and if you could do what other pet owners could do. Lack of preparation could lead the newly adopted or bought pet to switch different owners in a span of a few months putting them in a tougher spot than where they were in the first place. Remember you are taking a living, active, demanding being into your life and they will depend you for the rest of their lives.
Every great fur-baby comes with great responsibility. If you’re just after cuteness and cuddles, maybe consider getting yourself a stuffed toy or perhaps a low maintenance kind of pet like a hamster or a mice for a start.
So here we list down things you should take note of before deciding to welcome a new fur baby to the family.
Consider everyone in the household
Getting a new pet MUST be agreed by everyone in your household. If you’re living with your family or with a roomie getting a pet must be discussed thoroughly. You must consider their opinions before adopting or buying one, because remember you will not always be at home with your pet. Lay down your schedule so that they’ll know when to take over and set the rules to be implemented so training your new pet would get easier for everyone. Make sure nobody has allergies and that their health must be your priority.
Researching the kind of breed you would want and learning their lifestyle could give you and everyone a heads-up with what you will be dealing for the next ten or so years. If you’re adopting make sure that as they screen you, you ask tons of question regarding the pet as well. Not knowing what will be coming into your life is a risk, no matter how loving you are with dogs or cats you might one day ask someone to adopt them because you can’t keep up with the demand.
Make your place pet-friendly and yourself well-educated
Buying necessary things for a new fur-baby is exciting! Making a checklist will help you remember to get the necessary things first. make a checklist . Prepare the house thoroughly; even a chewing gum or toothpaste that contains Xylitol (that isn’t harmful to humans) could be life-threatening for your new dog. Check for hazards and make sure to keep them out of reach. Research the things that must be kept away – like wires; and how you could make your new pet comfortable to your place.
The first few days or weeks could be a bit stressful for them especially for puppies and might even cry a lot so learn how to set up their space. Make sure they don’t roam through the night going over the places they aren’t yet allowed. During the day you can let them sniff throughout your place; it is also the best time to recheck if you’ve gotten everything in their right places.
Preparing yourself for all the possibilities must be done during this time as well, make sure to research about different veterinary clinics around you and get feedback, write down their contact numbers as well so if you’re not home when an emergency happens your housemates know who to contact immediately. You should also check contact numbers of your city vet in case you’re short on budget. Educate yourself with possible viruses and diseases your dog or cat could get and how you can prevent them; you can also ask that to the vet while getting feedback from their clinic.
Consider Neutering or Spaying
It has tons of benefit but we will not tackle them here, instead let me just enlighten you a bit as to why you should consider it. Your pet doesn’t have the luxury to choose whether she wants to get pregnant or not. If you’re not a breeder and you’ll only let their litter to get adopted again then think again. There are not just hundreds but millions of dogs and cats die annually in shelters alone because they can’t be accommodated anymore. Add in the list are those litters who die on the street being neglected by people and sadly being thrown away by the owner of their mothers. You’ll never know how many litter your pet will produce and so to save them from future deaths and stress in getting adopted and to give higher chances for those in the shelter to get adopted consider neutering or spaying your pet. Consider even if you have a male dog or cat, as I’ve said there are other benefits than just unwanted litters.
Learn how to train your pet
It’s not just training them how to sit, stay, roll, and shake hands but more importantly potty-train them. Cats are easier to train, just make sure their litterbox is in a perfect spot for them to relieve themselves; without a word they’ll definitely go back to their litterbox to pee and poo. Now toilet training is a different thing you’ll be needing quite an adjustment period for them to consistently go back to the toilet to do their thing. Dogs on the other hand need more of your guidance for their first few tries on where you really want them to relieve themselves, you need to be consistent, patient, and you need a lot of positive reinforcements for them to realize what they’re doing is what you want them to do in the first place.
You can also learn to train your dog specific cues by yourself, but we won’t tackle them here for now. We’ll release helpful tips later on regarding simple housetraining.
Determine how much commitment can you give your pet
Can you commit your loyalty as your pet grows for the next one to two decades? The first thing you have to take note even though you’re adopting one from the streets, from the pound, or from a friend without a fee is to expect supporting it financially. It is a being that would cost you a lot; and no there is no easy way in for your pet. You need to bring it for their initial vaccines and for a check-up in case you realize that there is something wrong with your baby. Like a human baby, your pet is your forever “human baby”; it can never tell you what’s going on inside them and can never go to the clinic alone. You constantly monitor for good health and you wanted to be sure your pet’s getting the right food; that costs you money. Make sure you have financial capability or your family is willing to sustain it for more than ten years.
Fur-babies need your time to provide them the exercise and play time they need. Dogs are allowed to walk, run, and play outside so that they won’t wreck your house with the energy they have. Cats should have their exercises and playtime too since they tend to go all over the house.
Having a pet is not just for fun and the need of companion, it’s a lifetime commitment! In return, you will be rewarded with your pet’s trust, friendship and loyalty.
photo from pixabay.com