Bringing a New Puppy or Grown Dog Into Your Home

Virginia “Roo” Ravndal

With so many people working from home due to the pandemic, in recent months more people are adopting pets. According to the Animal Friends Alliance, an animal shelter in Fort Collins, adoption rates have increased substantially over this same time last year and it’s easy to see why.

Welcoming a new pet into your home can be both a positive and rewarding decision. But especially if you are hoping to welcome a new furry family member into your home for the first time, before giving in to that sweet little puppy who has “chosen you” or that older dog who has such a great personality, there are things you need to consider:

1) If you have very young children in your family will they be safe around this new pet? Some dogs are more child-friendly than others.

2) If you have pets already in your home (either dogs or cats) will they get along?

3) If it’s a puppy will you have the time to house train her/him?

4) Will you have the time to walk your new pet? Often, children say they want a dog and then are nowhere to be found when it comes to walking or bathing the newest member of the family — can you take this on yourself, if need be?

5) Can you foot the bill when your pet requires veterinary care as most certainly they will over their lifetime?

6) If you’re a renter, does your lease permit a pet?

7) Once you return to work outside the house can you “pet-proof” your home while you are away (which will be a new experience for your pet as you are so often home under current conditions).

8) Do you expect you might be moving in the next year or two, and if so, will you be able to take your new pet with you? Some dogs, when given up to a new family, are so loyal that there are stories that they walked across the United States to be reunited with their original adoptive family — don’t break their heart if you can’t offer them a home over their lifetime.

It is definitely worth carefully considering if you can give a good home to a new pet. In most cases, you’ll have a friend for life — as long as they are on the planet. And we can’t ask for more than that from any friend, two-legged or four-legged!

Virginia “Roo” Ravndal, Founder and Head Teacher at The Puppy School in Fort Collins, has more than 25 years of experience working with dogs and helping people to better understand and communicate with them. Building a solid positive foundation from the start makes for a great relationship between people and dogs. Specializing in helping people and young dogs build that foundation, Roo also helps rescued dogs of any age establish a solid positive foundation in their new home. Questions: Contact Roo Ravndal at: [email protected]