Dog Adoption 101

For anyone who is lucky enough to have a yard, your dog can also enjoy your very good fortune. When the weather is good, she can play outdoors for hours on end. But just as you puppy-proof the inside of your house to make it secure for your puppy to roam around, you should do the very same for your yard or the portion of it you will share with your puppy.

The first step is to put up fences around your puppy’s designated area. A puppy running free can endanger itself and irritate your neighbors. Hence the fence should be tall enough to ensure that your puppy (and also the dog she becomes) cannot jump over it, strong enough so that your puppy cannot knock it over, and buried deep sufficient so that your puppy cannot dig under it. A nicely anchored chain link fence is often a great selection.

Now examine the area you have enclosed, and evaluate it for any prospective puppy hazards. The contents of your backyard garbage cans produce a tremendously tempting target for your puppy’s attention, so either remove them or block them off in some manner. Put locks on the gate and any tool shed or other enclosure you don’t want your puppy to discover. Fence off vegetable gardens or hedges or anything else you do not want your puppy digging around.

Be aware of which plants you’ve outside that are potentially toxic to your puppy (for example daffodils) and eliminate them entirely. Now you are able to add things to your puppy’s portion of the yard. A sandy location can be your puppy’s bathroom. Teach her to generally use this one place when she has to pee or poop, and if it’s the latter, clean up after her right away. If there’s room, you’ll be able to create your puppy a doghouse or a shallow pool for those hot summer days.

But as considerably as your puppy could appreciate this personalized amusement park, in no way let the yard be your puppy’s babysitter. You’re still responsible for her well-being and happiness. Don’t leave her unmonitored for lengthy stretches of time. Check up on her often and be sure she is secure from passing wild animals, inquisitive youngsters who could be tempted to let her out, and sudden adjustments within the weather. In short, give her the very same attention you give her when she is indoors. In the end, there is no substitute for your love.

Pet Places provides resources on how you can choose which puppy to buy and how to take care of puppies.